Showing posts with label photos. Show all posts
Showing posts with label photos. Show all posts

Friday, October 26, 2012

FF - Week 1

Hey guys!  Today is the first week of "Foodie Friday."  I've received a ton of emails/comments asking what I eat during the week, so I've decided to post a few pictures of the things going in to my BELLY every Friday!  Weeeeeee!  I'm also going to be blogging 5 days a week -- instead of the 3 that I've been blogging!

I did also want to point out a few new tabs up top (see that!?)  I will be keeping track of all the Recipes I post in one little area *AND* the Fit Friends sign up will be up also!  ((Have you signed up yet?!))


1. Parmesan Crusted Tilapia (1 TBSP Earth Balance, 1 TBSP Earth Balance Vegan Mayo and 1 TBSP Vegan (or regular) Parmesan Cheese, broil the fish for about 6 minutes, flip over, add mixture and broil until browned), Kashi 7 Grain- Pilaf and Green Beans with a *huge* glass of water with lemon!

2.  Though it's not organic, I haven't been able to give up my favorite cereal: Grapenuts.  1/2 cup Grapenuts, 1TBSP sliced Almonds, 1/2 a banana, cinnamon and almond milk- YUM!

3. Spaghetti squash and sauteed spinach with chicken breast, slathered in Newman's Own Sockarooni with a ginger and lemon water.

4. Plain Chobani Yogurt with 1/5 of an apple- sliced, honey and cinnamon.

5. A skillet with left over spaghetti squash & pilaf, sweet potato, mixed vegetable, black bean and spinach with a homemade Ranch Sauce.

6. Veggie bowl: Green Beans, Corn, Carrots and Peas, with Morning Star Chicken and a "Detox" Protein Smoothie (1 scoop protein powder, mixed berries, grated ginger, lemon juice, pineapple juice.)


1. Parfait with plain Chobani yogurt sweetened with a few drops of Orange flavored Stevia liquid, chia seed and Bob's Red Mill granola.

2.  Spinach salad with craisins, grilled chicken, cashews with vinegar & oil with a side of baked sweet potatoes.

3.  Iced Protein Coffee-- similar to this recipe but substituted original almond milk.

4. A big ol' bowl of Edamme!

5.  I was feeling like "bar food" so we had Buffalo Cauliflower* that I adapted from this recipe (I substituted buttermilk with almond milk, all purpose flour with whole wheat flour and butter for earth balance) with a whole wheat quesadilla (stuffed with cheddar Daiya, black beans, red onion, spinach and sweet potatoes.)

6. Peanut Butter and Chocolate Protein Bars-- the recipe is right below!

*The cauliflower was freaking SPICY.  Delicious, but spicy!  I'll maybe use a milder sauce next time because the initial bite gave me the hiccups!
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And, a new protein bar recipe for the chocolate and peanut butter lovers out there!  (I seriously need to take a break from peanut butter soon!  Our entire household over does it a bit!)  These bars are approved by my 4 year old-- who is the pickiest eater on the planet-- so trust me when I say they are DELICIOUS!  I would reccommend these as a recovery snack after a workout or a mid afternoon snack!

 
:Ingredients:
-1/2 Cup Natural Peanut Butter
-1/2 Cup Almond Milk 
(I used Dark Chocolate but you can use any milk you'd like.)
-1/4 Cup Honey
-2 Scoops Protein Powder
(I used Vanilla Icecream Syntha-6)
-2 Tablespoons Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
-1 1/2 Cups Rolled Oats
-1/2 cup Peanuts
-1/2 Cup Grapenuts
(or you can omit this all together and use additional Peanuts)
-1/4 cup Chia Seed

For "Frosting" (optional)
-2 Large Tablespoons Natural Peanut Butter
-1 tsp Unsweetened Cocoa

:Directions:
Mix peanut butter, almond milk and honey together.  Add the protein and cocoa powders and mix thoroughly.  Next add the rolled oats, peanuts, grapenuts and chia seed-- mix well.  Pour mixture into a 9x11 baking dish-- the bars will be about half an inch thick.  It worked best for me to use clean hands, moistened with water to push the batter down (it's very sticky!)

Next, mix up the peanut butter and cocoa and spread evenly over the top of the bars.

Refrigerate the bars for at least 4 hours- and enjoy!  I store them in the fridge as well.

Monday, October 22, 2012

Back In The Game!

I have a confession...  Last week was recovery week for Insanity-- and instead of doing the videos-- I just did baby yoga and played around with the kids instead...  And, to make matters worse-- Garrett followed my lead.

I have been drinking A LOT of Matcha!
We have decided to start over, but there is still a part of me that feels like a failure!  Ahh!  Welp, that's what happens sometimes, right?  And, we *did* both stay active, so that's a positive.  Garrett went on a lot more runs than "the norm" and I did yoga every day!

But, it's really important to us to FINISH Insanity and not to cheat our way through it!  So, back to square one for us...

I think that's a very important part of making healthy changes in your life-- not giving up. It would be a lot easier for both Garrett and I to say, "Ah-- screw it!  We've already gotten behind!" then just not finish.  We are not going to let that happen!

side view-- I'm not doing so bad!
I will say that it hasn't hurt my weight loss at all.  I'm still sitting steady at 134 pounds-- and that brings my BMI from 26.5 to 24.51.  Which is a *big deal*!  Why?  Well, I'm finally out of the overweight category for my height!  Positive news like this just reinforces my belief that abs start in the kitchen.  The biggest change I've made thus far has been in my diet!  (Abs start in the kitchen!)

The bread rising!
We have now completely integrated to making our own bread!  I've been using a very easy whole wheat recipe and jazzing it up a bit with flax seed and also making buns, or cinnamon and raisin bread (pictured above.)  It makes our house smell amazing, it is saving us a ton of money-- and we aren't getting half the additives and other garbage that goes along with store bought bread!  Yay!

I know I slacked last week on blogging too.  I'm disappointed in myself.  But-- Garrett and I, after two kids and a lot of time decided to finally tie the knot!  I got a little caught up in wedding planning and had a hard time concentrating on anything else for a couple of days!

Bridesmaids said yes!  WOO!
I guess that's even more motivation for losing weight!  

I have a ton of posts planned, more giveaways from some awesome sponsors-- Mama's head is back in the game!  

Happy Monday to you all!

Monday, October 8, 2012

Weekend Weigh-In + INSANITY! Week 3

Weekends just fly by, don't they?

A few pictures of us at the wedding
Garrett and I attended our friend's wedding- ((Marisarah and Cody)) in our old stomping grounds of Mankato.  I cried during their beautiful ceremony (they were married in the church where Eva was baptized and by the same Pastor!)  They stumbled over their words with such sincerity-- it was truly a breathtaking moment.  The reception was a blast- delicious food and CAKE BALLS!  It was the first time I had seen an assortment of cake balls, as opposed to having a wedding cake.  I wish I would've snapped a picture for you guys- it looked beautiful!  And oh man- it was so easy to just chow down.  Two words- carrot cake.

Marisarah's exceptional taste shined through.  The couple was stunning.  During their dance- wow!  I almost cried again- they added sound clips of each other talking about one another- it was  beautiful.  On a scale of 1-10: the wedding most definitely gets a ten in my book.  Beautiful ceremony, gorgeous bride & groom, tons of originality, delicious food, awesome decorations, great and entertaining DJ-- just a perfect wedding!

I spent Sunday baking, with family (Garrett's brother PJ, our niece Kaidy Jo and Garrett's Dad Phil) hung out for the afternoon.  It was a picture perfect Sunday.  (I also managed to squeeze in 3 movies- Casper, The Time Travelers Wife and District 9.)  Garrett ran a 5k!

Fortunately, I weighed myself and the frivolity didn't hurt my body.  Still sitting between 136 and 137 pounds.

Today we started week 3 of INSANITY!

I'm loving it.  I can feel my body getting stronger.  But, after taking pictures today- I realized my body looks NO DIFFERENT.  That is so damn frustrating!


It's hard not to get discouraged when your stomach is just stretched beyond recognition- slightly resembling a zebra with nude stripes.  But, the hardest journey's are the ones with the biggest rewards, right?  And, though physically it is hard to see a change-- I can feel it in my energy levels and strength.


Garrett is already showing progress!  You can see where his tummy is flattening out and the definition is coming back.  I can only imagine how great he is going to look when I post more photos in 2 weeks! Garrett tells me he feels an increase in strength and that he's noticing he has more stamina when he goes for runs.

So, what are my thoughts thus far on Insanity?

It is hard.  You sweat buckets.  You scream at the TV.  You want to quit.  If you are me- you have to modify certain moves (my upper body strength leaves **much** to be desired!)  But, all of the sudden-- you realize the video is done.

My only issue with the videos is that... they get a bit boring.  Not in the sense of working your ass off-- but the moves are becoming repetitive (and we still have 7 weeks left!)  I bore easily- especially since this whole "working out thing" is somewhat new to me.

Overall- the pros without a doubt outweigh the cons and I would recommend this video to anyone!  Have any of you done Insanity?

Monday, September 17, 2012

Weekend Weigh-In + SPARK WINNER!

Another weekend done and gone-- how was every one's?  Mine was *excellent*  Tons of family fun, physical activity, and cooking!

Saturday we had our friend Tara's little 5 year old over at the house for the day.  Him and Eva had a ton of fun throwing water balloons and enjoying the sunshine.  We will be taking him quite a few Saturdays while his Mama works and I couldn't be more excited about it!  He is a great kid and it's nice for Eva to have someone to play with that is near her age!  

I am proud to tell you guys that I have exceeded my goal in regards to getting in 4 runs with Garrett during the month of September.  Our jogging stroller fits *both* kids (seriously- SCORE!) so-- we can make a family adventure out of it!  We did 3 miles yesterday and I was pooped. 

sweaty- but so worth it!
I did manage to motivate myself into doing a Baby Yoga session after recovering.  It was awesome because Eva grabbed a doll and joined in with me, as well as Garrett!  We moved all of the furniture in our living room so we could all fit comfortably.  It was a great morning!  We also made time for a dance party!  My favorite song right now is Calvin Harris- Feel So Close.. 

What's yours?!

Garrett has been such a huge supporter of me on this journey.  I wouldn't be able to do this without him.  Getting healthy has been bringing us closer.  We both get so excited to share with one another something new that we've learned or something that we think would be fun to try.  It's pretty neat!

Do you work out with your significant other?

Okay with clothes on... Without- Scary MOMster!
As of Sunday night- I had hit my goal weight of 140 pounds!  Woo!  That makes my total weight loss since Abram was born 35 pounds!  
source
I'm a happy lady- that is *for sure*...

I also know someone else who is about to be a happy lady:

YOU WON 14 POUCHES OF ADVOCARE SPARK!

Lacey-- to claim your prize, send an email containing your address and your choice of flavor (Grape, Pink Lemonade, Cherry, Mandarin Orange, Citrus, Mango Strawberry or Fruit Punch) to:
azia dot archer at gmail dot com

Congratulations Lacy!  

Be one the look out for more giveaways in the very near future from Earth Balance, Daiya, Mamma Chia, Chobani, Bob's Red Mill, Dr. Lucy's and MORE!

Happy Monday everyone!

Friday, September 7, 2012

Email ?'s Answered

I received an email from a woman named Sharon a few day ago- in the email she wanted to know what areas I was trying to work on and if I could post a picture of my problem area/areas. 

I've been meaning to post a photo showing exactly what I hope to change- but I've found myself being a bit bashful about it.  I gave myself a bit of a pep-talk, said 'What the hell' and took the shot that's down there.

I will take a closer photo in a few weeks when I feel more comfortable, but so far- this is what I've got.  I circled some of the stretch marks, love handles and- what I like to call my other "butt".  If you look at the picture you'll see exactly what I'm talking about.

Still got a tan! (Kind of!)  Oh yeah!
(This is also a PSA to never pierce your belly button.  See that awkward slit above my button?  Yep.  Stupid, stupid, stupid piercing.)
Seriously.  What Kind of SCAR IS THAT? No!!
That's Mama's Belly.  Say hello to the readers, belly!  *Hello!*

So, now you have it- those are the areas I am focusing on.  (It would be nice to see my face slim down a bit too! )

I received another email from a lady named Johanna wondering how I will keep track of my goals.  The answer to that is pretty simple- I have a weekly planner that I write in.  I keep track of each family member's daily info (appointments, school, work, etc.), when bills are due, my blog posting schedule AND then I write down activities I did for that day.  So far, I have done 11 "real" push-ups--plenty of the wussy ones though!  My form is AWFUL!  I have also stayed away from McDonalds Iced Coffee, done Erica's Ab workout twice, done baby yoga and gone on a few walks!

But, I'm having a HELL of a time with stretch mark remedies.  If you know of any- shoot me an email!  I've started pinning a few home remedies- but I'm skeptical.

I'm really hoping to accomplish each goal I set for September!

Have you guys set any goals this month?

*I also want to say thank you for your emails!  Keep them coming!*

Happy Friday and I'll see you guys on Monday!  We'll see if I've lost any weight, what goals I've accomplished *PLUS* I'm going to talk to you about my addiction to Spark and host a giveaway that will give you a shot to win some of your own!
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Edit: The second photo was added after the initial post because my sister sent me a text message saying my stomach didn't look bad. (Isn't she so sweet!)  So, I wanted to add another that showed a little more of what bothers me.

Monday, August 27, 2012