Three Ninjas, LeAnn and Medicine Ball Push Ups

Where have you been??!  The craziest thing happened.  One day when I was about to post about my protein adventure day 2, there was a knock at my front door.  When I went to the door, there were three ninjas dressed in black (ninjas that knock?!)  they grabbed my laptop off the table and dashed away.  I was so distraught I called my husband at work and tried to convince him to let me run out and purchase another laptop right away "BUT honey my 6 followers and LeAnn, really want to know if I was able to make it to my magic protein number..."  I was just unable to convince him.  So my number one fan LeAnn put together a search party, we searched all day and all night for several weeks until finally we found the Ninjas.  They were camped out under the old train bridge in the woods behind our neighborhood this whole time!  LeAnn and I started to fight them off, when the ninjas saw our crazy ridiculous muscles from our cardio cross traning class and body pump class they ran away.  We found my laptop safe and sound in the middle of their camp.  Apparently they had taken my laptop to access pinterest (seriously pinterest?!) to pin new recipes and crafts (Ninjas that craft?!).

So now that I have my laptop back I can finally update you on what has been going on the last few weeks.

I've been kicking butt with my protein intake.  I've been able to at least get to 90g each day. I did some crazy push ups on medicine balls.  I also got a part time job.  May was a crazy busy month with starting my new job, school activities, girl scout activities, softball games and dance classes.  Here are a few pictures from May:

I only could do a couple...

Dance picture day 

Taught my daughter how to ride a bike....my son wanted his picture taken...

Early morning run....fastest 5K time and a bloody heel.

 

I promised my husband to not open the door for Ninjas in the future.  Thanks again to LeAnn for organizing the search party and helping me confront the Ninjas.  

  

Protein Adventure Day 1

The first thing I realized I needed to do was figure out exactly what I was going to eat today.  If I don't think ahead I'll end up not eating enough protein.  After planning out my meals, I realized just how challenging this was going to be.

Mondays are normally my day off from the gym. So staying within my calorie range seemed impossible at the beginning of the day.    I know today won't be as much as a challenge because I will earn a few calories back from my workouts, with that said I still need to pay attention to my totals. I also need to add more fruit.

Breakfast:

GNC Total Lean:  25g Protein 200 Calories

Snack:
Banana, Dry Roasted Almonds, Cheddar Cheese:  10g Protein 270 Calories

Lunch:
Grilled chicken and Broccoli:  50g Protein 260 Calories

Snack:

Think Thin Protein Bar: 20g Protein 240 Calories

Dinner:
Grilled Chicken Salad (Original plan was Pork...but hubby was really wanting salad or I would have picked a different lunch): 34g Protein 420 Calories

Snack (Yes! I'm a snacker!!): 

Pita Chips: 4g Protein 120 Calories



Protein Total:  143g  I DID IT!!! YAY!!!!  (Earlier in the day I thought I needed more protein, but after additional research I came to the realization that 105g would be sufficient!)  

Calorie Total:  1510 calories and  I still stayed within my calorie goal!!! 

How much protein should I eat?

So I do partake in at least one protein shake or protein bar a day, however, I've been thinking I'm great at tracking my calorie but I really have no clue how much protein I eat in a day (and am guessing I don't get enough).

So starting today I'm going to start tracking my protein and I'm going to try my best to reach my daily goal of 105g of protein.

 How did I come to this number?!  Well I googled "How much protein should I eat?"  This is what I found:

For a healthy woman whose goal is to tone while losing weight you take .5 to .75  X your body weight to find  your magic protein number.  

So now the trick will be staying within my calorie intake which for me is 1530 ( I figured it out on my fitness pal its my "lose a half pound a week" number)  **I also always do my best to eat back 1/2  the calories I burn when I work out**



On another note we officially kicked of the 2013 Boating Season this weekend!!

 I even had time for a #flexbreak

Non-Scale Victories Linkup

This week was an ok week, I've had a cold and haven't felt like doing much of anything BUT I still got my butt to the gym almost everyday.  So I guess that's my 1st NSV for the week.  

 My 2nd NSV for this week I'm really proud of: Yesterday I felt like CRAP I was tired, I had a cold and my entire body was sore from an intense cross training class earlier in the week.  I got up and got my gym clothes on to head to my BodyPump Class (didn't really want to go, but my neighbor was planning on going and I didn't want to let her down plus I meet up with another friend when I get there).  As soon as I was heading out the door I got a FB message that my friend from the gym wouldn't be there and then when I got to my daughter's bus stop my neighbor was NOT in her gym clothes, and told me she wouldn't be going after all. I went to the class anyway already knowing my workout was going to suck.   So what does a girl do who has a cold and is sore from the other day?? Lift light weights that day??....NOPE not this girl!  I upped my weight for each exercise. I felt AMAZING afterwards, I'm glad I didn't let my poor attitude take over.   

My goal for next week is sticking with my "new" BodyPump weights.  

Running on adrenaline and caffeine...

So I've slept like CRAP this whole week (terrible cold, kids waking up several times a night, dreaming about my dog having surgery and sleeping on the couch last night in the basement to keep my dog company when she got home....)

Here is my dog Butterscotch:

(Notice the HUGE fat lipoma under her neck.  She has had it for a few years now, however, in the last few months it had started to grow bigger and faster. )

 We took her to the vet a year ago for it and we were pretty much talked out of having it removed because it wasn't really affecting her way of living and there was a 50/50 chance that it would grow back.

The last two months it had been really bad and she looked so uncomfortable.  So much so the neighbors were talking and questioning our vets decision they made last year.  Every day I'd tell Butterscotch how sorry I was about how uncomfortable she was.  She is 10 years old and we really had a lot of inner struggles on what would be the best decision.   How far (money wise) do we go for our family pet?? How many years does she really have left??  Will this ever stop growing??

We took her back to the vet on Tuesday to meet with a surgeon.  They ran some tests and told us that she doesn't appear to have any "old dog problems" and it really looks like it is just fat.  Basically meaning surgery would be safe, if the tests came back showing cancer or showing other "old dog problems" we may have just skipped surgery to be on the safe side.

They gave us the estimate of surgery and after explaining every charge, they said "So how about tomorrow for surgery?"  We were shocked  she would be able to have surgery so soon, so we signed some papers and kissed her goodbye.

Surgery went well and we were able to pick her up yesterday evening.  Oh and guess what?!  It weighed 8lbs!!!  We are so glad we had it removed.  Could you imagine an 8lb fat mass hanging from your chest?!

She is at home now and resting comfortably.  She is going to be a whole new dog!

This is her in her "cross your heart bandage"

This is her in her Salty Dog Cafe shirt (we were asked to put a tshirt on her because she has one exposed incision )

Finish the sentence Linkup!

1. I laughed so hard I cried during our annual Halloween Party this year, check out this crew. ...How could you not laugh?! 

2. My high school made the MTV senior prank show when the seniors (my junior year) broke in to the school and shoved chickens in lockers as their senior prank.  The chickens were found before school started the next day.

3. It really pisses me off when people complain about my specific gym when they only actually go once a week.  I could write a whole blog post about this...and maybe I just will....    

4. In ten years I will be 40 and will be in crazy amazing shape or just crazy as I will be the mother of a 17 year old girl and a 13 year old boy. AHHHH!! 

5. If I could erase one thing I'd erase the chalkboard in the kitchen. It's where I keep track of what bills are due when and what checks are out.  NO MORE BILLS!!   

6. In 1999 I honestly believed I was destined to marry Taylor Hanson. I had all of our future kids named. This is so true....I'm slightly embarrassed.   

7. Honestly I am afraid you will now stop reading my blog after the Taylor Hanson sentence.  At least you know I tell it how it is.  

8. To me, Sushi is something I have never had the desire to try.  But if you have some right now I may just try it because I'm STARVING!!  

9. Someone really needs to invent a car that drives completely on its own. I don't hate driving, but I'd rather sit in the passenger seat some days.   

10. The first time I drank alcohol was when I was 18, I thought I was pretty awesome.  Smirnoff Ice was where it was at and it was also the first thing I got sick on. I will never again be able to drink that stuff.  

11. The one question I would ask God is How is my Grandma doing and is she out of pain? 

  
12. Lindsay Lohan should find better friends.  I can't help but want to give her more chances, I still picture her as the little girl in Parent Trap (still one of my favorite movies.... "L is for the way you look tonight..." ok, sorry) 

Yearbook Linkup

I have to admit this was very painful having to look through these pictures. YIKES!!!!

My Senior picture for the yearbook....GREAT....Just how I want everyone to remember me....

Captain of the color guard.... SEQUINS!!! 

Yes this pictures was also in the yearbook...we were so doing the "Charlie's Angels" pose.  Also Adidas jackets were so in.... (the rest of  my friends are cropped out for their own protection) 

This was almost as painful as looking through old Facebook pictures that I was tagged in before I lost weight.  

Non-Scale Victories!

So I have a few Non-Scale Victories this week:

NSV #1:   This is my first link up!!  Woohoo!!

NSV#2:  Not giving up once or stopping at all during an intense Cardio Cross Training Class

NSV#3:  Finding an awesome, amazing, delicious recipe for a protein shake....!! (will post recipe soon..)

NSV#4:   Eating within my calorie goals (almost every day) 

NSV#5:  Deciding to run a Half Marathon....

13.1

I think I just puked a little in my mouth typing the title of this blog post.  13.1  ahhh.....  I'm announcing it right here and right now I AM going to run the Hershey Half Marathon in October.  OMG!!!

I can't believe that this girl (second from the Left in blue pants) first day of C25K circa 2011 is going to run a Half Marathon:

I hope you will check back on my progress and keep me motivated through this journey.....

In the meantime lil D's birthday is tomorrow and I made these awesome hats/crowns for his birthday:

Also here is what I was planning on wearing the day of his party, BUT it is now only supposed to be 60 degrees out.  Ummmmm...still do it and freeze??! 

*** please ignore dark wood paneling in my bedroom circa 1959 its going to be the last thing we upgrade in our house***

Oh and I finished upgrading/painting my hallway (wish I had a picture to compare....so picture cream walls with mustard yellow trim and a railing down the hallway for the little old lady who was the previous owner):

Now that I've completely distracted you from that fact I'm going to be running a Half MARATHON  hopefully you will forget and not keep me accountable.  (of course that's not true at all I really will need your encouragement along the way!)

Spring is coming!!

Winter makes me lazy, like seriously lazy.  Most of my friends would slap me across the face if they heard me say that, because from the outside I don't look lazy at all.  I'm a stay at home most of the time mom (I work one day a week for 3 hours) my day consists of getting the kids ready for school, working out at the gym for an hour (or two depending on the day) coming home, cleaning the house for an hour or so, getting the kids from school and then making/cleaning up dinner. Three nights a week we are running to extra curricular activities for my daughter. BUT in between all of that I'm sitting on the couch watching TV or on the computer (or 99%  of the time both).  I just can't motivate myself to do much of anything else, during the winter months!! 

My weight as pretty much stayed the same since January (on good days I'm down 2 lbs), however, I have noticed changes in my body (which is why I'm seriously considering breaking up with my scale....but don't say anything because I don't want to piss the scale off)  my abs are getting stronger and my quads are really tightening up (which is part of my "trouble" area.)  So I have high hopes that spring will help me be on my feet more and hopefully I cant get my weight down some more.  

My Easter Dress.  From Kohls (Found int he JUNIORS section..)

I can't begin to tell you how excited I am for Spring!!!  This winter has been way too long and way too drawn out.   I'm so ready to get my  hands dirty in my flower beds, hearing the kids playing (and not having it echo throughout the house), the campfires with our neighbors and of course watching my hubby work on our boat!  

Oh yeah, we have a boat!  Last year by this time we were already out on the boat 3 times (not swimming though).  This will be our second "boating season" owning our boat, I'm am so excited to get out on the river again!  

And of course most of all I can't WAIT to run and run like crazy!!!  (Becky from 2009 just showed up and seriously just punched me in the face) I have so many "fun runs" this summer coming up: two mud runs and one color run.  I'd do more, but they get kind of expensive after awhile. 

If you're looking for me I will be outside.....

Terrible at updating...

So I suck at blogging.  I'm terrible at updating this blog.  Which made me think, this is a lot like my weight loss attempts over the years.  I miss updating a few days, a week, a month...turning into never updating again. I'm afraid to open my blog, because I'm embarrassed at the fact that I have started yet another thing without following through.

Over the years I've attempted to diet so many different ways, you name it I probably attempted or at least researched it.  I'd avoid the scale just so I didn't have to be accountable for my life style.

Well it's been one year and one month since I've decided to change my eating habits, and I've been able to keep at it.   So why not give my blog a chance?!  It's only been two months since my last update its not like I've missed years of updating.

Ok, now that I feel less guilty lets get on with it:

I've been slightly addicted to the gym, which isn't a terrible thing (depending on who you ask). My weight has not really changed since my last post, however, I am seeing major improvements with the shape of my body.

My arms, shoulders are pretty much at where I want them to be:

Tank from Abudnant Heart Apparel 

  I highly highly highly recommend that you throw weights into your workouts. 

Find me on Instagram!!

@BSPROUT

Also don't forget to "Like" me on Facebook!!

https://www.facebook.com/TheSkinnyOnSprout

Products I LOVE!!

Over the past 2 months I have bought myself a few new workout "tools".  I just wanted to share:

Here is my Garmin: I use it for runs, it keeps track of my distance and time.  My favorite part of my Garmin is that it keeps my all time "Records".  It really gives me something to work towards.  Another feature I really enjoy is the "Pace" function it keeps me on track so I know if I need to speed up or keep the pace I'm at.  

Next up is my new fitbook:  It's a 12 week fitness journal where you track your daily food, exercise, weekly goals and your 12 week goal. My favorite feature of the fitbook is the "reward" section.  Each week you are encouraged to give yourself a "reward" to work for each week.  When I earn my reward next week I'll be making my next post about it (can't wait to share!!). 

Last but not least is my new POLAR FT4:  (That's right, I rock two pink watches when I run....that's what happens when you decide you don't need a heart rate monitor and then change your mind two months later). EVERYONE should have a heart rate monitor.  I realized I wasn't working as hard as I thought I was.  I was crediting myself the incorrect amount of calories causing me to eat more than I burned.  I have started a POLAR FT4 movement in my BodyPump class at the gym, all the ladies want one!! :-)

On a side note I've signed up for the Dirty Girl Run in June: It's a 5K and I'm so super excited for it!!!  

New Year.....New Goal

My Goal for 2013 is to get down to 130lbs (which is about 13lbs) and to continue to tone my bod! 

I'm not going to pressure myself to try to lose it the next two months, I'm going to work towards losing 1lb  a month.  

This year has already brought new and exciting workout opportunities.

1.)  A new friend who happens to live in my 'hood decided to run a "Polar Bear 5k Trail Run" with me this past Saturday!  We had a BLAST (well at least we did when we were done) our time was 35 mins and some odd seconds which I think is good for running in the woods on unpredictable trails.  I do have to admit there was one hill where we could absolutely not  run up.  It was so steep our shoes were slipping and we had to grab roots and rocks to steady ourselves. BUT that was the only time that I walked.  

 Here is our after picture:

2.) Our "BFF" neighbors joined our gym and this past Friday "the girls" did Family Zumba

3.)  I FINALLY got to try the Cardio Cross Training Class at the gym, it seriously kicked my butt....and I loved every minute of it!!! 

Can't wait to see what this year has in store for me!!!!