Well guys, I’m finally nearing the end of my Oxygen Magazine Challenge!  Woot!  This past Monday (September 4th) was the 12 week mark!  However, the challenge “officially” ends this Saturday, the 9th.  HOWEVER, they are allowing us to submit our “after” pictures up until next Friday, the 15th!

Soooooo, just when I think my challenge is ending….it just keeps going on and on!

That’s just fine though….when I’ve got a good thing going, I guess it’s good to do it as long as I can!

I must say I’m weary though.  It’s been such a great challenge, but I think I’m ready to relax just a bit.

I’ve been eating a low carb diet for almost 2 weeks now and I’m ready to be done with it.  It is tough!  The first week, I had a ton of cravings, but this second week has been a little easier.  I’ve been eating a lot of the same things; eggs, chicken, turkey, egg whites, plain Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, protein powder, veggies, nuts, nut butter, seeds, cheese and these awesome low carb pita bread and lavash bread things that I love…and that’s about it.

I actually love short-term low carb diets.  I’m not a fan of “doing low carb” long-term or as a lifestyle.  IMO, our bodies and brains need carbs and love carbs.  The problem is that most people loooove carbs too much and eat too many of them!  Our bodies can only use so many carbs at once and the rest are usually stored as fat.  I believe the key is to eat a balanced diet with plenty of protein and healthy carbs and fats evenly dispersed throughout the day.

I do love to eat a low carb diet every once in a while.  I’ve found I get the most benefit if I do it for 2-4 weeks.  I also love carb cycling (eat a low carb diet for 2-3 days, then higher carb for a few days and cycle back and forth.)  I can always see and feel the effects of a low carb diet.  My cravings and appetite always calm down, I sleep better, I lose weight (water weight + actual weight) and it just feels like a reset for my body.

I think it’s good to shake things up and keep the body guessing.

HOWEVER, on the flip-side, when I eat a low carb diet, I don’t have as much energy.  My workouts definitely feel a lot harder.  I just feel sluggish and a little foggy brained.  AND, I get so friggin’ sick of eating a lot of the same things!  I’m looking forward to adding in some more carbs soon!

Oh, and FYI, I’ve been eating a macro ratio of 40% Protein, 40% Fat and 20% Carbs right now.  It’s not an extremely low carb diet, but it’s tough.  I’ve read that this ratio is ideal for fat loss.  Soooo, I’ve been keeping track of things in My Fitness Pal and I’ve done a perty dang good job of hitting my numbers.  I’ve been keeping the calories right around 1500.

All in all, I’ve been really happy with my efforts throughout this challenge.  I certainly haven’t been perfect with it, but I’ve been consistent.  I’ve never completely fallen off the wagon and if I’ve had an “off” day, I’ve gotten right back on track the next day.  I’ve missed some workouts, but I’ve worked my butt off most days.  I feel really good about it.

As far as my results have gone….I’m a little disappointed. 🙁  I’ve definitely lost some fat, gained some muscle and leaned out a bit.  My clothes all fit me so much better and I can see and feel the difference!  BUT, considering I’ve been working SO hard for such a freaking long time (almost 13 weeks now!), I feel like I should be seein’ better results.

I’m going to take my “after” pictures next week and I’m hoping I’ll see more progress in the pictures.  Sometimes I can see more progress in pictures than I can see in the mirror.

Soooo, to all of you out there who have struggled to lose weight, gain muscle or lean out….I’m hear to say, I UNDERSTAND!  Believe me, I understand!  It seems like some people can lose weight and lean out so easily.  I am not one of those people!  I can’t tell you how many times I have worked so hard to lose weight (tightened up the diet, counted macros, cut calories, killed it in the gym, etc.) for weeks and sometimes months at a time and have barely seen any results.  There have been times that I’ve actually GAINED weight and poofed up in the midst of my hardcore efforts.

It can be maddening.

BUT, one thing I have learned is that hard work always pays off…always!  It might take a while, but it will eventually pay off.  I’ve had many times when I don’t lose weight or see any results for weeks and then BOOM, one day I’ll lose 5 pounds.  That’s actually happened to me a lot.  As a female, it definitely feels like it could be some sort of weird hormonal thing.

Hard work also yields a lot of non-scale victories as well…

When I eat well and exercise consistently, I can always feel it in my energy levels, my quality of sleep and my health (i.e. lack of sickness.)  I feel those effects almost immediately.

I’m also so happy when I get blood work done at the doctor or I check my blood pressure and I see killer results.  It’s so satisfying to hear my doctor say that my heart sounds so strong and they can tell I’m an active person.

I love getting my body fat tested occasionally.  There have been a lot of times when I haven’t lost any weight, but my body has definitely changed….I’ve gained muscle and lost fat.  It’s rewarding to realize that changes ARE happening, they just might not be showing up on the scale!

I love seeing progress at the gym too!  I can definitely lift heavier right now than I’ve ever been able to lift!  I have more stamina.  I can do very advanced moves that I could never do before.  That is definitely encouraging!

But, as far as actually seeing results in the mirror and on the scale….it takes an insane amount of patience and consistency.  I just have to remind myself to keep working hard, keep “showing up” every day and find joy in the journey!

I actually enjoy working out, exercising and pushing my body because I like to work hard!  I like to fill my body full of good clean food because it feels good to be disciplined and to take care of my body.  I never allow myself to get discouraged.  I like to focus on the positive and recognize all of the great things I’m doing and the great results I’m already seein’!

I recently had a friend say something to me like, “Well you’ve just always been skinny.”  “You don’t have to work very hard to be fit.”  “It’s just easy for you.”

I’m like, **record scratch** “Say wha!!!????!”

I work my beehind off every single day and any progress or level of fitness that I have attained has come from good ol’ fashioned hard work, blood, sweat and tears!

Oh, how I wish it just came easy for me!

I think “good genes” really only help when you’re young.  IMO, once you’re an adult….it really has SO MUCH more to do with diet and exercise.  Good genes play a very minor role.

Anyway, I could go on and on, but I just want to say that It’s important to just focus on taking care of your body.  Fill your body full of good clean food, move your body, push your body, challenge your body.  Do things that are hard.  Do things that you didn’t think you could do.  Do things that put you out of your comfort zone.  Discover new ways to exercise and be active.  Experiment with healthy recipes.

We are never “done.”  Healthy living is really a lifelong journey and we just keep learning and learning.

I love it!

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I thought I’d share some of my favorite meals I’ve been having recently.  I always love grilled chicken, especially in the summer.

Last week I didn’t take the time to marinate the chicken beforehand, so I just grilled it up and sprinkled some awesome Weber seasoning on top (Roasted Garlic and Herb.)  It was so easy and flavorful!

I dipped my chicken in some Tzatziki (cucumber yogurt dip) that I found at Costco.  Sometimes I can find it there, sometimes I can’t.  When it is there, I find it in the guacamole, hummus and refrigerated salsa section.  I also roasted up some fresh green beans from our garden.  I loved them!

Another night, I made tacos.  They are a staple around our house!  Since I’m eating low-carb, I just made a taco salad.

I just had romaine, turkey taco meat, cheese, olives, guacamole, homemade garden salsa and homemade low carb chips made out of Joseph’s Lavash Bread.

It was so good and filling!  I enjoyed eating it out on the deck with my little buddy…

I also made myself a yummy pizza on one of those Joseph’s pita bread things today!  I felt like I needed a little comfort food and it definitely hit the spot!

I just topped it with some marinara, mozzarella cheese, yellow bell peppers, onions and garden tomatoes.  YUM!  I had some turkey on the side to add some protein to the meal.

I’ve also had this as a snack a lot lately and I love it…

Celery, peanut butter, homemade pita chips made from Joseph’s Lavash bread (can you tell how much I love them!!??) and some homemade garden salsa.  I’ve been making a ton of salsa lately because we have a ton of tomatoes in our garden.  I’ve loved it!

I’ve also been making and eating some low carb protein pancakes that I have loved!

I make regular protein pancakes all the time, but since I’m doing “low carb,” I decided to experiment with low carb pancakes.

They turned out awesome!  I’ve seen a lot of people on the internet make pancakes out of just protein powder and eggs, but I decided to add some cottage cheese and baking powder to fluff it up a bit.  I really love them!

The ones I make are only 72 calories a piece, 1 carb, 2 grams of fat and 12 grams of protein!

Low Carb Protein Pancakes
**makes 14 pancakes

Ingredients:

• 4 whole eggs
• 3/4 cup egg whites (184 grams) (the equivalent of 6 egg whites)
• 3/4 cup low fat cottage cheese (170 grams)
• 4 scoops Protein Powder (124 grams) (I used PEScience Gourmet Vanilla )
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• Optional: 4 Tablespoons powdered peanut butter (like PB2 or PBFit) (24 grams)

I’ve made these with and without the powdered peanut butter and it’s great both ways!  The powdered peanut butter just gives it a more peanut buttery flavor, obviously!

Directions:

Place the ingredients into a blender in the order listed.  Blend until mixed together.

Pour batter onto hot griddle.  Cook until done on one side.  Flip and cook the other side!

Enjoy!

I would recommend topping them with any of the Walden Farms calorie free syrups (I looooove them!), nut butter, fruit, whipped topping or anything else you would like!

I hope you guys love these!  They have definitely saved my bacon while I’ve been eating low carb.  They help me feel like I’m eating actual bread.  It’s miraculous.

Well, I just want to share a few pictures from last weekend.  On Sunday night, we went up the canyon with my mom and some of my siblings and their families.

My brother played songs on his guitar and sang.  It was great.

It was so fun and so nice to be up the canyon!

We roasted hot dogs, ate dinner and made S’mores.  The only thing I could eat was a hot dog without the bun!  Ha ha.  I made myself some protein pudding before I left though so I wasn’t too hungry.

On Monday (Labor Day) a good friend of ours took our family rock climbing.  It was awesome!  I’d been indoor rock climbing before and outside rappelling, but it was my first time outside rock climbing.  It was a lot of fun…

My three oldest kids had been indoor rock climbing, but none of us had ever done it outside and my littlest kids had never done it at all!  I was so proud of all of them.  They did great!

We had a great time!  I told Kev I want to go to the rock climbing gym with him on a date now.  It’s so much fun and a great workout!

Well, that’s all I have to say today.  I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!! <3 <3