When You Miss the Gym

Again this week I am hooking up with the lovely Aubrey at ALG, Uninterrupted 

and her Friday link-up.

This week was a bad week in terms of getting to the gym. Usually I have no problem getting up at 4:25 every morning and heading to the gym for an hour sweat sesh on the spin bikes or total body.  Like I need that morning wake up to get me going and get through the day. 

This week though

I made it 1 day

Seriously, 1 day!

How pathetic right????

However, I am just going to chalk it up to a bad week and move on. There is a class tomorrow that **fingers crossed** Reagan has a good night of sleep which means I do and I get my butt to class!

I will say, old Megan may have crawled back in her hole until the first of the year because I fell off the wagon. Instead I just brush it off and move on. There is no point in dwelling in the past. What's done is done and we can't go back in fix it. 

So take that crappy week of not making it to the gym, you ain't got nothin on me!

The Little Things- Wednesday Link-up

I'm usually bad at this link up thing. I'm not blogger savvy by any means. However, I've been following this lady (www.assignmentamanda.blogspot.com) for a few weeks and her and I are pretty much at the same place in our weight loss journeys.

She is also holding a July arm challenge on IG #assignmentamandagunshow which you all should join in!

Anyhoo, back to the link up...

This link up (co-hosted by Candra from Camo and Lipstick) is about taking the negative situation and finding the positive. So here goes. Negative- I am no where near where I need to be on this weight loss journey. Positive- I have discovered so much about myself since beginning this journey. I've found a love for going to the gym or working out with my cute workout partner. I love finding ways to make my favorite foods healthier and cleaner. I've become such a better wife and mom since I have taken time for myself. I feel rejuvenated when I get done with a workout and I no longer feel like I'm on the sidelines while life is passing me by. Am I where I want to be, no, but am I doing things that I am supposed to be doing, absolutely! Taking time to enjoy the process because that is part of the process. As the old adage goes, take time to stop and smell the flowers.

Stumbling

These past 2 weeks have been rough. By rough I mean I feel like I have been pulled into a million different directions without a plan or time to even consider making one. Sounds like an excuse, yes it is but it is also real life.

The bootcamp challenge at the gym ended on Valentine's day. Just in time for my date with George Strait! Well, my husband had to go as well =). My results from that challenge included 19lbs gone (not lost because I don't intend to find them again) and 27.75 inches gone. With results like that, I came in third place! First time the last couple of boot camps at the gym I placed!

The following week I was at a conference. I was driving back and forth. I was able to plan some snacks (strawberry almonds, grapes, protein bars etc). However, lunch and dinners were hard. I took my MNS packets and had my carb ease and fibo trim, yet it didn't seem like enough. The nice part about driving back and forth was that I was able to keep up with my workouts. The eating probably wasn't as bad as a I think it was but I still didn't have complete control and I didn't really like that! If that week taught me anything, it shows that I love having control over my choices.

This past week, the sickness has hit our house. Reagan got sick on Saturday night. 3 or 4 baths and bed changes later we were finally able to go to sleep. Then Matt got sick. He of course was dying as most men do when they are sick. So far I have been able to avoid that end of the sickness. Then yesterday, Reagan tested positive for RSV. So today, I am home with her. At least I know that I am control of my choices today.

When things get stressful, I want to turn to food. Not because it will make the stress go away but because I think that it fills me. It gives me something to focus on. And that, that is the hardest part of my past to move on from. Eating when I am stressed has been my go to for so long and I thought I had conquered it until things like this pop up. I feel like it drags me back 10 steps.  I know no one is perfect and stress gets to all of us no matter how much we try to avoid it but somehow it doesn't seem to effect others like it does me. I feel kind of like an addict who has been clean for so long then you get one whiff of  your trigger and it drags you back in.

But this time, I won't be staying back here. I won't let this turn of events keep me from achieving my goals! I know what I need to do and like Scarlett O'Hara said in Gone With the Wind, "after all tomorrow is another day."

Day 11- Starting Phase 2 Max Phase

Done with the cleanse. Done with the fiber drink! Ahh I feel so much better! It is amazing how much better you feel when you really focus on not shoveling crap into your mouth and eating only good clean, whole, unprocessed foods!

Before I started this challenge I was using the MNS packets. I had opted to try the MNS C for the maximum appetite control. Let me tell you, this has been huge in helping me not piece between meals (well besides my snacks!) There are times that I forget to take my snack because I'm not hungry because of effect of these packets. I will probably go back to the MNS 3 when I start another challenge and continue in that rotation until I get to where I don't need the maximum appetite control.

Food Choices- I know you can start adding in a few of the items back into your diet but I still limit my carbs and dairy. Limiting carbs works for me and with my PCOS it actually is recommended.

Breakfast- Berry Shake

Lunch- Our operations manager decided to buy pizza for everyone. Believe me the pizza sounded good but I knew it would make me feel blah so I ordered a salad instead. I still got to smell the pizza but didn't have to mark down those calories!

Supper- Well supper brought the same temptation of pizza as lunch did. I ordered the boneless wings and a side salad. However, I wasn't able to resist the breadsticks and had 2 of them. I did take my carb ease before eating the meal so I felt slightly less guilty.

Snacks- Apples and peanut butter along with the cuties clementines. Love those things because they are so easy to peel and help satisfy the sweet cravings I get.

Exercise- Spin/lift in the morning. Then we are doing parent child swim lessons at the YMCA. Holding my chunk of a child for a half hour sure is a bit of workout. This was also the reason we had pizza for supper!

Water intake- 99oz.

Day 10-Cleanse Results

After 9 days on the cleanse, I was down a total of 5lbs and 8 inches. Any weight loss during the cleanse phase is a complete bonus.

Last day of the cleanse. I feel so much lighter. My belly doesn't feel so bloated. To put it simply, I just feel good!

Food Choices-
Breakfast- I planned on having a berry shake but walked off and forgot it. Thankfully, I had a few chocolate ones in my cupboard at work. It wasn't my favorite to drink. Wayyy to chocolately for me. Old Megan would have skipped breakfast and then wondered why I was hungry and feeling sluggish. So win for me!

Lunch- Last day of the quinoa stir fry. This is kind of a big deal for me since I normally don't eat left overs and for this many days in a row! Yes it did get old but it was so easy to just reach into the fridge and grab my lunch and go. This food prep stuff is growing on me! Finished off the rest of my berry bowl from Kroger, blueberries, black berries and strawberries.

Supper- Nothing sounded good so we went with the quick staple of eggs and sausage.

Snacks- Chocolate shake muffin along with some peanut butter. My favorite apple, honeycrisp and peanut butter as well.

Exercise- Today was a 2 a day. Started with a butt kicking personal training session with J. Today showed me just how strong I have gotten. I've always been a strong girl (farm girl right here!) but when the weight piles on you don't feel strong. Today, I felt strong. That evening was a total body class and even though I was tired I pushed through.

Water- 133oz BOOM! Still not quite where I want to be but a dang good effort!

Day 8

Into the homestretch of the cleanse phase! Unfortunately, that means the dreaded fiber drink is back. However, mixing it in my bullet mixer makes it not so gritty and much easier to take.

Food Choices-
Breakfast- Berry MRS

Lunch- Sunday night I decided that I was going to start to clean out the freezer in the kitchen and use up some of bags of veggies and such I had in there. I found a bag of Bird's Eye Stir Fry Mix. I had already started cooking chicken breast. Unfortunately, my chicken to stir fry ratio was a bit off so I added some onion as well. It did smell amazing with some soy sauce and stir fry seasoning. Yum! I also made some quinoa. By the time I was done I had enough for 3 separate meals. Makes lunch packing uber easy! I also went to Kroger's and container of their spring mix salad. I had a bottle of the Olive Garden Italian dressing at work already so I just used that. The pineapple looked amazing so I bought some of that as well.

Supper- Matt made corn for his lunch and there was plenty left for supper so I had that along with 2 bratwurst. Exciting, no, but I got my protein in!

Snacks- I picked up some honey crisp apples while at Kroger so I one of those along with some peanut butter. At night I had a chocolate shake muffin with peanut butter.

Water intake- kicked butt in this, 125oz. Still not enough but progress is progress.

Exercise- 2 a day! Total body for 45 minutes in the morning. We did circuits which usually end up being harder than they initially look. At night an hour total body.

Day 5

Halfway through the cleanse, wahoo!!!

Food Choices
Breakfast- Berry meal replacement shake

Lunch- Our company is going through a merger. Therefore, we are doing company tours. Friday, we had a tour come in and we had a catered lunch. It was boxed lunches. Crap, at that point I figured I should just run to Subway but I decided to stay and eat. I was able to eat the sandwich sans the bread with some mustard. Although it wasn't till the end that I realized that I didn't take the cheese off. I felt guilty for a minute but I didn't beat myself up over it. The world continued to turn even though I ate a little dairy

Supper- I had to go baby shower shopping so I knew I wasn't going to make anything. Matt wanted pizza and that didn't sound good (nor could I even if I wanted too). So I got my shopping done, Matt his pizza and myself Chipotle.

Snacks- Celery and peanut butter. Exciting, no but it got the job done.

Exercise- Spin/Sculpt for 45 minutes. I will admit that by today I was exhausted. However, I knew I needed to go because I wasn't going to Saturday's class and didn't have one on Sunday.

Water intake- 84oz.

I am so excited to see my results after this cleanse!

Okayyyyyy

Okay, I think it is time to introduce this blog to the rest of the world. How will I be doing that per say? Well pinterest duh! So here goes with my first ever pinning of anything on pinterest. I made (haha thanks to some awesome tutorials) a button to share that I will be posting for others to grab and share as well. Without further ado, my masterpiece.

Simple, cute, effective right!

So now that it will bring readers (hopefully) to my blog, I need to hold myself more accountable to blogging 2-3x a week. I plan on sharing my struggles, my triumphs, recipes that I approve and if I can get my picky husband to approve as well, exercises, tips and information on advocare and some of my favorite products. Most importantly, I want to help mom's understand that it is okay to focus on yourself at times. It is okay to take an hour to work out, to leave your kids with someone else to take time out of the day for you. To ask for help, nutritionally and physically. The hardest step in this process is learning that I can't do it all. Tough pill to swallow, right but one that I think as mom's we have to learn to do if we are going to succeed in leading healthier lives for us and our kids.

So if you are a first time visitor, welcome. I hope I can give you some inspiration along the way. Should you have any questions please send me an e-mail  at mefredritz at gmail dot com I look forward to hearing from you!