Missing

Ah! I have been missing for a while...I have been swamped at work and by the time I get home I have NO energy left. I am also working on trying to find a balance with my facebook/instagram usage and weening myself off of constantly checking it... anyway, I am back and excited about what I have to write today!

Something I have always wanted and tried to do is spend more time reading the Bible, and reading with a purpose. I find a plan, stick to it for a day or so, and then it fizzles away before it can become a habit. 

Recently, I found an amazing app via a friend from college called She Reads Truth. So, I downloaded it and fell in love. Like I mentioned before, I am mildly obsessed (my husband would say otherwise) with my phone. I LOVE that I have this app and can literally do my daily readings ANYWHERE. I have NO excuse.

So, when I heard they are doing a Lenten bible study, I knew this was the time for me to commit to seeing this goal through. As some of you may or may not know, I was baptized into the Catholic church almost 2 years ago. It was a decision I didn't take lightly and has made my life better in more ways that I can count. Before my RICA classes, I never really understood lent and it's implications. I am still learning. I do know that one of the most beautiful things happens at the end. He rises from the dead FOR US. The Easter Vigil is one of the most beautiful experiences, yes, it's long but SO worth it. Knowing that this season leads to that makes it that much more important to me. 

The first day of this study left me in tears. The reflection after the readings stuck me like a smack in the face. I NEED this. I need time to pause and reflect. Life often pull us in too many directions and we need a time out to re-evaluate and come out with a clear mind.

Today, I leave you with a prayer. I prayed it for myself and I will pray it for you. 

Almighty and everlasting God, you hate nothing you have made and forgive the sins of all who are penitent: Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wickedness, may obtain of you, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

For now, 

Kari

21 day fix...EXTREME

It's not secret that I LOVE the 21 day fix. It's the program I started with last spring and it's one I can always go back to if I need a little reminder of what my glutes feel like or if I need to remember what my portions should look like.

While doing the refresh, I decided to go back to my 21 day fix containers for eating. I need the accountability and the portion control. I'm excited to get back on track. I tend to go through phases when I just get lazy and don't work to make sure my nutrition I in check. A HUGE part of losing weight and living a healthy life is what you eat. I'm not perfect, I plan a weekly splurge meal (it's usually date night) and eat whatever I want. I know I need to do this because otherwise I end up splurging more often. I strive for 80% clean and 20% not so clean.

 If i wasn't already doing P90X3, I would be doing a round of the 21 day fix right now. Why? Because the 21 day fix extreme comes out next month. It's something I am CRAZY excited about trying, especially because spring and summer are slowly sneaking up on us. One of my goals this year is to be as healthy as I can, this includes the being in the best physical shape of my life. I know that P90X3 will be amazing for helping me push towards that goal, and even though I could easily drop it and do the new 21 day fix extreme, I've been a HUGE program hopper lately, and I am determined to finish this one. My reward? Not food, not clothes, but a new workout program! 

If I can't do this program myself, I want to live vicariously through my followers. It's sure to be a huge hit and get you where you want to be! It doesn't matter if you've done the fix already, or are just starting out. This is a GAME CHANGER!!

Still wondering what you are in for? Check out the link below! 

http://youtu.be/UfDgoEnQ9x0

I'm so excited!!! 

For now, 

Kari 

3 day Refresh: The END!

I made it!!! I wrote a quick post yesterday for the third day, but that was in the morning. Before I really hit my wall. I was great in the morning but lunch time hit me hard. The hubby and I were walking around downtown Corvallis right at lunch time. Let me just tell you how GOOD it smelled. I never really noticed how many yummy smells there were, until I was hangry {yes, Hangry} and couldn't just stop and get something to eat. Problem numero uno was letting myself get hangry. But, I made it home and had my vanilla fresh {water, strawberries and pineapple} with carrots and hummus. I may have eaten more carrots than I should have but...I needed them.

I'll be honest, I didn't want that shake or the veggies. I wanted chips, or pretty much anything else. But I had come so far and wasn't about to throw it all away. So I drank my shake and ate my carrots and moved on. We went for another hike around the wildlife area and I was not happy slogging through the mud and blackberry bushes.

Dinner was stir fry again and it was yummy! I drank my vanilla fresh after and I currently pretty full.

Now that I've drug you all the way through my trials and tribulations of the refresh....the results are in!!

Starting Weight: 164.6
Ending Weight:162.0
Amount Lost: 2.6lbs

Waist day 1: 28.5
Waist day 4: 28.5
Amount Lost: 0

Below Belly Button
Day 1: 36.5
Day 4: 34.5
Amount Lost: 2.0 inches

I didn't measure other places on my body, but if I do this again, I will. Maybe I am crazy but I swear I can see more arm definition today!!

And last but not least...the pictures!!!

Over all, I am SO glad I did this. If you would have asked me this yesterday afternoon, you may have gotten a different answer. Today, I feel amazing!! I had lots of energy, I resisted ALL the treats and I stuck to my eating plan.

Honestly, I had been in a funk for a while and couldn't get myself out of it. I had been slacking on my workouts, and eating things I knew I shouldn't. I needed the kick in the pants to kick my bad habits to the curb. I needed the reminder that I DO have the will power to say no to the treats. I do have the strength to do my workouts and finish P90X3 strong. I'm excited to see where the rest of this 90 day journey leads me!!

For now,
Kari

Whatcha Cookin' Good Lookin?

A HUGE part of my success in eating healthy is planning my meals each week. I have this SUPER cute meal planning book from May Books. On one side of the page there is a list of all the dinners for the week, and the other side is a shopping list! I fell in love with these books because I got a Groupon for them a while ago, I have been hooked ever since. I love that I can go back and see what we have made and find new ideas for things we haven't had in a while!

So...What's on the menu for this week?

Usually I would have made my meal plan and shopped on Saturday or Sunday, but this week I happened on Monday, due to an extra day off work.

Monday: Stir Fry {I was finishing the 3 day refresh, so I made mine and the hubby made his own.}
Tuesday: No CLUE! {The hubby will be at work so I am on my own. I usually eat leftovers or make myself breakfast for dinner, I am not sure what I will have tonight!}
Wednesday: Spaghetti Squash with 'quick sauce' and Italian sausage.
Thursday: Elk Steaks with salad and baked sweet potatoes
Friday: Leftovers {Boring, I know but wasting food isn't any good! I'll probably have the left over 'quick sauce' from Wednesday with GF pasta or rice}
Saturday/Sunday: Date night {read: Cheat Meal} and Elk Tacos.

For the Elk, you can sub beef or your favorite protein. Usually I use ground turkey, I just happen to have a freezer full of Elk, so it's what we use. Plus, It's super lean, grass-fed and as about as organic as you can get. The hubby shot it, and brought it home for us and you can't really beat that!

What are you eating this week??

For now,
Kari

Day 3...refresh style!

Going to keep this short and sweet. Woke up plugged up again, but it's slowly subsiding as the morning passes. Today is the last day!! Knowing its almost over makes today easier. I love that this is only three days, I mean you can do anything for 3 days! 

But, I've learned a lot about myself these past few days. I have better self control than I give myself credit for. I CAN resist the treats and little extras I allow myself, it's just a matter of mindset and not allowing myself to be weak in my resolve. I also learned that I'm stronger than I think! I was allowing myself to be a weenie during this but pushed through my workout yesterday and felt pretty good! 

On to the rest of my day...I'll write more tomorrow, along with my pictures of progress, and weight difference. Have a great monday lovelies! 

~Kari

3 Day Refresh: Day 2

Day 2... I know what to expect and I am ready!

This morning I woke up feeling kinda yucky. Runny nose, scratchy throat all that jazz... Not cool. I don't know if it's because my body is detoxing all the yuckies or because I am getting sick. There is a pretty nasty cold going around at work and I've been lucky enough to avoid it so far, so here's to hoping I am not getting sick!!

Anyways... Breakfast is Shakeology. I'm not drinking vegan shakeology, which is what they recommend, so I am having my regular chocolate. I made it today with stawberries, water and ice. It was super yummy and filling as always. 

The fiber sweep was not bad. I used the super cold water trick with a squeeze of lemon. My water wasn't as cold as yesterday and it got a little thick at the end but I chugged it and it was fine. 

For lunch today I made my vanilla fresh with stawberries and pineapple. It was tasty! It's a little grainy, but tastes good. I guess I'm spoiled by the smoothness of my regular shakeology. 😊 I also had a spinach salad with cucumbers, a few carrots and some hummus (veggie and healthy fat). I dressed my salad with olive oil and basalmic and a little salt and pepper. 

The hubby and I went for a hike/walk at a local wildlife area/old army base and took Dieter to let him do some sniffing and pointing. We even got a rainbow out of it! 

When we got home I did my workout (P90x3: The challenge) I lowered my numbers of pull ups and push ups because I'm still kinda feeling low energy, not sick (yay) but just a little tired. Other than that I feel great! 

Dinner will be roasted veggies and vanilla fresh. Only one more day and I can't wait to show you all my results!! 

For now, Kari 

3 Day Refresh: Day 1

I've had this green box sitting on my shelf for a LONG time. I was scared of taking three days to give up my regular eating. But, I've been needing a change to reset some bad habits I've picked up since the holidays.

I have been eating WAY too much junk and have had a ton more sugar in my diet that I know I should. This will give me an opportunity to reset my system and get back on track.

So far, I've only had my breakfast (Shakeology and fruit) and the fiber sweep. This was the part I was most scared of! I've heard it's yucky, nasty, gloppy, and thick. I did a little pinterest hunting and found another coach who mentioned making sure your water is SUPER cold. I mean, borderline almost frozen. So, I popped my shakeo cup in the freezer for a little bit and then shook it up. I also added a little squeeze of lemon. It's lemon flavored already and this made it taste a little more "lemonaide-y" It wasn't as bad as I thought! A little gritty, but not bad. I chugged it so it didn't have the chance to get thick.

For lunch you drink the vanilla fresh shake with a fruit, veggie and a healthy fat. I chose to blend my shake with my fruit (pineapple and peaches) and have carrots and hummus as my veggie and healthy fat. Pretty yummy. The shake tastes good! It's not as good as the regular vanilla shakeology but it's good! So far the thing I miss most...COFFEE. Just sayin'...

For dinner I had stir-fry veggies and the vanilla fresh shake. The stir-fry was so yummy! It was very simple but also very filling. I cut up a bunch of veggies and stir-fried them in garlic, ginger and a little lemongrass. I used a little bit of chicken broth to make a little sauce. The recipe is in the book of recipes that come with the refresh. I subbed broccoli for green beans, since I didn't have any, and I don't particularly care for green beans. I mixed the vanilla fresh shake with water, ice, a little almond extract and cinnamon. It was pretty good!

The evening was the hardest part. I am an evening snacker and often have a need for "a little something" after dinner. It was hard to ignore that need, but it helped that we don't have anything like that in the house right now!

Day one...DONE. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, but I am glad I chose to do it on a day that I was at home and could make my meals and use the blender! 

Check back tomorrow for updates on day 2!

For now,
Kari

Before picture, please ignore my messy bathroom, the faucet broke this week and we are in the process of fixing it!