Well, hey there!

I know it’s been ages without a post.  One of those “so many little things, big things, where do I start” things.  But I’m still kickin’!

And so is the kiddo!  I’ll be 26 weeks with this little boy on Wednesday.  I’m gaining a lot slower than my first pregnancy and I feel great most days.  I’m still working out, teaching fitness classes (until 6/18!), drinking Shakeology (or eating it…cold shakes often sound terrible!) and doing my best to eat well.

I don’t look very pregnant from the front, but the side view gives me away!

We also closed on our new house in a week that was great with the house but had a definite balance with some terrible news (sorry for the vagueness…all is well at the AGF house but I’m not sure I’ll manage typing the words).  We don’t plan to move just yet, but will be living there soon!

New House!

So there’s the bigger stuff, and hopefully that will get me onto the smaller stuff!

On My Wishlist – 3/16/2016

So, where are my sitters??  You want to get a little more activity in, but don’t want to go treadmill desk and aren’t up for balancing on a ball all day.  What do you get?

A little elliptical that takes up so little space that you might forget it’s there (and trip over it…where are my clumsy buddies??)

I’d love to use this strider for workdays, especially when I’m not up for standing all day!

*This post contains affiliate links

Commit! – Morning Motivation

What will you commit to today??

What’s going on?

You may or may not have noticed that I didn’t post Hammer and Chisel results. Well, I finished the workout part. The food? Not so much!

My second workout buddy was along for most of the ride!

As with my first, I’m nauseous and food averse…existing mostly on carbs. So my results weren’t great. But I loved the workouts and look forward to using it all out after the baby!

We’re super excited to become a family of four in August!!

(This is also the main reason I haven’t finished the Hammer and Chisel workout series!  I promise it’s all coming!)

On my wishlist – part 2!

Continuing the wishlist series!

I don’t know about you, but I love fresh herbs!  I buy them, and being the only one who uses them, they often go bad before I can use them up.  I even have the Pampered Chef herb keeper, which helps, but still I end up wasting some.

How great would it be to just clip some off of an indoor herb garden??  I’m usually not great with plants, but I think the functionality here would keep them in my mind to take care of.

This one comes in a reclaimed barnwood planter that I think is gorgeous!  Do you have one you love either in your home or on your wishlist?  Leave a link in the comments!

Here’s the story

So, what happened last week?  I think I’m ready.  It’s not a tragedy, but I wasn’t fully ready to admit it at first, and then I didn’t want to sit and type it out…or anything else!

Well see this picture?

  
The look on my face isn’t my super peppy post workout glow, huh?  And I turned it black and white because it was BAD in color.

A bit over midway through my workout, my lower back seized up and I couldn’t move.  It was a familiar feeling.  It had happened in 2010 as I went to put a dish in the dishwasher.  But that time, I was surrounded by others.  This time I was by myself, knowing nothing would wake my husband and not wanting to wake my daughter.

Eventually, I worked up to standing.  You don’t need all the little details of my morning, but I took the day off work and got into a chiropractor in the afternoon.

This isn’t some crazy injury. I just do a lot that favors one hip…how I cross my legs and sit, hold my daughter, stand, etc over time. But the thing is, I knew it was well beyond when I should have gone to the chiropractor…I should have kept up my visits all along, but stopped just before I had my daughter 3 years ago. 

This was avoidable.

That’s why I wanted to write it all out and make it a big deal.  I tell everyone they’re worth taking care of themselves, but I sometimes have a hard time following through myself.  

So, it’s been a little different on the workout front…I’m doing mostly Tai Cheng and PiYo but am feeling pretty good so I’m slowly building intensity.  I have been to my new chiropractor 4 times in the past week and am going again tomorrow.  I’m trying to do things I know I should!

  
But I’ll need to keep it up.  I’m telling you so you might do the same for yourself, and to keep myself accountable.  As much as you don’t have time for these things now, you probably don’t have time to not be able to move either!

Teeth!

Usually, when someone posts about teeth near Halloween, it’s costume related…not here at AGF though!

My teeth have always been a bit problematic.  Maybe it’s from sucking on lemons as a kid.  Maybe it was my terrible braces.  Genetics? Who knows.  But the dentist has never been a pleasant experience for me!

So when we moved, I hoped to put off meeting a new one for a little.  Then I chipped a tooth (eating a salad!).  It didn’t bother me and I had some unexpected busy times with an end in sight, so I didn’t worry too much.  Then I lost a crown (hard boiled egg…that was weird). So I had to go.

Fast forward two appointments, and I’m down a tooth and plus some extra bone.  Eventually, I’ll get a post and a new crown.  Four days later, I’m still a little swollen and have slight discomfort…but much better than even last night.  Here’s a little story in pictures for you!

 

right after

 

icing with a smile!

 

a day later

 

third day…tried to Cize

I didn’t workout Saturday or Sunday and have been taking it a little easy on myself, but I’m hoping to get back to Insanity Max 30 tomorrow…modifying more than usual I’m sure!

Tell me your dental story! Or do you not have one?

 

Wishes

Random thoughts for a Monday…

Being a parent brings lots of wishes.  You wish for the best for your child, you wish for the balance between them being independent and them needing you, you wish for them to grow up and stay little.

And today, I wished to both spend ALL THE TIME with my child and to be able make last minute plans to workout with a friend.

Since it’s about balance, I try to do both.  Lots of time with her, and some recharge/adult talking time for me.  But it can be tough to make that decision to spend time away.

Balance.

Do you have it?

Why not you?

From my facebook page…

Sometimes, I still feel like the girl on the left. Unsure of myself, bigger than everyone around me, in a cycle of wanting to eat to numb the stress and stressing because I’m not taking care of myself.

Other times, I think about how much has changed since then.

You can change your habits and thoughts…maybe not completely, and it doesn’t have to be all at once. But you CAN.

And that is kind of amazing!

Moving Chronicles Part 2

So fast after part 1! I’ve got tips for staying on track at the end…

So, today is more about the 3-Day Refresh than anything.  This time will be a bit different from last time I did it…but I’m deciding to have this make it better, not a challenge! I don’t have a way beyond some pictures and how I feel to determine results.  No measuring tape (I’d buy one, but since once comes with almost every Beachbody program, I do have a few!), full length mirror or scale.  All are on a truck somewhere!  I did take more of an upper body picture so I can see changes there.  But I o have a pair of pants that were looser and now aren’t, so I can judge by that too!

I’ll mostly be going with how I feel.  I’ve been feeling pudgy if that makes sense.  There have been little things I’ve noticed like the way my knees fit together when I’m standing.  Or how I feel about my arms.  Both signs that I haven’t been paying as much attention as I should to my nutrition.  A few extra carbs here, a fried pickle there, a trip to the frozen yogurt place…none too bad, but put them all together and I’m not eating to my goals as I’d like to!

What I have been doing is working out daily and getting in water.  I’m almost done with Cize, dancing my way to exercise.  It was perfect for this time, with not needing equipment and being so fun, I had no excuses to miss a workout.  I switched one rest day (I skipped last Saturday, the day we arrived in NC, and did that workout on Sunday, my rest day), but other than that I stuck to the schedule.  All I need for this workout is a laptop and some space!  I haven’t even used the DVDs…I’ve done it all on the Beachbody on Demand site!

So now it’s time to get back to normal.  Eating out every day isn’t sustainable nutrition or money-wise!  This weekend may be tough all around with us still in a bit of an unsettled pattern and me sticking to the plan, but with a little prep on my part, we can go out and I can bring my food.  Also part of prep…buying a knife!

We packed a few salad/mixing bowls, our blender and accessories, some water bottles (and a milk cup for the kiddo), a pot, a strainer, a cutting board (we had knives in between packing and moving…an old set we were tossing) and a baking sheet.  I wish we’d kept one knife, but this one was cheap and will do the trick.  In yesterday’s post, I mentioned ice cube trays as something else I found I really wanted.  I think those are the two big things I’d do differently.

So, how have I been staying more on track this week?

* More salads, and at home.  It’s easy to overdo it on add-ons and dressing when you’re eating out!  Though salads can be a great ordering option too, be careful of items like wonton strips, cheese, croutons, dried fruits and nuts.  Not that they’re bad, but they do add up!
* More water!  And tea.  Both help keep you full and water will keep your body running and functioning well.
* Stock what you can!  When we were eating from a cooler, I had carrots and grapes in there.  Not great for variety, but easy to keep…no squish factor from other stuff in the cooler too!
* Get creative!  I microwaved a sweet potato yesterday, piercing holes in it with my blender blade.  Part 1 mentioned how I made ice.  When we were out of paper bowls, I used a plastic cup.  Don’t let the little inconveniences be setbacks…try to find another solution.
* Try to save when you’ll have more carbs.  This was definitely made easier by a recent round of the 21 Day Fix Extreme, where I did a carb depletion plan.  I used to think I needed the carbs at certain times, but that helped me to see it was in my head.  I’ve been doing a serving in the morning and then saving them for dinner in case we go out somewhere carby (is that a thing?? Think sandwiches, etc) or we go for a treat.
* Have a plan.  I had my workout schedule so I knew what to do each day.  I knew all along that I would start the Refresh today.  I knew I had stuck to 21 Day Fix nutrition for so long that I could do okay eyeballing it.

I’m not perfect though!  There have been many poor choices, but the bottom line was that I was feeling like crap.  How frustrating to realize that you’re doing that to yourself!  I’m also realizing that with the extra heat here, I need to eat better to keep my energy up.  Otherwise I don’t want to do anything…more motivation.  So the last tip…

* Find motivation in new places!  I had the heat, and then bought a fitness journal at Target for a little extra push and organization.

Where are you pulling some extra motivation from??