Monday Motivation: Staying focused

Happy Monday!!!

Right now I am in a reverse with my macros, that means that I am gradually increasing my macros in the attempt to give my body a break and allow it my metabolism to use those calories more efficiently. That means more food and more energy for my workouts.

Hot Duck Doughnuts

These also means the scale is not moving down as quickly and as I progress it might actually go up some. That is quiet a mental game and it almost feels like you are working against your end goals. I just keep reminding myself that I could not eat in a deficiency the rest of my life and my metabolism is already so bad due to Hashimoto's Thyroiditis that I needed to try to help my body by taking a break.  I plan on starting back into a cut at the first of March and will have Poppy calculate my macro numbers again.

Through this whole macro lifestyle I have learned so much. First, the scale does not show how strong I am physically and now mentally. I have learned that pictures and measurements speak so much more vs. the scale.

1/26/2017          5/14/16

I took the picture on the left last week after working out at the gym and remembered that I had taken a picture back last year in the same top and felt so much smaller in it. While it is the same shirt, I am down another pants size and had to have my mom take in some of my favorites clothes because there is a definite size difference between the then and now. This picture motivates me to keep going and not give up towards my goals. I am very close to my goal and know that as soon as I start my cut again that I WILL hit my size and my weight goal.

Love,

 

Jamie Lynn 

Meal Prep Sunday's: Breakfast Bowls

Breakfast this week will be my Egg Breakfast Bowls. I love how much protein they have and how easy it is to make 5 for the whole week. I have topped these with smashed avocado when I have the fats, but most days keep it simple with salsa verde on the top.

 

 

The recipe for these are super simple and very adaptable for what fits your eating habits. I start by browning a roll of turkey sausage, there are tons of brands out there and the fats range with each one. I absolutely love my Mix N' Chop for when I am cooking my turkey sausage or any ground meat, it helps to break the meat apart and keep it in more easy to eat pieces.  

 

Mix N' Chop Pampered Chef



 I weigh the meat before I cook it and enter that total into a recipe into My Fitness Pal and after it has cooked I weigh it and divide that weight into 5 different glass bowls that have been sprayed with cooking spray. I love the Pyrex 4 Cup Glass Storage Bowls. I have found some similar bowls for a dollar at Dollar Tree that I like for the fact that if I drop them in the back parking lot as I am trying to leave work and they break it is not the end of the world. (Not that I have ever dropped and broke one, I am not a klutz!)

 

 

 

 

Next, I use a small mixing bowl to add in one egg, 3 egg whites, 28 ml of almond milk, and seasonings. I mix those ingredients and then pour it over the sausage. I continue this process 5 times weighing everything. You could skip the separate bowl and just mix it in the glass bowls, but I find that once cooked it sticks more and you have to scrub the bowls. I bake all of them at 350 for 25-30 minutes, this time will depend on the size of your bowls and what ingredients that you add to yours. I have added tomatoes, spinach, cheese, paprika, garlic powder, mushrooms and more to them. Be creative, it is like an omelet in a bowl.

 

 

I hope this helps to simplify your life like it has mine! Let me know if you come up with any great healthy combinations.

Love,

Jamie Lynn

Getting my Chipotle Fix

I love easy throw in the crockpot meals for during the work week. I prep all my breakfasts and lunches on Sunday so that all that I have left to deal with is dinner. I really only "cook" a few nights a week because I prepare enough of that meal to last us a few nights worth of dinners.

A few years ago I was shopping at Trader Joe's and their sample for the day was carnitas with salsa verde on their tortilla chips, I never turn down a sample at Trader Joe's, but to this day I think it was my favorite. Fast-forward to this year and now their is a Chipotle near my work and we are hooked. We love Chipotle, like too much! I am drooling just thinking about the carnitas and their fresh salsa: I love to load mine down with all the good toppings that they have. We seriously would eat there every night if our wallets would let us, but unfortunately we can't. A few weeks ago I knew my week would be a little crazy between teacher snow days, school delays, and Report Card Night so I planned to place something in the crock pot that would allow us to come home to a warm meal. I found this wonderful recipe that I tweaked from Harper at Paleo Grubs.

 I wish I could say that I had time to sear it since the day I did it we were on a school delay, haha! I just tossed the seasonings that she suggested with the meat in the crockpot and turned that baby on low and called it a day.

Easy Pork Carnitas adapted from Paleo Grubs 

Ingredients:

2 lbs Boneless Pork Loin

1 Tablespoon Garlic Powder

2 Tablespoons Onion Powder

1 teaspoon Ground Cumin

1 teaspoon Dried Oregano

1/3 Tablespoon Chili Powder

2 cups Chicken Broth

Salt to Taste

Frozen Onions and Bell Pepper Mix (optional)

Directions:

Place the Pork Loin in the crockpot and sprinkle all seasonings on top of meat, add the frozen onions and bell peppers, and pour broth into crockpot.

Cook on low for 6-8 hours, mine cooked a little longer since no one got home in a timely manner, but it was still delicious. I saved the "broth" that it made to help warm it up since to me pork dries out when reheated.

I did not crisp mine up like suggested in the recipe because I was being a little lazy since by the time I got home I was ready to eat.

Both the hubby and I loved them just straight out of the crockpot. I topped mine with lettuce, cheese, and salsa verde.

Have you ever had Carnitas? If not give this easy recipe a try and let me know what you think!

Love,

Jamie Lynn



Motivitation Monday

I take like hundreds of pictures a month. I take pictures of my sweet Lulu and Charlie, doughnuts places with a sample of their doughnuts, pictures of the Mountain Man and me, and pictures of random things. Sometimes those pictures stay on my phone for when I need them and sometimes they end up a favorite of mine.

And then there are times that they motivate me and show me how strong that I really am. Like these pictures....

 

The bottom picture is right when I decided I was tired of being "overweight", the top right I felt so happy because I was losing some of the weight, and the left one is when we went to Lake Lure both of us had lost weight and I felt so much more confident. Looking back my first thought is that I should not have felt that happy with the way I looked, but then I remind myself I deserved to feel some sort of accomplishment with the way I looked. I had worked for that, I had sweat for that, I had made healthier eating choices, and I was a better person.

 

These pictures were taken June 2016 (Our 8 year Anniversary) to December 2016. I feel like I look so much happier because I am so much energetic and stronger. I maybe a smaller person in size, but I am a bigger person in my strength. I have done so many things I never thought I would and in these pictures I see a healthier, more tenacious, and happier couple because of the journey we have gone through.

 

 

I say all this to say that when I am having a day; I do not want to give up that doughnut, I do not want to work out, or I do not want to go for a walk. I remind myself to not give up my journey yet because I am not at my finish line.

 

So I leave you with this...

Are you at your finish line? What is your motivation to keep going?

 

Love,

Jamie Lynn

Sunday Meal Prepping

On Sundays I plan out my meals to help me to stay on track during the work week and hit my Macros. I like having a shelf in my fridge and a location in the kitchen that I can keep my food so that all I have to do is grab and toss into my Lilly Pulitzer Cooler and go.

Right now by breakfast tends to be one of two things, either overnight oats or an egg breakfast bowl. I make my overnight oats made with egg whites, protein powder, almond milk, a little stevia, and spices or fruit to my want. This time of year I warm up the oatmeal in the microwave. For my breakfast bowls, I cook turkey sausage and add it to egg whites, eggs, a splash of almond milk, seasonings, and veggies if I want. I love to top it with a little salsa verde.

Since it is cold I have been doing a lot of soups. I created a mock Dixie Stampede Veggie Soup that I added chicken to and reduced the fats in it; Unfortunately, while the flavor is spot on to me the texture is lacking. I have also been making a more macro friendly White Chicken Chili and  is it delicious. Both of these are tossed in the crockpot so all that I have to do is toss everything in and let it cook for a while and then I divide it all up into 5 servings.




Snacks right now have been Pretzel Thins or Greek Yogurt. I am really loving the Buffalo Pretzel Thins as my salty snack right now without the fats of chips and the Greek Yogurt gives me the sweet while hitting my protein macros.

Pretzel Crips Stock Photo

I would love to hear any tips you have that helps keep you on track during the week.

 

Love,

Jamie Lynn

I am back....

Hello! I apologize I have been gone forever! For the past couple of years I had a lot of work roles on my plate and while I loved them it did not allow for much time to blog. With some recent family needs I have stepped down from those roles which is allowing me more time with my family and more time to focus on my health, two very important things in my life.

Not teaching Summer School allowed me to hike to Clingman's Dome with my hubby and my momma.

 

 

 

Go to the Isle of Palms with my husband's family and get to see these two enjoy the beach.

 

 

It allowed me to spend some time with Baby C and do fun aunt things like the Sky Lift in Gatlinburg and take her on the tubing adventure of a lifetime, no seriously I lost my tube trying to help a little girl and got beat up by the rocks. Fun Times! I always have fun with her though and wait with baited breath to see what she says or does next.

 

 Not having so much on my plate has allowed me to focus more on my health and right before Christmas I got down to being 5 pounds away from my original Goal Weight, I got a little off track during Christmas and I am in a reverse so I am up a little. I will start cutting again in March to get ready for the summer. I am starting to lift weights more and have started following macros. I love following the macro diet lifestyle only because there are no "off limit foods" and I can tell my relationship with food is so much better.

Lifting and deadmills have made a dramatic difference in my pace with my 5ks. My pace used to be about 15 to 14 minutes per mile and this last race I ran was 10:24 and it was below 30 degrees during the entire run. I feel like this was great time, especially since I not only hate the cold but one minute I was cold because of the shade of the buildings and the next minute I was warm because I was out in the sun.

 

I feel like I not only smaller, but I feel so much stronger since the very first race. When I first started my journey I ran because it was convenient and personal, then I started some circuit classes, and now I do a mix of lifting, running, and my Saturday Body Sculpting Class. I feel like all this combined has made me a stronger person and is helping me to better reach my goal of better health.


As I move forward into 2017 I plan on keeping my health a priority and reaching my goals.

Love,

Jamie Lynn