Fix Follow Up

So how am I doing on the 21 day Fix program? Not bad if I do say so myself. My green intake is light - I definitely need more veggies - but I'm impressed with my choices. I decided to be honest and track my vices as well (damn Girl Scoot cookies!).

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
	9-Mar	10-Mar	11-Mar	12-Mar	13-Mar
Containers p/day	5	3	5	4	1
Workout	-	-	Dance	Upper Fix	PiYo
Breakfast	1/2 shake coffee fruit salad coconut	shake coffee fruit salad coconut	shake coffee fruit salad (2) coconut	shake coffee banana	shake coffee fruit salad coconut
Snack	nuts	nuts	nuts banana	yogurt granola
Lunch	chicken veggie medley (3) eggs sesame seeds	chicken raspberries eggs	peppers hummmus cauliflower	cukes hummus cauliflower
Snack	3 clems	2 clems	2 clems	skinny pop raspberries
Dinner	chicken (2) rice (2)	nuggets chicken fries	turkey corn tomatoes blk beans	sweet potatoes chicken rice
Snack	-	-	-	prunes
L	1 pc Dove choc			cookies + 1 pc Dove choc

I plan to walk the dog this weekend since summer arrived early in the arctic and I have a date with my treadmill every Sunday while watching one of my new fave shows - Madam Secretary.

One will not go hungry on this program - I ate so much on Wednesday that I thought I would explode (and no cheats that day!). Here's the color code breakdown for my daily calorie intake based on current weight:

5	1 ¼ cup	Veggies
3	1 ¼ cup	Fruits
5	¾ cup	Proteins
4	½ cup	Carbs
1	¼ cup	Nuts, cheese, avocado, hummus
1	2 Tb	Seeds
5 t		Oils/Butters

Fit Club

Because this is the year of my 30th high school reunion, I'm only two years from turning 50, I hope to complete grad school in December and it finally dawned on me that I'm not getting any younger, I decided this was the year for some changes. And being ready to change is half the battle. So when a coworker shared that she was starting a Fit Club at work I said "sign me up". She hosts a 30 minute workout two to three times a week in a large conference room. The program is 21 Day Fix and it kicks my booty. We're only three weeks in (I'm missing today due to snow day so working from home), but I definitely feel a difference. I love to hate Autumn Calabrese ... she is impossibly gorgeous/fit, says annoying things like "you can do anything for 60 seconds" and sometimes it's like she's in my head when I want to quit which is uber annoying. I've also been taking the stairs more - my new office is on the third floor so I figure I can easily walk up/down two flights of stairs twice a day. I was so grateful for yoga last Friday after two sessions of squats that I almost cried. And now the thing is I don't want to ruin my hard work with poor food choices. I haven't completely given up snacking or my ultimate vice, chocolate, but I find myself making deals with myself to only eat two or half of something, or drink a glass of water (flavored of course because plain water is so ew) and if I still want it in an hour then I can have it ... sometimes I forget because hello I'm old. I'm hoping to add a few treadmill sessions per week, but I'm back in grad school so lots of reading/writing at the moment. AND Lord willing I'll start walking the dog when the weather warms up (I had to type that very softly lest Abbie start flipping out and expect a you-know-what NOW).

Bullets & Links

What I'm loving:

• My treadmill ... I do 30-60 minutes a day with a break here and there for commitments/laziness. This is major for me. I even broke out in a jog ... twice ... on two separate occasions. Who would have ever thought?! Yay me and since today is Tuesday I'm counting this as my first Take It Off Tuesdays post of the year because this is my blog and I can do what I want here (within reason of course)
• A smart, sexy man who loves his wife and kids, isn't afraid to show it and knows how to use curse words to emphasize a good point
• Only 15 days until the XXII Olympics ... where's the torch? 
• I made homemade caramel sauce and feel like I conquered Mt Everest ... how beautiful are my apple crostatas with salted caramel?! They taste even better than they look if you can believe it.

What I'm not loving:

• Cancer ... my friend's mom has it, two of my friends have it and it sucks. Big time.
• Food waste ... this is provocative and I am on a mission to be more conscientious. On that note, I used leftover half & half singles and sugar packets from a recent catered office event for the crusts of my crostatas above ... I sort of feel like my great-grandma who took sugar, creamer and jelly from restaurants

Take It Off Tuesday #4

I'm baaaack! I lost the 1.5 gained over vacation and am back to starting weight. Hey, could be worse. Seriously. I'll take what I can get.

And now a word from the zoo -
Remember this post about my "old" cat Sadie? And this one about my new cat Sookie? Well the good news is Sadie doesn't screech anymore (it truly was the most horrendous noise). The bad news part 1: Sookie meows when she knows it's time for food - morning and night feedings. It's sort of a cute kitty meow and she only does it after I've gotten out of bed or it looks like I may be walking to the laundry room (food in locked bin in closet). Bad news part 2: Sadie rarely comes out from under the bed. We assume she makes a break for the litter box at some point since there's no malodour. There are reported sightings in the shower (water fountain?), Sassy's bedroom (she doesn't even like Sassy, or at least didn't previously) and on the DVR box (used to love sitting on my laptop, presumably for the warmth). I believe the appropriate word to describe her these days is "traumatized". Beyond belief.

Take It Off Tuesday #3

More like put it on poutday. I gained 1.5 :( That calls for a frown and I don't do that often (bitch a lot yes, but rarely frown).

I went looking for inspiration and saw this quote on one of the blogs I follow. This is what I aspire to do. Most days I don't even come close, but I can be inspired and aspire - it's the bl8tn way.

Spread love everywhere you go: first of all in your own house.
Give love to your children, to your wife or husband, to a next door neighbor...
Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier.
Be the living expression of God's kindness; kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile, kindness in your warm greeting.
~ Mother Teresa

Loving my new signature. Not loving my expanding middle :(

Take It Off Tuesday #2

I was down two pounds before vacation; up two pounds from starting weight after vacation for a total of four pounds gained :( I took the dogs for a long walk Sunday and have been doing my mommy* workouts in the morning. I've also upped my fruit and veggie intake. Voila down two pounds as of this morning (back to starting weight). I wonder if my scale is broken. Maybe. I wonder if it's off by 20 pounds. When pigs fly.

*My mommy workout is Cindy Crawford's Workout A from "A New Dimension". Sad since it's a get-in-shape-after-baby video I bought after Chunky was born almost 10 years ago.

And It's Gone

Notice anything missing?

The pounds are not coming off but the black knot fungus has left the building! Arbor guy will be back to remove the stump and then he'll plant an 'Autumn Blaze' Maple in its place. I'm interviewing for a new position at work and I keep waiting for someone to ask "If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?" My response would be "Not a Chokecherry that's for sure". The good news is I'm even on the Take It Off Tuesday challenge. The bad news is I've got a long way to remove the stump from my middle.