Being intentional

Happy Tuesday, so I've been really working on getting my diet as clean as possible and eating in a more strategic manner. 

I'm setting how many grams of carbs I can have (healthy carbs) how many grams of protein,  and how many grams of healthy fat so that I can achieve the results that I want.  When you get to a certain point in your weight-loss you have to make adjustments to get where you want to go and.....so you don't stall out. 

I have switched to increasing my healthy fat intake, lowering again my carbs except for days where I have triathlon and Peachtree Road race workouts added in. I am lowering my protein to a place that I can maintain the muscle I've built but still lowered it accordingly. 

I just hope I can stay focused on eating like this at least for the next 4 to 5 weeks

So that's my transformation basically. I am being even more intentional about what I do to get what I want. Which can be annoying and tedious and I hate things that are annoying and tedious 🙁My husband came by and cooked all this amazing food for me to eat for the next three or four days, because I know preparation is key. I'm sure I'm gonna be totally sick of chicken by Friday. 😒 

 I have to eat like this until probably mid June to lean out some more. Then I can start to focus more on definition for competition. So that's a transformation for me. I think because I've never broken it down this intentional before.  This is a bit more strategic and a lot more tedious so I'm hoping I don't get overwhelmed like I usually do. Happy Tuesday 💛

The high I keep chasing

One of the toughest things about running is that little voice in my head that makes me want to quit. The mental battle that takes place when I am on a run is freakin' nuts. These are some of the thoughts that go through my mind when I'm running:

"I don't want to do this" "this fu^kin' sucks", "oh my God how much further are you going", "No all of this is just in my head" I can do this" I know my body can do it, I've done it before" then the high kicks in, my body adjusts, my breathing slows and for a moment everything gets quiet except for my music..... the beats fuel my drive, my legs are gliding and they feel good, I've got a good pace and nothing hurts. The endorphins have kicked in and I feel like the athlete that I always knew I could be........and that lasts for about 30 seconds..and it all starts back over again...lol 

No, it lasts a bit longer than that but it's legit a constant mental battle the entire run. But those bursts of "the runners high" feels so good that it keeps me going. And then it's over and you think... man..... I can't wait to do that again. You are pretty much chasing that high. But instead of rehab you end up with a hot body..lol  😀

Workout Wednesday

Happy Hump day, today let's get over the hump of this workout week. Start with the cardio workout below and then top it off with 1 minute of plank jacks. If you need to modify your plank jack simply step one foot out to the side and bring it back one at a time and eliminate the bounce.Then you are going to do 1 minute of atomic mountain climbers. 😀 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmwgirgXLYM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alRt2BPw1Zk

Homemade Hummus

  So I shared this with one of my groups yesterday but it's so good I had to spread the love. Mediterranean foods have been linked to longer life spans and I love a good hummus but the really good ones can be a little expensive. So why not make your own... You can control how clean it is, what goes in it and it's cheaper...

 Homemade Hummus

Ingredients

• 1 (15 oz.) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), reserve liquid
• ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
• ¼ cup tahini (sesame butter)
• Sea salt (or Himalayan salt) (to taste; optional)
• Ground paprika (for garnish; optional) 

Instructions

1. Place chickpeas, lemon juice, oil, and garlic in food processor or blender and pulse until chickpeas are mashed.
2. Add tahini; pulse for 1 minute. If hummus is too thick, add some of the reserved chickpea liquid. Add salt, if desired.
3. Garnish with paprika, if desired.

Self Sabotage is a bitch

You ever get to a point in your weight loss journey where you are about to hit a milestone? A weight you haven't been in a year or more and you can literally taste it. But then something happens. Your period comes (sorry guys) and your an emotional wreck, all you want to do is eat chocolate, pizza and other comfort foods to make your raging hormones quiet down. Or something in your life goes wrong and it sends you on an emotional junk food bender or your just plain craving junk food...you don't know why...and you can't stop yourself. And there it goes, that milestone that you were so close to...... yet again.

That is where I am right now, I am about to hit a weight I haven't been in almost a year. I am hoping I will hit it in the morning but it may take until Friday to get there. Either way, I have reached this point a few times over the last 9 months or so and every time something happens and I throw it all away..yet again.

Did you know that's called self sabotage? One my many character flaws :) And it doesn't help that as you lose weight your body is working against you to hold on to that fat. There are physiological reasons why it gets harder and harder to lose weight dating back to the beginning of time for survival reasons...but i won't get into that because that shit will bore you.,,,lol

But there is also a psychological component as well that most of us don't even recognize. Right now even though I know I am about to hit this milestone, I have wanted junk food all day and I have felt a little like crying because I won't give in... I want to emotionally eat because I am going through something and the fact that I won't give in to what my body is used to is making me weepy.... Our hormones are run by the devil I swear....lol

Anyways, I am sort of rambling. I guess what I am saying is for some reason this time I recognized the pattern and I am fighting like hell to not give in, to break the cycle and self sabotage no more...

Sorry for the long post...I hope that helped someone...

Workout Wednesday

Happy Workout Wednesday. I have absolutely fallen in love with several of these moves. One because they are killer and two because they work my favorite body parts, abs and glutes. I mean you gotta work that summer bum right...lol

Now for the Goblet squats pic a good weight to work that bum 20 pounds and up. For the single leg squats you can drop to a 10-15lbs weight, you can use this same weight for the weighted bridge...man that one really works the glutes. Lie down on the floor with knees bent, feet flat on the floor, extend one leg and place weight across your pelvis, dig your heels in and lift into a bridge using those glutes. Remember to use control when coming back to the starting position.

For the in and out knee crunches sit on the floor or bench, lean back, place your hands on the floor by your hips, lift your legs, slightly bend your knees and pull them in and push them out. The single leg lift crunch sort of works the same except your lying completely on the floor and as you crunch up you lift one leg and reach for your chins or toes, then alternate legs. Enjoy  :)

Transformation requires change

I have decided to drop a few things from my diet again. I have put the good old trusty, dusty sweet potato hash back into rotation...OMG!!! I forgot how much I loved this recipe. I love it because it is 100% clean, from the natural goodness of the carbs from the sweet potatoes (which don't be fooled ladies, your body needs carbs) to the fresh kale and spinach, my eggs over medium and all natural ground turkey mixed in. This is a protein packed delicious breakfast treat and I've switched back to black coffee. You know if you have a good coffee blend it tastes really good without all the added chemicals from sugar free creamers etc.

 Now those are all changes I have made as personal choice. I know in order to continue to transform my body I have to be willing to give up things along the way that could cause or contribute to a plateau or a stall in gains.

Now don't get me wrong, I am not 100% willing at this moment. I actually threw an internal temper tantrum about having to change my coffee this morning. I wasn't happy about it at all. But that's human nature...we don't like change and we don't like to give up things that give us pleasure. Even if that pleasure is an illusion. The illusion being that artificially sweetened creamer creates a chemical reaction in your body that makes you feel good or happy. But we shouldn't rely on food to have those emotions....but that's a totally different topic. Anyways, transformation isn't easy, it's a conscious effort and decision to do something different over and over again.....even before it starts to feel good.

Happy Transformation Tuesday.