Motivation Monday: Half Marthon

EEK! I just registered for the Rock N' Roll Half Marathon! Let me tell you when I went to purchase it from Groupon (It is cheaper on Groupon vs. anywhere right now) and then register it hit me what I was doing!



I have been running.. long runs on Sundays, short runs once a week, deadmills when I can, and a short 2-3 mile run after completing my Saturday Body Sculpting Class. But let me tell you that by registering for that race, it hit me... That date is only 5 weeks away. You only have 5 weeks to finish your training and then rest! While I have been training, I have not been intense at it or my eating like I need to.

A run on a warm winter day.

So my motivation this Monday is to make sure that I am training to the best of my ability and make sure that I am fueling my body properly. I know that my training will be better if I am staying well hydrated, eating in a healthy manner, and stretching like I need to. Let me tell you, sometimes I am TOO LAZY to do my stretches like I need to and I HAVE to make it a priority. I am just know getting up to the 7 mile mark and with the weather outside I am so excited that my runs can be outside versus on a treadmill. While I am nervous, I am so excited and ready to kick my training in the butt and show myself what I can accomplish.

Some muscle growth between January 1st to this week

What is your motivation for this week? What is going to help you to stay focused and show this week who the strong one is?

Love,

Jamie Lynn 

Meal Prep and What I Buy

The weekend is coming to a close, unfortunately we lost a dear friend and we have spent most of our time this weekend with his family who we adore and consider family. As I wrap up the weekend I will be meal prepping and then going for my long run. Yesterday, I went grocery shopping for staples in our house and thought I would share where I shop and some of my staples.


Aldi's is one of my favorite stores to shop because I can save lots of money there and they do have organic options.

- Fresh Fruit
- Fresh Vegetables (I do check them because sometimes they can be towards the end of their life)
- Spreadable Cheese Wedges: Garlic or Pepper Jack (Like Laughing Cow)
- Cheese: Shredded, blocks, and string (If it is on sale somewhere then it can be cheaper at that store)
- Naan Bread (Love these for Pizza Fridays!)
- Caramel Corn Cakes (Great with Peanut Butter)
- Ranch packets
- Flavored Water with no sweetners (Like La Croix)
- Flatbread Wraps (Similar to Flat Out Bread)
- Eggs (We prefer cage-free, but I can only get those when I can get to Kroger because they are more economical)
- Fit & Active Bread (Just found this and it has great macros! 16C/0.5F/5P)
- Canned Goods (I honestly do not purchase a lot of canned goods, but needed these to try Poppy's Mexican Crockpot Chicken.)

Things not listed:
- Pretzel Thins
- Never Any! Turkey Sausage
- Greek Yogurt
- Organic Salsa
- Seasonal Items like their Seafood Ravioli or some of their yogurt flavors



Wal-Mart is not my favorite place to go, but sometimes I can only find things there so I suck it up!

- Flatout Bread Foldits (Love these for burgers or breakfast sandwiches.)
- Low Carb Tortillas
- Oikos Triple Zero Yogurt (I love all their flavors, but was craving some coffee and caramel.)
- Pico De Gallo
- Salsa Verde (I put this on my egg bowls every morning.)
- Greek Yogurt (I plan on trying this as a sour cream for our fajitas and for my lunches this week.)


I meal plan and prep so that I am successful throughout the week. It removes frustrations for me and makes it so much easier as I run from work to the gym and home everyday. I planned the following for this week...

Meal Plan for this week:
Breakfast: Egg Bowls
Lunch: Buffalo Chicken from Well Plated loaded on top of roasted potatoes with ranch nonfat greek yogurt and roasted broccoli (I did 30 grams butter, 30 ml of hot sauce, 1/2 cup of broth, 1/2 T garlic power, and 1/2 teaspoon with paprika)
Dinners:
- Fajitas from Skinnytaste
- Stuffed Meatballs
- Naan Pizza
- Cajun Ranch Turkey Burgers

I have a recipe for the Cajun Ranch Turkey Burgers, but I  am still working on recipes for the meatballs and I will do a link to both of those soon.

Love,

 

Jamie Lynn 

 



The Real World

I am so totally dating myself by the title of this post. Yes, I watched the MTV show and I to this day do not know how that was "The Real World". In my real world, things do tend to be a little crazy and not really as I want them planned. Take for instance my Spring Break daytrip, we got around early and grabbed doughnuts and a cinnamon roll from Sweet Smuckers Doughnuts.

Sweet Smucker's Cinnamon Roll and Weigel's Organic Nicaraguan Coffee

Sweet Smucker's Glazed Doughnut

Luckily, I packed my beanie, scarf, and winter coat because it was cold and getting colder.

Lake Junaluska

Despite the cold, we still had so much fun going into North Carolina. We walked around looking at the shops in Slyva and eating some good things.

Lulu's Burger and Fries

Lulu's Morsel's, one of the best things I have ever eaten!

Baxley's Chocolates

We actually left early because the snow was starting to fall more, and we did not want to get stuck up in those mountains.

Truth is that the night before this I ate half a candy bar that did not fit my macros, then I ate all that yummy food while loosely tracking macros. Then the next day I loosely tracked again when I enjoyed some homemade candy that we got at Yoders.

Homemade Peanut Butter Cup from Yoder's

Friday though I got back on track and ate correctly, because I have goals. I would like to drop about 5 more pounds before my half marathon that I am training for right now. So I sucked it up for Saturday's date eating tuna and drinking a protein shake, because I wanted Babula's and Coolato Gelato. I went and did arms, ran two miles, and did my core exercises. I felt so bloated after my three days of not being focused, but I told myself to get over because it was self-induced.

Weekly Gym Selfie

Ready for my date with my cute hubby.

Babula's Tacos: Chicken, Carne, and Carnita (my favorite)
Got happy that it was ready, and started eating before I took a picture.

When we get to the movie theater I notice that the times were different on my phone versus what the theater was saying. I decided while hubby was waiting in long line for entrance to Beauty and the the Beast that I would go ask to see if something was wrong.

YES! YES! This girl got tickets at the wrong theater. Facepalm! We could not make it to the correct theater in time and they were sold out for the time we wanted. So I went home with no Coolato Gelato and not having watched Beauty and the Beast. My wonderful hubby took me to Redbox were we rented movies instead and he did not make one single comment about me deleting the gelato out and replacing it with a WHOLE PINT of Red Velvet Halo Top. He knew better because I was upset that I had messed up. But that is life, it is full of mess ups. You mess up your macros or diet and you get back on track. You have snow on your Spring Break, you suck it up and look at how beautiful the mountains looks with snow on them! You get tickets at the wrong theater, you laugh it off and go rent movies and buy Halo Top with the money you save. That is the real world!

Motivation Monday: Me

Life has been crazy lately, not sure why exactly but it probably has to deal with juggling too many things. And then I had to go take a one day Valentine's Celebration and take it into a three day celebration. I overdid it for me, I had too many sweets and I had to rein myself back in. I loved eating it, but hated the sluggish feeling I was having. I am currently training for a half-marathon (I really just put that fully out there) and I need to be running more for it and all the carbs make me feel horrible.

So today's motivation for me to stay on track is fueling my body to train hard. Training hard in the gym and training hard on the asphalt requires lots of fuel. I want to grow my body, strengthen my body so that it can run those 13 plus miles with grace and ease.

Weekly Gym Selfie 2/17/2017

The half marathon is something that has been on my "Once in a Lifetime" list, I never thought I would run let alone want to try to run a half marathon. I made this goal a long time ago, got a little serious about it last summer, and now I am really planning on the half marathon and the trip around it.

Saying all that I know that I have to get my act together not only with the eating, but the training. I am currently having some IT Band and Hip Flexor issues and by not focusing properly on my training, my stretching, and rolling then how I am going to run it. If I am not putting myself first by taking time for my training and my eating how will my body heal everyday and run the race.



My focus this week for motivation will be am I eating to fuel my body and are my workouts supporting my upcoming goal of the race.

"Let us run with endurance the race God has set before us."
-Hebrews 12:1

Love,

Jamie Lynn

Motivation Monday: Mess ups!

This was a rough couple of days food wise, I had too many crazy things going on and too many temptations. We had a Superbowl Party at work, doughnuts from Dippin' Donuts, and a student's mom brought doughnuts from their doughnut shop called Makers. Let me say that a year ago had I messed up with my calories or eaten outside of my restrictions you would find me giving up for a whole week and starting again on Monday. Then came the years that when I would let that whole day be a crap day filled with Nutella, peanut butter, chocolate, etc. anything I had deprived myself of during that time. It was a depressing cycle of deprivation, overindulging, penalizing restriction, and starting again.

Now, when I mess up I try not to let it all go down the drain. I try to take ownership of that mistake by logging the food or still measuring the food that goes into my mouth despite me being over on macros or calories. This is a lifetime journey, not just some monthly try to slim down goal. I want to be healthy the rest of my life and I may be crawling slowly towards my goals, but I am still progressing forward.

The picture on the left was June 2016 and the one on the right is from January 2017. While there is not huge differences between the two but I am down a pants size and there is more definition in my arms than there was before. If I had quit every time I was faced with a temptation or running too much, then I would not be where I am. I can only do the best I can with what time I have and since I have made my health a priority I will put what effort I can towards it, not letting lack of time or abundance of temptations keep me off track for too long.

I hope you have a great week filled with meeting your goals or making the best of the obstacles that are facing you!

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

She Did What?!

I ate a kid's meal from Wendy's last week! That is correct. I had a cheeseburger, French fries, and swapped my drink for a Frosty. You know what though... I do not regret it for one minute. It was tasty and satisfying.

I love eating in a healthy manner. It makes me feel good on the inside and strong on the outside, but sometimes you just want to eat something different. I just wanted a burger, I did not want anything else. I have learned that if I fill that void with what it truly wants in moderation then I am normally satisfied and I am not like a hungry bear searching for something to satisfy my cravings.

I had been running like crazy last week preparing everything for an upcoming business trip, celebrating our soon arriving wedding anniversary (7 years!), visiting grandparents, and still trying to stay on point with food. That running sure helped me hit my steps everyday, but my anticipation of only having one rest day ended up as two when I did not get home until ten one night.





My exercise for last week looked like this:
Monday: Elliptical for 35 minutes in the evening, burnt 482 calories
Tuesday: Body Sculpting Class. burnt 466 calories
Wednesday: Elliptical for 30 minutes in the morning, burnt 415 calories
Saturday: Jillian Micheal's "No More Trouble Zones"


My food last week was good except Thursday when I had a half price milk shake from Sonic. I enjoyed it, but at the of my enjoyment guilt slipped in and I was like I should have gone for the small and not a medium. You live and learn, in the past one slip up meant two days of slip ups. I would convince myself that I would just postpone my diet, eat whatever I wanted for a couple of days and get it out of my system. I would be cured! That never worked. Then I learned to wean that down to a day, but that was still bad because I would eat whatever I wanted to the point that when I woke up I felt horrible. Now, when I slip up it is for a couple of hours and I let it stay that way. I do not give myself a whole day of splurging, instead I eat a healthy breakfast and lunch then I try to eat that splurge in moderation or with something healthy on my plate. So our anniversary dinner was onion rings for appetizer with bread, I then selected grilled Mahi Mahi and braised spinach for my dinner. I did not like the braised spinach so I did not eat more than three bites. The milkshake is what killed it for me though. I had like 200 calories left and we all know that that milkshake had five times that amount.


In the near future I will be going out of town and I love to travel. I love the sights, I love the experiences, and I love the food. That is my downfall! I would really love to see the 150s before summer ends and if I want to I am going to have to stay on point with everything else! In the past I have tried not to eat into my exercise calories, but on active days I am starving if I only eat the 1,500 calories I allot myself. (I used to try to eat 1,200 calories until a nutritionist educated me, how did I ever do that?!) So I am going to try to up my intake to 1,600 calories max and see how that goes.

With all that in mind are my goals for this coming week:
Sunday- Rest
Monday- Elliptical
Tuesday- Elliptical w/strength
Wednesday- Elliptical
Thursday- Rest
Friday- Strength
Saturday- Cardio

Step Goals: 10,000 bare minimum
Food Goals: select healthy and enjoyable options
-log everything regardless if I go over
- try for a deficiency

What are your goals for this month?

Love,
Jamie Lynn

Weekly Goals

On Sundays I prep all of my food for the week, this one little trick keeps me sane when I have weeks that include:

Ho Cakes and Biscuits at Paula Deen's



Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans, Mac N Cheese, Corn Casserole,
and Cheesy Meatloar @ Paula Deen's

Then the fatty food lover in me went and had to get cupcakes from the Sweet Shoppe of the South, a winner of the Food Network Cupcake War. It was yummy, but I will not hit my weight goals by combining food like this and not hitting my step goals. Try as I wanted last week I was always around 8,000 steps, so sad.

Enough of the negative though....while I feel another crazy week going on I am putting a plan together to help me stay focused this week.

1. Food Prep: Salads with quinoa and chicken, hardboiled eggs, overnight oats, and hummus with snow peas.

5 of everything except the overnight oats, they can only soak up to a max of three days.

2. Exercise Schedule

Monday- Run

Tuesday- rest, stay active

Wednesday- rest, stay active

Thursday- Body Sculpting

Friday- Run

Saturday- Jillian

Sunday- Run

3. Stay under my 1,500 calories everyday and get 10,000 steps in each day.

What are your goals for this week? What are you doing to stay on track?

Love,

Jamie Lynn

Progress Pictures

Hello! It has almost been a year since my last post because life got crazy, so this got put on the backburner. I have decided that blogging helps to hold me accountable and I often get asked how I have lost so much weight. With all of that said I am going to try my best to keep up with the blog much better this summer. Let me get you started with some progress pictures.

210 lbs (June 2013) vs. 167 lbs (June 2015)

210 lbs (June 2013)  vs. 167 lbs (June 2015)

Summer 2013 vs. Summer 2015
 (I wore this black dress in my engagement announcement pictures 8 years ago)

 

It has taken me a while to get here and I am so excited to say that I have only 17 lbs to go before I reach my overall goal of 150 lbs. I have fallen off the wagon a couple of times in the past two years, but I have never gained more than ten of it back when I did and I would quickly get it back off. My goal is that by the end of the summer I am to my goal weight.

 

 

How far have you came since the beginning of your journey? What are your goals for this summer?

 

Love,

 JamieLynn  

Weekly Weigh-In #2

My week was good and I could tell I was doing great with my goals. Bam! Then the weekend came and it set me back some.  It was a great weekend filled with several events, events with great food.

My weight loss this week was going to be pretty great before the weekend came but I am still pleased with my loss.

This morning I weighed in at...

191.2

That is down by 1.4 lbs!

 

 

Here is some progress pictures, not a ton of difference but still progress.

 

Week 11 Weight 194.4

Week 15 Weight 191.2

 

 

Week 11 Weight 194.4

Week 15 Weight 191.2

My Weekly Goals #1

I love to make goals and I am learning to accept that it does not always happen perfectly like wanted.

Here are my goals for the next week:

1. Workout everyday by running, 30 DS, or weight training.
2. Start Level 2 of the 30 DS, I have been doing Level 1 since May.
3. Get in my 10,000 steps everyday. My Fitbit is really making me more aware of how active I am.
4. Hit the 20 pound loss mark before the end of next week, only have a little over a pound to go.

What goals do you have? What steps are you going to take to make them?

 

Love,

Jamielynn

I am linking up to Operation Skinny Jeans Weekly Goals Link Party.