ALL The Carbs and Fats

What a fabulous weekend in Milwaukee! It is fun just to get away and leave all your worries at home. I tried to block out all thoughts of work and school for one weekend and it was lovely.

I ate as well as I could so I could enjoy treats when I wanted (froyo, donuts, fancy desserts, bagels, etc.). Friday we left and stopped at Chipotle for dinner. I had macros for a chicken bowl with cheese, sour cream AND guacamole #winning

Some of our other snacks were protein bars, fruit, string cheese and yogurt. For breakfast I had an English muffin with PB before we worked out then I had a protein shake. On Sunday I had a bagel then donuts, oops.

I did really well with my eating and exercising until Saturday evening when we went to the most fabulous dinner place ever. Harbor House overlooking Lake Michigan, literally sitting a few feet from the water. It was the most expensive chicken I have ever had and we even had crackers with butter. I told Kyle that was an all time low (crackers with butter) but the butter was special and probably super expensive so it obviously tasted better, ha ha!! The wine cost $400-$600 for one bottle. Kyle is lucky I do not turn 21 until Tuesday ;)

We also went to the Twins game and Miller Brewery Tour. The Twins won and Kyle had lots of fun at the game. I mean I had fun too, but I'm more at the game to socialize and eat ballpark food, which we did!

Sunday we woke up and tested out some donut shops. Krispy Kreme is AMAZING and beats Dunkin Donuts!

I totally ate ALL the carbs and fats on Sunday but then I decided to weigh myself this morning. I have not been weighing myself weekly or monthly, just when I feel like it. I was the lowest I have been in a LONG time. God Bless carbs and unhealthy fats ;)

I'm ready for a week full of celebrating my birthday festivities starting with dinner and drinks Tuesday in downtown Minneapolis with friends :)

Busy!

Do you ever feel like you just need to STOP everything and breathe? Man, lately I have been on the go.

Work, summer school, continued education for training, internships, friendships, etc. So much going on and I have put a lot of ‘fun’ in my life on the back-burner. It is kind of stinky, but I am so overwhelmed. I LOVE blogging but feel guilty writing when I should be reading for class. I LOVE hanging out with my friends outside of exercising (marathon training) but I feel guilty if I do not get work prepped first.

I am trying to balance it all out and I feel like by the time I have found balance it will be fall and my whole schedule will be different ;) YIKES.

For now, I will try to blog at least once a week but mainly focus my time on other things. But I still do sit in the car and write notes of future posts :)

For now some pictures of my life:

My cousin graduated and we obviously had a huge grad party to celebrate her hard work.

My workouts have been on point! Running makes me feel SO good and I get a ‘high’. Whenever I lift I leave the gym feeling so BA. 

I have been cleaning my room and getting rid of clothes. This has always been hard for me because I love all of my clothes and look for good deals on high quality clothes. It breaks my heart when I get rid of $109 Miss Me jeans that I bought for $45 on sale… Finding those bad boys on sale is HARD! Oh well, at least Clothes Mentor gave me some money.

My family officially adopted a dog – Norman Marvin Johnson. He is a cutie.

I am happily eating ice cream and fitting into my clothes. I will never cut out yummy treats out of my diet.

2 Years

I remember sitting in my room and pondering the idea of starting a blog two years ago. I thought it would be so cool to connect with others and share my story.

People told me I inspired them and I motivated them to make a change. So I began to think how I could motivate and inspire even more people if I shared my journey.

What I did not understand about blogging is how much I would be inspired and motivated in return. For everyone who has commented on my blog posts, connected with me on Instagram, connected with me via Simply Running, reached out to me via FB messenger or pinned my pin – they inspire ME more than they will ever know!

I thought I had it all two short summers ago. I had just lost 71 pounds and finished my freshman year of college. In my head I figured I was doing life the right way. So much has changed in two years and I have learned so much about myself. I am still learning today and I will always be learning.

I am learning what balance is. I am learning it is not a quick fix. I am learning it is a lifestyle. I am learning who my friends are. I am learning why I love fitness so much. I am learning why I feel good when I eat well.  I am learning that I have a “high on life” feeling after a good run or lifting session. I am learning SO much.

Learning is a beautiful thing.

Lately I have had so many thoughts going through my head about health and fitness. Where do I want to be in five years? What are my long-term goals? How can I help others?

I am always going to be learning. I am always going to be pondering new ideas. I will always be asking questions and trying new things. And I am always going to be thankful for starting my blog 6/23/13.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading along in my journey through all of the ups and downs!!

Lots of LOVE!

Running Improvements

It feels good to know I have my stuff together in life. Or in some areas at least! Lately life has been chaotic (you can probably tell from my lack of blogging) but man has running been FUN. Areas of my life that have been crazy: food, work, school.

When I was thinking about a running group this winter I knew if I had plans to meet someone every weekend I would get my runs in. I would get my ass up, meet my running buddies and kill my run. I would NOT make excuses.

And I have done just that. I have gotten up even on the days I wanted to sleep in. I show up and fake my smile until I actually have it when I am running and feel great. And I finish my run feeling so bad ass and on top of the world.

 

This is from my 8-mile run last weekend

My weekday runs have been OK. Nothing too special but today I got in three miles by myself in under a 9-minute pace, which was exciting. I am trying to get in two shorter runs during the week.

 

Today I ran 3 speedy quick (for me)  miles!

I have been successful the past few weekends of keeping my mile times under 10 minutes each. I am actually looking forward to my run this weekend so I can see if I can continue on with my goal of 9 miles in under 90 minutes!!

Thank you to my BFF the treadmill for helping my become a faster runner!

Eating Out

Summer is here and I am around people more often and eating out WAY more. Eating out can really play a role in living a healthy life. I enjoy eating out because there is no clean up, you have no food to prepare and it is usually a nice time to catch up with someone.

In the summer I love to order salads because they seem to be fresher, they are ‘cool’ (temperature), and they are usually healthier.

But you really have to watch the cheese, croutons, dressings, chips, etc. I am the queen of asking for toppings on the side. I have never had a waitress/waiter say NO to me and if they are super easy going and friendly I always tip extra well.

Some of my favorite meals from this past week:

Panera StrawberryPoppy Seed Salad 

People’s Organic Cesar Salad 

Bonfire Fiesta Salad 

Wild Bills Tilapia Lime Tacos 

Buffalo Wild Wings HoneyBBQ Chicken Salad 

Chipotle Chicken Burrito (OR for less carbs get a bowl) 

I also had Asian food but I have yet to find a way to make this a healthy option. Ha ha!

Some tips I have for eating out:

• Order water! First, it is extra money you can save! Second, you will save LOTS of extra calories (carbs/sugars!)
• Look for protein! If you can get a good amount of protein in, you will stay full longer!
• Try to give your protein a side of vegetables. A lot of restaurants offer seasonal veggies and you can ask for them without any butter/oils!
• Say no to bread/chips. Those Italian and Mexican restaurants can KILL you. Literally, I know from experience. Ha ha! But instead if others are eating the goodies they bring ask for a side salad so you do not feel left out. It may cost you $4 but save you LOTS of calories. I mean once you start, how do you stop? Ha ha ha.
• Dessert – ahhh! Everyone loves dessert but try to say no! Instead go home and make something healthy! I have lots of great options under ‘recipes’ or you could buy Halo Top Ice Cream or Arctic Zero Ice Cream.

You have to do what is best for YOU. But remember the server is going out of their way to help you so be friendly and tip well ;)