Staying Strong Even When it’s Hard + Some Fun Pics

Yes, I AM ALIVE!  Holy moly.

We’ve had so much going on, oh my word!  My family was in town for two weeks and we played pretty much non-stop, then we were out of town for a family reunion with Kev’s family, which also included a side trip to Bryce Canyon National Park.

It’s been nuts, but we’ve had SO MUCH FUN!

I’ll do a separate post all about our fun trip.  I LOVED Bryce Canyon!

I’m happy and sad to say that life should be calming down a bit because summer is almost over!  My kiddos start school two weeks from today.  I’m definitely looking forward to the organization and schedule that school brings, but am not happy about saying goodbye to the warm weather, playful days and more sleep!

It’s bittersweet for sure.

I AM hoping to blog more regularly once school starts though.  Fingers crossed.

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Well, first things first….I need to announce the winner of my DICK’S Sporting Goods gift card giveaway!  The winner is…..Emily S.

Congratulations Emily! I already sent you an email with information about how you can claim your prize.  Thanks to all of you who entered my giveaway.  I seriously wish I had gift cards to give to all of you!

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Well, I’m still going strong on my Oxygen Challenge!  I really love it and could actually see myself eating and working out like this forever!

I haven’t taken a lot of food pics lately because I’m eating a lot of the same (boring) things!

I’m still having my favorite Oatmeal with a side of egg whites for breakfast every morning and am not sick of it yet!  I actually love it and look forward to eating it.

I’m also eating a brown rice/quinoa with chicken and salad mixture quite regularly (I add a drizzle of ranch dressing to it as well.)  It’s also a fav!

Here are some other things I’ve been eating a lot lately…

• Protein Shakes
• Protein Bars (I’m loving Quest Bars)
• Veggies dipped in Hummus (HOPE Spicy Avocado Hummus is the bomb, btw.)
• Leftover chicken and steak
• Cottage Cheese mixed with fruit and sometimes nuts or coconut
• Meatza (Pizza made with a meat crust and Parmesan cheese for the cheese (I can’t share the actual recipe, so sorry!)
• Hard Boiled eggs
• Banana with peanut butter (and some kind of protein on the side)
• Various salads
• Ezekiel bread with eggs
• Protein Pancakes (Chocolate Protein Pancakes are my fav, of course!)

That pretty much sums it up!

I’ve really enjoyed all of the food and don’t feel deprived at all.  I actually really like the simplicity of it all.  I will say that I’ve occasionally eaten a few chips or fries.  I haven’t chowed down of them, but I’ve had 4-5 at various times.  They always taste so good (of course!) and usually just a few of them satisfy my “crappy food” cravings.

I’m been careful to not have any sweets at all though.  Once I start, I don’t want to stop…..so I’ve made sure not to start!  Ha ha.  Salty foods don’t set off addictions in me, so it’s nice to indulge on them a little bit from time to time.

I’ve only had one official cheat meal so far.  I consider my little “snitches” here and there to be my cheat meals.  However, Kev’s birthday is tomorrow and our anniversary is the next day, so I may decide to have another cheat meal on one of those days (still no sweets though!)

I have to say that I’ve been pretty darn proud of myself!  I’ve stayed strong through a lot of hard situations….when my family was in town for two weeks, there was always SO MUCH food and treats around!  Auuughhh…cake, cookies, candy and many, many opportunities to go to my favorite restaurants.

I’ve also survived my “baking teenagers” who like to make treats!  Ya.  This shiz went down at our house last week…

Um ya.  Doesn’t that look so good!  I just want to take a fork and eat that whole pan right up!  But, I stayed stalwart and immovable.  Ha.

I also survived a day at an amusement park and just recently survived a road trip and 2 day family reunion!  Woot!  Before we left on our trip, I packed a bunch of healthy food…

I packed lettuce, strawberries, grapes, bananas, natural peanut butter (to add to oatmeal or bananas), Ziploc bags of oatmeal and oatmeal mix-ins, Quest Bars, carrots, bell pepper strips, hummus, rotisserie chicken pieces, hard boiled eggs, cottage cheese and Meatza!

This food saved my bacon many times!  I loved having those oatmeal packets so much!  I just poured one bag (included measured oatmeal and raisins) in a bowl, covered it with water and microwaved for 2 minutes.  After it came out of the microwave, I added a second bag that included measured out protein powder, flax seed, stevia and cinnamon.  I also added more water until it was the right consistency.  Sometimes I added a spoonful of peanut butter too.

It was awesome and so easy!

I tried to eat whatever was offered at our family reunion, but I had to get a little creative sometimes.  I turned “nachos” into a salad (replaced the chips with lettuce), and I turned Hoagie sandwiches into a salad a couple times too.  I also skipped the cookies, chips (except for a few!), muffins, pancakes, candy and various treats.  I was so happy with how I ate and was so glad I came prepared.

I ate the food I brought between meals or if I ever got hungry throughout the day.  My kids had some of my food too.  They especially liked the fruit or the carrots dipped in hummus.

I also tried really hard to stick to my workout schedule while we were gone.  I’m sad to say that I did have to miss one workout, but I was happy that it was only one!

We hiked 6 (very hard!) miles in Bryce Canyon one day and I did one of my workouts in my hotel room one night.  I packed my 10 pound weights and my resistance band (to make the weight heavier when I needed it.)  It worked great, but I had a cute little “exercise buddy” that made it a little hard…

Ha ha.  I finally had to wait until he went to sleep to finish my workout.  I was glad I got ‘er done though!

I’ve actually been doing most of my workouts from home lately, which is strange for me!  I would much rather go to the gym or exercise outside, but it’s definitely MUCH easier to just workout at home since I have a little baby right now.

I may start taking him to the daycare at the gym a couple times a week once school starts.  We’ll see.  I just really don’t love taking my itty bitty babies there.  He is getting bigger though and I don’t feel quite so bad leaving him when he can entertain himself a bit.

I got a KILLER workout in tonight that I loved!  I officially started “Month 2”  of my challenge this week and the workouts have gotten a little harder.  We’re focusing on individual muscle groups more and lifting heavier.

Tonight I worked triceps, shoulders and chest and I KNOW I will be feeling it tomorrow.  I used 20# dumbbells for most of the exercises (shoulder press, incline bench press, upright rows, etc.) and it seemed to be the perfect weight for me!

Do you like my home gym???  Yes, it’s so sophisticated.  Ha ha.

I ended my workout with tricep dips and Diamond push-ups.  Ummmm Diamond Push-ups are freaking hard!  I could only do 3-4 on my toes and then I had to do the rest on my knees.  They still kicked my trash!

I also went on a great night run with Kev last week.  I never run at night by myself, but it’s always fun to go with Kev.  We left about 9:30 and went for 5 miles.  I felt great!  It was a nice cool night and I felt extra strong without the sun beating down on me!

As far as my progress goes with this challenge….I’m liking what I see!  The progress is definitely much slower than I’d like it to be, but that’s always the case.  So far, I’ve lost about 5 pounds, my clothes all fit so much better and I can see more muscle definition.

I still feel chubby-ish and soft, but I’m trying to focus on my progress and not get discouraged.  I definitely have more “back fat” than I’d like to have.  Ha ha.  Seriously, back fat is annoying.  It’s just not pretty to have the back spill out around the sports bra.  I also just feel like my arms and legs are bigger than I’d like.  My waist is still quite wide too.  It’s mostly flat, but just WIDE.  That’s usually the case with me after I have a baby….my waist always seems to take forever to shrink back down.

I’m not discouraged though because I can see a little bit of progress and I know I’m taking good care of my body!  I know it’s very easy to get discouraged when trying to lose weight.  I know A LOT of people who get frustrated and give up when the results don’t happen quick enough.  I’ve been one of those people many times!

Here’s what I would say to “those people”…

• If you eat a very healthy diet, but don’t exercise, you will still see results.  If you exercise, but don’t eat a healthy diet, you WILL NOT see results (you might get stronger and have more endurance, but you won’t see the actual results on the scale or in how your clothes fit.)  If you exercise AND eat a healthy diet, you will see amazing results…it’s like synergy!
• Don’t compare yourself with anyone but YOU!  Some people seem to lose weight easily, some have to work at it a little more.  Just do your best, focus on taking care of your body and the results will eventually happen!
• When you hit a plateau and/or only lose 1-2 pounds a month (that’s happened to me many, many, many times!), keep working hard and have faith in the process.  It works….I promise.
• When you see someone who looks very fit, remember that it didn’t happen for that person overnight!  I’m SURE they work very hard, eat very well and are committed to living a healthy lifestyle.  A fit, tight, lean, toned body is EARNED, not given.  AND it’s not just “good genes.”  Yes, good genes help, but they are a very, very small piece of the puzzle.  When you eat crappy and sit on your bum all day long, good genes don’t make a dang bit of difference.
• Keep eating well, keep exercising hard and you WILL eventually get to where you want to be!  Don’t give up….ever!

Well that’s the end of my speech for the day.  Ha ha ha.

I do want to share a few pics from my niece’s wedding last week.  She is the oldest grandchild on my side of the family and the first grandchild to get married.

This cute little niece of mine was born when I was 14 years old.  My sisters and I played with her like she was our own real life doll.  We loved her (and still love her!) so much!

The picture on the left is from her bridal shower and the one on the right is from her wedding (obviously!)

The setting at her wedding was absolutely gorgeous!

We took some fun pics with my mom and sisters too.  Love them!

I snagged a selfie with my baby boy too.  LOVE HIM!!!!

Well that’s all the pictures I have to share!  It’s very late, so I need to go to bed.  I love you all and hope you are all happy and healthy! xoxo

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