Sammy's Superheros!

So this post has nothing to do with nutrition or working out or anything like that.  We went out for Halloween Comic Fest today and dressed up the little man as Clark Kent, using our Sammy's Superheros shirts.  Sammy is a young man from my home town who is battling cancer, and his organization is raising funds for pediatric cancer research!  Check out their Facebook page here: Sammy's Superheros!

and their website here: Sammy's Superheros!

Isn't our kid cute!

Weekend Meal Prep

Warning...this post is heavy on the pictures!

I wanted to get into a little bit more detail about our meal prep.  Right now, we are prepping our lunches (we both eat 2 meals during the day at work) for the entire week on Sunday.  For the time being, breakfasts & dinners are cooked fresh each day.  So, for the work week, we prep 20 meals.

Let's get started!

Step #1: Strap on your baby!

Gather your supplies.  

We line our our baking pan with foil for easier clean up.

Measuring cups are your best friend when prepping your meals, especially if you're watching your calories and/or portion sizes.

Make sure all of your containers are CLEAN ahead of time.

Now get all of your food ready.

Chicken is our go-to for lunches.

Our options for carbs included Quinoa, Yellow Rice, Sweet Potatoes & the hubby had Pasta.

We used a lot of salt-free seasonings to change up the flavor of our chicken.

Everything starts cooking at the same time.

Rice, Quinoa, Pasta & Eggs on the stovetop.

Sweet Potatoes in the microwave.

Chicken in the oven.

Hubby is checking on everything, waiting for it all to boil.

Once the chicken is done, we let it rest until it is fairly cool.  We then slice it up and add it to our carb choices by weighing it on the food scale.

My meals consist of 6oz chicken, 1 serving of carb, and a good portion of veg.

Hubby's meals consist of 8oz chicken, 2 servings of carb, and a good portion of veg.

The finished product!

Once everything is sufficiently cool, we will put Wednesday-Friday's meals into the freezer to keep up on food safety.

So that is how we prep for the week.  It takes us a few hours overall, but a lot of that is downtime while foods are in the oven or on the stove.  I'm sure we will want to add in some variety one day, but for now, the different seasonings are doing the trick.  We do have some beef in the fridge for dinners as well (both 90/10 ground beef and some top sirloins).    

I'd love to hear your feedback on how you prep your meals!

Sweet Treat

I jumped on the scale today.  I don't really weigh myself on a regular basis, I just do it randomly.  I was 226.6 this morning, down 2lbs already.  I'm amazed at what such little effort can accomplish some times.

Today's workout focused on upper body.  And I'm glad my legs got one more day to rest...they are S.O.R.E. from Tuesday's workout, followed by Wednesday's "run."

I'm hoping Sunday to get into a little more detail about our meal prep and next week cover the details of my workout plan for the next month (my phase 1).

My coworkers still give me crap about my huge lunchbox.  We had coach's huddle for FCA when I got to work this morning, good way to start the day.

A little chicken, rice, peppers & onions for Lunch #1

I was really craving something sweet tonight, so I picked up a single serving of Sea Salt Caramel Gelato.  It didn't disappoint.

Setting New Goals

As an athlete, I found it very easy to train.  I looked forward to going to practice and the weightroom daily because there was an outcome that I was working towards.  Over the past few years, since I "retired" from competitive track & field, I've found it very difficult to continue working out.  If anyone has read my past blog entries, they probably have noticed this.  I post a few days or weeks of workouts, then I quit.  I've known that I needed a new goal, something else to train for, for quite some time, but I haven't been able to figure out just what that was.  I've thrown around the ideas of getting back into throwing, power lifting, olympic lifting, among other things.  

In the end, I have decided to train like a Physique Competitor.  Whether or not I will have the guts to walk across a stage in a teeny bikini in the end is yet to be determined.  But the end goal (which will take a LONG time to get to) will be to compare myself to other women walking across the Olympia stage.

I have just completed Day 3 of my lifestyle change...and so far so good.  Here is a glimpse of what's been happening:

Sunday night meal prep with the hubby.  I prepacked all of my lunches for the week (2 each day)

First meal at work was DELICIOUS!  Chicken, Rice, Peppers & Onions.

Today's meals: Chicken with Quinoa & Veggies; Chicken with Sweet Potato & Broccoli

Have you ever tried a Quest Bar?  They are amazing!!

This is how I felt after my mile "run" today.  I am NOT a runner!

I rocked my 2nd Generation iPod to listen to some No Doubt during my workout today.

Dinner tonight was especially spectacular.  Sirloin, Mixed Veg, Roasted Potatoes.

So this is just the beginning.  There is still a LONG ways to go.  Step 1: Lose some weight.

Starting Weight: 228.8lbs

It's been a while...

Hello again blogosphere...
I can't believe it's been almost a year since my last post!  A lot has happened in that year, most of it due to our latest addition:

We found out at the end of October 2012 that tiny human was a reality, due in July 2013.  Due to a laundry list of complications with my health, he decided to show his face in April, 11 weeks early!  So we are adjusting to life as parents.  I am hoping to get back into the weightroom soon, and hope to keep you updated on my progress.

Finding long term motivation

For some crazy lucky people, working out and eating right come naturally.  It is a part of their routine and they thoroughly enjoy every minute of it.  I am not one of those people.  I need something tangible, something to chase, some THING to motivate me.  So when I talk with others about the need to find my motivation their usual first response is "you should do it to be healthy and for general quality of life."  While I do agree that is probably the BEST reason to exercise & eat healthy, it just doesn't do it for me.  What I do know is that when I have a goal with a set outcome, I am the fiercest competitor you will ever meet.  I will go above and beyond what is necessary to get what I want.  This was great for me as an athlete.  The outcome goals were to win, whether it was volleyball, softball, throwing, whatever.  Now that I have "retired" from full time competition, have no training partners, have no coach, what am I shooting for?  That is the #1 question I am trying to answer right now.

The other issue I have noticed is that I get bored easily.  The last time I lost a large amount of weight, I had a goal to get down to 200lbs.  I got down to 202.  I said "close enough" and what I was doing to lose that weight became boring to me, so I quit.  This summer I got back in the weightroom, I trained hard for 4 weeks.  I rocked out those 4 weeks.  I maxed out at the end, was so excited with my results, felt like I exceeded my goal, so I quit.  There is a major mental block going on somewhere.  Without being a full time athlete I really don't know how to motivate right now.

My question to you is what motivates you to eat right & go to the gym?

The hubby & I have embarked on a new journey selling lifestyle products including sports nutrition, weight management, green cleaning supplies & all natural beauty supplies with Shaklee.  So now it's time to find the motivation so I can walk the walk when I suggest to my athletes & clients to do the same.

If you're interested in making a change for the better in your life, please contact me, I'm glad to help!

Shaklee

We are embarking on a new journey, distributing products that we know, love & trust to keep us healthy.  If you are interested in learning more about the Shaklee line of home & health products, please feel free to click on the image above.  I'll be bringing you more posts in the future detailing just how we use these products in our training and everyday life.