My Current Fitness Progress/Motivation

Fourteen months into my weightloss journey and I have less than 20 pounds until my goal weight. I can see the muscle start to gain definition in my shoulders, arms, stomach and thighs. It is a taste of success that I can't get enough of. 

I have felt so uncomfortable with my body for so long. I can't remember what if feels like to not worry about how you look in every setting. The stress, the voice in my head mocking everything I did has shut up. I can be such a jerk to myself. 

So much wasted time. Wasted energy. Wasted opportunities. I will NOT let my body hold me back any longer. I am strong. I am determined. I want to live. Every morning I want to seize the day like it is my last. Love my family with all my heart. And face the challenges each day holds head on. 

Current weight: 173

Goal weight: 155

I have 17 pounds left to my goal weight but I am beginning to realize the number doesn't matter. The woman in the mirror matters. I don't want to be skinny. I want to be strong, defined and healthy. Eight years to figure out what healthy is. How to feel normal and live a good life.

I'm not perfect. I still see a fat girl in the mirror on my bad days. I still wonder about my pouch and my jiggliness in social situations. I still give myself a hard time when I put something in my body I how isn't good for me. But as long as I'm mostly healthy I can make a few mistakes. 

I am human but I never knew what living was like. Now I feel like I can chase my dreams. It took my son to show me who I am and my husband to support me along the way. I am on lucky lady. 

Have a wonderful day,

Jennifer

Slow Cooker Hearty Beef Stew

Austin, Ethan and I have been sick for a week. Not too fun so with the changing weather we have here in Utah I needed to make something hearty but easy. My usual go to dinner is something I would order from takeout when I'm not feeling well but for our Sunday dinner yesterday I am trying to be better about cooking at home. It is healthier for my family and our wallet. Plus plus I would dare say.

I wanted to make something that I could throw in the slow cooker, had mostly clean ingredients, soothing for my aching throat and had lots of nutrition. I found this recipe from thenakedkitchen.com and gave it a try. There have been some beef stew recipes that I wasn't too happy with but this one I LOVED!!!

Who says you can't have stew in the springtime? It's still a little chilly in the evening and it's so good. I need food to help warm me up until it's 80 degrees outside. Until it's blasting hot outside I will still eat warm foods. Best thing is this stew is 2 cups for a serving and ONLY 210 calories. If you're watching your waistline this is a meal that will fill you up, leave you satisfied and won't make you feel guilty.

Slow Cooker Hearty Beef Stew

Enjoy friends,
Jennifer

Clean Eating Crock Pot Lasagna

Meal planning.

It is a big stress reliever and when I have that done it takes the guess work out of my day. Nutrition is a big part of what makes the time go smoothly for me. I focus on fueling my body. Eating every few hours- never go past 3-4 hours- and getting my water in have literally saved me. I don't know about anyone else but I am a beast when I'm hungry or low on blood sugar or haven't fueled my body properly. Then I eat like a big burly man. Haha Austin has seen me take down amounts of food he can't so it's best to keep up on my food.

One of the things I love is my crock pot. It helps calm things down around dinner time because I know there isn't much I need to do before we sit down to eat. Also when you're meal planning it's nice to have a day devoted to this wonderful appliance. Another thing I love is lasagna. So I found a clean eating recipe for this wonderful pasta dish. 

Clean Eating Crock Pot Lasagna

CoachChantelle uses ground beef but I switched mine out for ground turkey and it was delicious. It was wonderful. There are few things I will do differently next time I make it. I would do more noodle layers. There just was a lot of sauce and more noodles would have helped soak it up. I would also do more mozzarella cheese. 

That's it. These days everyone is busy and has a hectic schedule. This dish is so worth trying. All it takes is 10 minutes prep time and 4 hours later you will be enjoying a delicious meal. 

I love feedback so please comment below on what your favorite dish is or suggest something for me to try to modify to clean eating. 

Thanks for reading,

Jennifer

Wrap up and Easy Lunch

Quick, easy and healthy lunch. I make sure the tortilla I use is whole wheat and the deli meat I use is high quality like Boar's Head with no nasty additives. 

You will need:

1 whole wheat tortilla

1 slice cheese (your choice)

2 slices turkey

1 slice ham (optional)

Handful of greens (I love baby spring mix)

Drizzle of Olive oil (optional: if you don't want your wrap to be dry)

Layer in order listed, roll up and enjoy. 

This will fill you up and help you recover after a workout or fuel your body before a workout. It's light, low in fat, and you can customize it how ever you want. If you don't want any meat use sliced veggies. If you prefer no cheese or dressing just leave it out. You can even fill your wrap with cooked chicken or fish. Possibilities are endless. 

Love,

Jennifer

Another Meal Plan

So I was talking with a friend and thought it would be a great idea to post my meal plans. This is what I use to plan my food for the day, exercise and any extra things I have going on. This is the best way for me to have all that I need in one place.

Works for me.

I have a lot of food that is excess from the previous week so I just carry that over and try to work it in so it doesn't go to waste. This week I happen to have a lot of produce from last week and some staples like rice, bread and meats. Along with this meal plan I will list my grocery list so you can see what I typically buy. There are always things on the list that aren't normally there (diapers, batteries, lightbulbs) but I try to only buy what I need.

I also try to bake something totally bad but so good for Austin so he has something to munch on while he's working away. This week I'm making Skinny Double Chocolate Chip Muffins from Sallys Baking Addiction (I already have all the ingredients from the last time I made them) and Soft M&M Chocolate Chip Cookies from Averie Cooks (I only need M&m's). Both recipes I got from amazing ladies who posted to their blogs. I highly recommend them!

	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday
Breakfast	Whole Wheat Waffle, Peanut Butter, Strawberries	Loaded Oatmeal	2 scrambled eggs	Whole Wheat Waffles, Peanut Butter, Strawberries	Loaded Oatmeal	2 Scrambled Eggs	Whole Wheat Waffle, Peanut Butter, Strawberries
Snack	Pineapple and Mango Smoothie	Apple slices w/Peanut Butter	Whole Wheat Bread w/peanut butter and; banana slices	Whole Wheat Bread, Cream Cheese, Cucumber slices	Apple w/peanut butter	Cucumber and Carrot Slices and Low fat Ranch	Greek yogurt and granola
Lunch	Sandwiches and fruit	Loaded Baked Red Potato	Greens topped with Hard Boiled Eggs and Veggies	2 Scrambled Eggs, Salsa, Asparagus and Black Beans	Turkey, Ham and cheese wrap	Loaded Baked Potato	Greens topped with Hard Boiled Eggs and Veggies
Snack	Apple slices w/peanut butter	Pineapple and Mango Smoothie	Carrot slices w/Laughing Cow Cheese	Popcorn	Carrot and Cucumber slices	Cottage Cheese and Strawberries	Bread w/peanut butter and banana slices
Dinner	Salmon, brown rice, greens with veges	Salmon, Brown Rice, Asparagus	Tuna Casserole and greens	Chicken Pot Pie, Asparagus, Salad	Baked Cod with Roasted Sweet Potato	Pizza Run	Clean Baked Ziti
Plans	Grocery Shopping	Movie Night	Family Time	Church		Pizza Run
Activity	Yoga	Swimming	Weights	Rest		Pizza Run	Hip Hop
Cleaning			Pick up house, Laundry		Whole House and Organize

Costco:
Diapers $40
Apple Juice $9
Whole Wheat Pancake Mix $5
Eggs $7
Milk (whole and 1%) $9
Butter $7
Asparagus $5
Strawberries $5
Estimated Spending: $87

Harmon's or Smith's:
Frozen peas $1
Red Potatoes $5
Mushrooms $3
Organic Springs Mix $4
M&M's $4
Estimated Spending: $17

Fill up my sweet ride: $70

Total Estimate Spending: $174

I usually grocery shop like this every two weeks and on the off weeks it will just be a few produce items so maybe $40. This is great if you're trying to budget shop too. Healthy for you and your bank account!

You can use my same format, change it to suite your needs or do something different. I will try to make this downloadable in the future. Enjoy!

Thanks for reading. 

I love feedback. Don't be afraid to comment. 

Love,

Jennifer

Proof is in the Pudding

You don't need a fancy diet to lose weight.

You don't need a crazy workout routine to lose weight. 

Just be active, make healthy food choices and KEEP GOING!!! 

I am PROOF that you can do the impossible. I am PROOF that small changes make a BIG difference. I am PROOD that ANYONE can do it. 

No matter what you have to work with you can do it. 

October 21, 2012

242 lbs 

(Lost 20 right away after having Ethan)

Wearing extra large pants, shirts and very uncomfortable

March 17, 2014

176 lbs

 (Prepregnancy weight- but more muscle- pre pregnancy clothes fit looser)

Just had to buy new pants because mine were too big (best reason to buy new clothes) wearing size 10 comfortably and shirts in medium/large

I move my butt. I push myself. I have 100% control of my body and what goes in it. Eat foods that are real and do something great for you. Stay away from foods that don't do anything for you. They are robbing you of a life. Drink water. Stay away from sugary drinks. 

Take it ONE step at a time. When you got that down, add another. 

Be happy with who you are right now. Your body deserves your kindness. Only you can do good things for it. 

My progress is and always has been slow. That is because I only do what I can handle but I am determined to keep it up for the rest of my life. It is an investment. 

My current numbers improve but I know I'm doing it the most beneficial way for my body. No crash diets. No cutting calories. No extreme things going into my body. 

Proof is in the pudding ladies (and gents). 

"The Struggle"

Let's be honest people.

I SUCK AT BEING HEALTHY!!!!

I have this thing about doing well, watching what I eat, working out regularly and keeping it up until I plateau. I have hit a plateau for the last six months. Is this normal? I loose quite a bit of weight then it just stops and I have no idea why?

Maybe someone who knows more about the body than I do can help me out on this but since I have had a harder time losing weight my nutrition hasn't been very nutritious. I kill myself working out, eat mostly healthy and clean but then Cafe Rio here and stonecutter there and I'm back to where I was 2 months ago.

I think it's just human nature to be satisfied with the bare minimum or it's just my personality to sit back and be comfortable. Well newsflash Jen nothing great EVER happens in the comfort zone. So I'm going to educate myself even further on what is good for my body.

This past week I have been doing Insanity workouts and incorporating fresh fruits and veges back into my daily routine to jump start me. I am not focusing solely on weight loss now but building muscle and that is one step closer to my goal.

I am fired up. I am motivated. I have made up my mind.

Let's do this!!

What have you all been doing to be healthy?