21-Day Fix Days 6-8

Day 6

Snack that ended up being lunch, I couldn't
eat it all. (Guacamole, tortilla chips, leftover
cucumber/watermelon salad.

The Food

My usual coffee shake was perfect for breakfast.  At church, it was tough to not drink my usual sweet iced coffee they provide during summer!
We joined friends for lunch at Jason's Deli where I got the salad bar and stocked up on veggies and protein.  Jason's Deli is a good place to eat clean.

 The Workout
Yoga Fix! I love yoga and have missed practicing, so today was a treat.

Day 7

The Food

Breakfast food, since I was out of my shake.

With Independence Day holidays, we vegged around the house all morning, then went to a friends' house for dinner. They made fantastic fajitas, to sticking to the Fix food was easy! We had lots of fresh fruit and veggies, homemade guacamole, steak, chicken, sausage, rice, beans and tortillas.
I passed on sodas, but no other sugary or processed food was even around, so it was easy and enjoyable to eat well.

The Workout

I missed it!  No good reason other than I didn't do it early in the morning. By the time we went to our friends' for dinner, then picked up the boys from camp and went back to pick up the older kids, I was too sleepy to attempt a serious workout.  Lesson learned: workout early!!!

Day 8

The Food
No shake again this morning, so I made eggs and zucchini.  Shakes are certainly my breakfast of choice.  Most mornings, I'm not in the mood to eat food.  The coffee shakes fill my coffee craving and give me the nutrition I need in a breakfast.
Before lunch, I hit HEB and got a few single-packs of protein powder.  I had one after my workout, which was perfect.
Today is my husband's birthday!  I made him his favorite ice cream cake and opted for a bowl of berries for myself.

The Workout
I was dreading this one!  Today was Cardio Fix, which made me nauseated when I did it last week.  This time, I ate several hours before the workout, then saved the shake for after the workout.  It still kicked my butt and I had to stop and catch my breath a few times, however, I never felt nauseated.  One of these days, I'll get all the way through it without having to stop!

21-Day Fix Day 5

Day 5

The Food

Another big win from emeals clean eating menu!

Tomato, Cucumber, and Watermelon Salad

2 C watermelon
2 large tomatoes
1 large cucumber
1/3 C red onion, thinly sliced
1 T white wine vinegar (I just used white cooking wine)
1 t honey (not on the 21-Day Fix list, but it's one teaspoon for a huge bowl that would serve at least 10 people. The photo above is the serving bowl after about 3 servings were gone. It makes a big salad!)
2 T olive oil
1/3 C feta cheese

I kept the feta on the side (you could do the same with the oil) so I could measure it before adding to mine.  Again, that tiny blue container was actually much more than I needed or wanted on a scoop of this amazing summer salad.  It is SO good, ya'll!

It's become clear over the past few days that I'm okay not eating sugar when I've determined to be off sugar for a certain amount of time.  This time around, I'm thinking in rest-of-my-life terms, so will have to come to some type of understanding with myself.  Allow sugar one time per week?  Once a month?  Quit altogether?  This much is true: once I start the sugar train, I can't get off.  It's truly an addiction. It messes with my brain and body in very real ways and presents very real health risks if I continue my current rate of weight gain and inactivity.  The answer isn't clear yet, but it's the mind part of this "fix."  Maybe I should make "The Mind" the third category and "The Spirit" the forth.

The Workout

The hubs and me at Townlake Y.
Sorry, Snapchat takes mirrored pics.

Ken and I dropped the boys off at summer camp, then headed up the road to the beautiful Townlake YMCA.  He headed for the sauna and hot tub while I headed for the weight room.   I was unable to find a nifty, low-profile place to set up my computer and the Y was busy, so decided to do my own workout.  I don't recommend skipping an actual video, but you have to improvise sometimes.

I did two rounds of upper body exercises (bench press, lat pull down two ways, tricep kick backs, shoulder press, upright row, bicep curl, lower back extensions), then spent 10 minutes stretching on one of those stretching machine thingies.  I love those.  My last 10 minutes was spent on my favorite cardio machine.

Tomorrow, I'll be back to the DVDs with Yoga Fix!

21-Day Fix Day 4

Day 4

The Workout

I opted for the Pilates Fix today.  Since no equipment was needed, I did the workout from home.  I recorded half of the workout in time-lapse and thought about sharing it here, but NO WAY!  It's so embarrassing!  Maybe one of these days.  But no.  Really.  No.  But here's a tiny screen shot.

Pilates Fix

When I hit the halfway mark of the workout, Mater (my Jack Russell Terrier) was sitting in front of my face, shaking.  I think he was worried I might die.  I didn't. I lived. I mean, I'm here typing this, so...

But my butt, hips, and core burned!  I mean they were on FIRE! Probably messed up, but I like it. And hate it.  It just feels good to be doing something to get my fitness back!


The Food

I drank my usual coffee shake for breakfast.  I'm almost out of the mix, so it's time to create my own shake!  I had leftover dinner for lunch, then this beautiful meal below for dinner.  I cooked the clean eating e-meals recipe for my family and it worked for me, too!
I couldn't eat it all.  Those containers look so freaking small, but once portion stuff out, it's a lot.  It really helps me see I was visualizing portion sizes incorrectly.  This is 1.5 yellow (carbs), 1.2 green (veggies, the broccoli and mushrooms), and one red (protein).  A teaspoon of olive oil with the potatoes. I ate all of the broccoli, but couldn't eat all of the meat and potatoes.  I had just enough leftovers to save for tomorrow's lunch.

I notice this plan involves clean eating, which has proven to be effective for me.  Adding in the workout portion has been critical.  I could feel my fitness slipping over the past 3 years and know as I move through my 40s, it will only be more difficult to start and maintain.  It feels good to start now.

I'll be meeting with my coach some time this week and can't wait to share that with you all!