I know a lot of people hate the treadmill. Personally, I love it. I can mix it up a lot. I can run or walk as long as I want & not run out of good road. I can exercise about any time of day & not worry about leaving the kids. I've been changing things up the last few days, so I thought I'd share with you.
I've been working my way this month through this plank challenge. I based it off of one I found in Pinterest. I'm incorporating a few challenges this month, hoping for great results just in time to bring in my 39th year the beginning of November. Besides this challenge, I'm doing a burpee challenge, working on increasing my amount of running time, as well as a better 5k time, trying new equipment like kettleballs & trying new foods. So, check out this challenge...I'm definitely feeling & seeing improvement all over from them!
So, I've been hearing about OO {aka Overnight Oats | Oats in a Jar} for a long time. When I'm pinning away on Pinterest for recipe ideas, I'd see them a lot, but never tried making them. Then, when I started following some new healthy accounts on Instagram, I saw them everywhere. So, I tried them for the first time about 2 weeks ago. I started with something I knew I loved... oatmeal {of course} & peanut butter. I was probably a little to excited to wake up & eat breakfast that morning. I couldn't wait to try.
Let me tell you... the 'word' mmmmmm was used more than once.
Peanut Butter OO
Peanut Butter Overnight Oats
1/2c old fashioned oats
2T natural peanut butter
1/2c FF plain greek yogurt
1 scoop chocolate whey pwdr
1//4c unsw. almond milk
2tsp chia seeds
1tsp raw honey
Combine everything together in a leftover peanut butter jar & mix. Cover & put in the refrigerate overnight.
vanilla berry OO
Next I tried some with berries in it. I keep a stash of frozen berries around for smoothies so I had these on hand. This was definitely a great summer breakfast. Filling & fresh tasting.
Vanilla Berry OO
1/3c old fashioned oats
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
1/4c plain greek yogurt
3T cottage cheese
2T chia seeds
1/2-3/4c unsw. vanilla almond milk
blueberries, blackberries, raspberries
Mix all together in a jar & refrigerate overnight.
PB Banana Chai OO
Now this... was a sorta weird idea I had. Sticking a chai tea bag in the center of the mixed up oats. It lended a sort of subtle spice to the oats.
PB Banana Chai OO
1/2c old fashioned oats
1/4c plain greek yogurt
1/4c cottage cheese
1/2-3/4c unsw. vanilla almond milk
1T cinnamon raisin swirl PB {pb&co}
1T PB2 {powdered pb}
1/2 banana cut into small pieces
Spiced Chai tea bag
Mix everything in the jar except the tea bag. Push tea bag into the center of the oat mixture. Refrigerate overnight & take out tea bag. Stir well.
I hope you try these or your own version of OO. They're so awesome/yummy/filling. They're also great to take on the go. Make them ahead & take them with you on the way out the door in the morning to work or school.
I started posting my daily workouts on my Instagram last week. It's a good way for me to go back & keep track of what I'm doing & how I'm advancing later on. I'm also doing a push-up challenge this month, so LOTS of push ups. I can feel myself getting stronger already! If you have any questions about what an exercise is, either leave me a comment or google it. You can usually get a great visual or YouTube on how to do certain exercises. This is how my week went. I took yesterday as a rest day.
I do most of my walking|running workouts on my treadmill. If it's nice out & I can get away without the kids, I'll go outside. Generally, though, the treadmill works best for me because I can do it most any time when the kids are around & my husband isn't.
>>>fast walk for me is between 4-4.5 level on my treadmill. it usually works out to a 14-15 minute mile<<<
>>>all out run for me is between 8-9 on my treadmill<<<
>>>if you want to follow me on instagram scroll to the bottom of the blog & click on the instagram icon<<<
If you love pizza as much as I do {meaning you crave it several times per week} you have to get creative. I try to fit the "real thing" in once a week or week and a half. For instance, tonight, we had my absolute fave pizza {bbq pork} from my cousin's local pizza place. So good. As long as you're keeping yourself on track, you can for sure enjoy indulging every now & then. I came up with this extremely yummy bbq chicken flatbread pizza the other day. Damn fine, if I do say so myself.
Here's how it goes...
1 Flatout Spicy Italian Flatbread
1-2 T Ragu No Sugar Added Spaghetti Sauce
1/2 Chopped Chicken Breast
Thin sliced Red Bell Pepper
Diced Onion
1-2 tsp Sweet Baby Ray's Sweet & Spicy BBQ sauce + water
1/8-1/4 c Sargento 2% Mexican Blend Shredded Cheese
Lay out the flatbread on a baking stone or baking sheet. Spread with sauce, add a little over half the cheese, top with chicken, peppers, onions & drizzle the bbq sauce {mixed with a little water to thin it down}. Add the rest of the cheese. Bake at 425 degrees. Eat.it.up.
For much of my weight loss journey, I've stayed far away from taking pictures of myself in the mirror. As recently I've gone back to look for pictures to compare my before at 200+, I've found a few with my husband & family, but not much else. So, a month ago today, I decided I was going to make a real effort to try to get rid of the dreaded droop of my lower stomach. After lots of up & down weight over the years, 3 kids, 3 c-sections, it has been my nemesis. So, I put on my exercise clothes & with my iPhone & a bathroom mirror, I documented my starting point. Each week, on Sunday morning from July 18 to August 18, I took pictures. Even I am pretty amazed at the progress in that short of time. I can't wait to see what the next month brings! Take a look for yourself....
7.18-7.26
7.26-8.04
8.04-8.11
8.11-8.18
7.18-8.18
so seriously. no pills. no wraps. no weird stuff. I kept my diet as clean as possible, tried to reduce my carbs & increase my protein intake. I also put in the time to exercise most every day. I'm mixing up my workouts a lot more too. Instead of just my 45 minutes walking on the treadmill, I'm adding HIIT workouts in.
I'm not sure of the original source of this chart, but this gives a great breakdown of what happens to what you're putting into your body... choose wisely!
To learn more about starting to eat clean, I've found this article that gives a pretty good basic idea of where to get started. There are lots of great internet resources to find food ideas {I'll be posting some here}. Great places to look are Pinterest & believe it or not, I've found some of the best ideas {& support) on Instagram! If you're interested in learning what HIIT is about, here is a pretty good explanation in this article & you can find tons of great ideas on Pinterest too.
I love love love my plain Greek yogurt. It fills me up & I can mix in just about anything I want. It's creamy & versatile. Plus yogurt has tons of great benefits that you can read about here.
Some of my favorite things: protein powder | muesli | oatmeal | chia seeds | frozen berries | bananas | peanut butter
greek yogurt | vanilla protein pwdr | raspberries | blueberries | gluten free muesli | chia seeds
greek yogurt | natural peanut butter | raw honey | gluten free muesli
greek yogurt | vanilla protein powder | sliced strawberries | gluten free muesli | chia seeds
what do you put in your yogurt?
healthy recipes, weight loss tips, workout ideas & more.
