60 Days (Jennie)

60 days and counting! I took today as a semi-rest day. It was originally scheduled for yesterday, which I skipped, but decided to go for the extra sleep this morning. I've been getting to bed way too late and some additional stress at work is doing its part to keep me from sleeping as soundly as I normally do. The extra hour was very nice this morning. I did get a walk in at lunch today and Ab Ripper X tonight, so I didn't sit around and do nothing either.

I haven't gushed about my heart rate monitor in a bit. I was iffy initially on the extra training features of the watch and whether it was worth the extra cost over the basic monitor, but they are proving to be really useful. The FT60 has three training programs: Improve Fitness, Maximize Fitness and Lose Weight. I am currently working under the Maximize Fitness training program, which is challenging me in new ways than before.

Week 2 results- training too much in zone 3 and not enough in zones 1 and 2

Now I know I need to actually slow down a bit- which is a bit of a shock after multiple rounds of HIIT (high intensity interval training) with Insanity and Asylum.The P90X strength workouts are a bit slower-paced (don't want to be throwing barbells around after all!), but I may look to move to fewer reps, slower pace and heavier weight.

missed my week's target by 179 calories- boo!!!

I definitely need to keep up the 6 day a week pace, I just missed my target last week. But I love the challenge of having to hit that number, it's something to aim for this week!

Food for the day
Breakfast: plain Greek yogurt with 1/2 cup of grapes and 1 T honey, turkey bacon and coffee
Morning snack: handful of almonds
Lunch: salad with ground turkey and ranch dressing
Afternoon snack: granola bar
Dinner: tacos- shredded bbq chicken, avocado, green chiles and a little cheese and two small corn tortillas
Dessert: a little more yogurt and grapes

Total calories in: 1625
Calories burned: 2100
Workout: P90X Ab Ripper X and 2 mile walk

61 Days (Jennie)

Tick-tock, tick-tock... officially less than 2 months til the big day! I was proud of this morning's workout, I've been able to knock out pushups pretty well lately. It sounds cheesy, but I had a pushup epiphany in a way. I used to push up, then lock my elbows and hold for a second, then go again. I'm now pushing up, but not locking my elbows and immediately going down again. This has really allowed me to do a lot more, which is awesome. I can't believe I didn't figure it out sooner. It's amazing what a difference a small form change can make!

Food for the day
Breakfast: protein shake with 2 cups spinach, a banana, vanilla protein powder and unsweetened almond milk
Morning snack: coffee and a handful of almonds
Lunch: salad with grilled chicken breast and ranch dressing
Afternoon snack: granola bar and a few more almonds
Dinner: I splurged a bit on a burger. BUT, on the bright side, I was able to bypass the fries, except stealing a few from the kiddos, which I counted!
Dessert: I made granola for the hubby and sampled a bit while it was baking (quality control purposes!)


My hubby loves granola with his yogurt for breakfast. I forgot to pick it up at the store one day and felt bad, so I figured I'd try to make it myself. I looked up a few recipes online and pulled together a quick little recipe that he loves. He actually won't buy the store kind any longer. Darn, what did I get myself into? :)

Bad photo... but good granola!

Homemade Granola with Fruit

2 c. old fashioned oats (these will yield a better texture than the quick cook kind)
1 c. sweetened coconut flakes
1/2 c. almonds, roughly chopped
1/2 c. walnuts, roughly chopped
2 t. ground cinnamon
1/4 c. oil (any neutral oil should work- I used canola tonight, but may try coconut next time)
1/3 c. honey
1 c. dried cranberries, rehydrated in boiling water for a few minutes

Preheat oven to 275F.

Combine oats, coconut, almonds, walnuts and cinnamon in a bowl. Whisk together oil and honey, add to oat mixture. I will sometimes add a small amount of brown sugar for some added sweetness. Spread on to a baking sheet or shallow casserole dish, bake for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. I wait to add the cranberries in the last 15 minutes of cooking so they aren't too dried out.

The beauty of this recipe is that it's very forgiving and easy to tailor to your taste. Add additional spices, remove the cinnamon if it's not to your liking. Add different fruit (fresh blueberries work well), different nuts (pecans?), even chocolate if you're really looking for a tasty treat! Hubby likes the granola a little sweeter, so I will add a little extra brown sugar (1 T or so). For dried fruit, I recommend rehydrating first, to avoid the fruit drying out to little fruit pebbles. Place fruit in a bowl, cover with water and microwave for 5 minutes, then I add about 15 minutes before the granola is done. Enjoy!

Total calories in: 1725
Calories burned: 2350
Workout: P90X Chest and Back

62 Days (Jennie)

Sooooo... exactly 2 short months from today, I will be (hopefully) recovering at home from a successful battle with the all mighty Tough Mudder. It's a scary thought... 3, 4 or more months still feels like tons of time. Tomorrow means officially less than 2 months, which feels more like right around the corner. So much going on at home with the kiddos about to start school again, soccer season about to begin again, so much going on at work, big user conference around the corner to prepare a presentation for... just wow. One day at a time. Or as one of my favorite consultants once told me: "How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time..."  Gross, yet so true. It used to be when things would get crazy at work, the workouts would tend to be the first thing to go. I was too tired, needed to rest, needed downtime... pick appropriate excuse here. I've finally come to the realization that I need this. Working out is obviously great physically, but it's powerful emotionally. It's truly my "me" time: whether it's helping to ease the day's frustrations, helping to center and focus on the day ahead, and helping me feel more comfortable in my own skin. Sure, I'd love that extra hour of sleep. But it's not worth the other 23 hours I spend kicking myself for missing the workout.

Food for the day
Breakfast: 2 scrambled eggs with about 2 cups spinach, 2 T salsa and 1/2 an avocado. Turkey bacon, coffee and a small piece of french bread (BIG breakfast- but big workout after!)
Lunch: granola bar and a Starbucks lime refresher- we had a light late lunch since we had a big late breakfast
Afternoon snack: lime refresher from Starbucks while out walking- yum!
Dinner: We had dinner at an Italian place tonight celebrating my sissy's birthday with the family (HAPPY BIRTHDAY MINDY!). Unfortunately, not a heck of a lot of options that were paleo-friendly. I gave in and had the pesto pizza. It was very good, fortunately light on the cheese and hubby ate 3 of the 8 pieces.
Dessert: a few bites of creme brulee and coffee. Darn I didn't need that, but it was good!

Thankfully, Monday really brings a sense of order back to the diet routine!

Total calories in: 2000 (although I think I am over-estimating the pizza at 930 cals)
Calories burned: 2450
Workout: Walk to park with the fam, 1 hour of basketball with hubby

63 Days (Jennie)

Soooo.... let's just say that today won't be one for the record books. It started out promising, got the workout in and a lot of stuff accomplished before heading out to visit friends for a birthday party. I kept breakfast and lunch light, knowing that I might be indulging a bit on party food. In retrospect, I really should have actually eaten more, so that I wasn't starving by the time I showed up to the party. Big mistake when there's a bowl of tasty pita chips in front of me. :(

Food for the day
Breakfast: coffee and quick fruit shake with peaches, blueberries and wheatgrass, courtesy of the hubby. I was hoping to have something more substantial, but ran out of time before rushing out for a haircut appointment.
Lunch: canned Starbucks mocha frapp and a granola bar- now home from hair appointment, pack up family and head out to the party- I should have planned today out much better.
Afternoon snack/dinner: here's where things went horribly downhill. Lots of pita chips. I didn't keep track like I should have. Hot dog for dinner- no other choice unfortunately. No bun though. I did hit the veggies and fruit as much as possible and had some of my (healthy-ish) potato salad I brought. Kept the drinking to 1 wine cooler and skipped the cake.

So I guess it could have been much worse, but I'm upset with myself about not doing a better job at avoiding the pita chips and other junk. Lesson learned- do not go to a party hungry, the extra 5 minutes to make and drink a protein shake would have been time well spent!

Total calories in: honestly, I sadly have no clue, so my best guess would be in the 2500ish range. I made some okay choices (no cake), but still too many of those darned delicious pita chips.
Calories burned: 2300
Workout: P90X Legs and Back

Tomorrow- back to normal!!!

Body By Vi Smoothies

So a few weeks ago I purchased Visalus from one of my friends who is a new promoter for the Body by Vi Challenge.  Do I think it is a miracle product like it claims?  No, I just think it is a protein powder that has more vitamins then the usual powders and tastes great!  I figure it costs about the same as the protein powder I already use and I love smoothies so why not!

I have already posted a handful of recipes and here are some more of my favorites:

Morning Coffee Smoothie
- 2 scoops Visalus
- 1 pack of Starbucks Via
- 1T unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 3-4 ice cubes

Orange Julius Smoothie
- 2 scoops Visalus
- 1/2 orange
- 1/2 cup frozen peaches
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 3-4 ice cubes

The options are limitless!!

I have been having 1-2 a day to replace breakfast or lunch, an AM and PM snack and then dinner... we will see if it helps in bringing me to my weight loss goal!

64 Days (Jennie)

Two months and two days to Tough Mudder, it's getting real now! Today went well, got the workout in this morning and a good walk in at lunch too, plus running around with the kiddos grocery shopping tonight.

Food for the day
Breakfast: protein shake with 2 cups spinach, frozen blueberries, vanilla protein powder and unsweetened almond milk
Morning snack: turkey bacon, a nectarine and coffee
Lunch: salad with ground turkey and ranch dressing
Afternoon snack: lime refresher from Starbucks while out walking- yum!
Dinner: We had dinner out tonight, Chipotle Shrimp salad at Rubio's. Super tasty and only 380 calories.
Dessert: honey roasted peanuts- not quite a dessert! I got home and started logging calories for the day and realized I was running a pretty big deficit. I don't like to run too light, it makes getting through the morning workout difficult. Dinner was surprisingly light, I planned for something a bit heavier. Maybe a little yogurt or fruit before bed. :)

Total calories in: 1450
Calories burned: 2300
Workout: P90X Kenpo, 2 mile walk at lunch

65 Days (Jennie)

65 days... just a shade over 2 months to go, yikes! This morning was supposed to be day 3 of P90X, Back and Biceps. We have somehow managed to lose this workout in the 3 years we've owned P90X, I have no clue where it went. Possibly mixed up in a DVD case with one of the kids' movies. My plan was to get up and do something different, either find something on Youtube or another arm/strength workout. But my phone (alarm clock) had other plans and locked up on me again. Grrr... I dropped it several months ago and cracked the screen. I can't find anyone locally to repair it and am not too keen on sending it out for repair, so using it as-is until my contract is up in January. It's generally still fine, but sometimes acts a bit wonky, this was one of those mornings. I woke up to hubby's alarm instead and looked over at my phone, which had dutifully gone off, just made no sound. Frustrating, but I'm not horribly disappointed about a rest day, I've been hurting after all the pullup madness of day 1. I did go for a 2 mile walk at lunch and plan to knock out a little something before bed so I don't feel so guilty. Note to self, start setting backup alarm again!

Food for the day
Breakfast: turkey bacon and coffee
Morning snack: granola bar
Lunch: work had a BBQ for us today, which was awesome! I had tri-tip, salad, cantaloupe and a small piece of cornbread and skipped over the tasty looking pasta salads and ice cream.
Afternoon snack: a small handful of almonds
Dinner: "Brinner" night- breakfast for dinner- dutch baby again

Total calories in: 1800
Calories burned: 2100
Workout: 2 mile walk