Motivation Monday

I have always loved fashion; The accessories, the fabrics, and the colors. As a teenager I loved flipping through the magazines and eyeing the hottest trends and what styles were making a come back. As an adult I am loving browsing Pinterest and some of my favorite Instagrammers for fashion ideas. I could spend hours searching for color combinations, how to roll your pants for those new booties, and new ways to wear my closet full of clothes.

While I have always loved clothes, there was a time that I purchased new clothes all the time because I was always searching for "that outfit" the one that would make me look ten pounds slimmer or make me feel pretty.



Tybee Island

Mayfield Dairy 2012

 I seriously had a closet full of clothes that I could not stand, but sadly it was not the clothes. It was not that I disliked the clothes really, deep down I did not like the way that I looked in them because I wanted to look a different way. I wanted to enjoy picking out clothes, not dread it. I wanted to feel cute in clothes.


Now that I have lost weight, I actually love picking out clothes to wear and tend to dress up every opportunity that I get, even for a simple date with my hubby.

Dress: Marshalls Slip: The Southern Belle Boutique

I actually love shopping little boutiques and picking out new clothes from them. I used to actually be intimated by shopping at boutiques because the clothes tend to run different for each brand it just made me feel uncomfortable and I did not want to buy from the curvy section, because it meant that I was "big".

Dress: Loveriche from C.C. Belle  

 I now look forward to putting outfits together again and I am so excited how much more I will enjoy getting dressed as I get to my goal weight.

As we get closer to summer I am sure clothes are going to motivate me even more to stay on track.

Love,

Jamie Lynn 

Workout Wednesday: Gear

This Christmas my hubby spoiled me with some new workout gear. Gloves and headphones are staples that I have to have when I workout because I love not having to listen to gym noises and I do not want calluses on my hands! My gloves were starting to look poor and I hated to always have my phone attached to me when I worked out. So this Christmas he replaced a couple of things and purchased me a couple of other things.

Gloves: Achievefit sold by Drapers
Love them so far! They cover my whole hand and are of great quality leather. I do love the wrist wrap to give me extra support. I love how they fit my hands, we used the sizing guide to ensure they would fit. I also love the fact that my hands are not all sweaty when I take them off. Another plus was that they owner of the company e-mailed me several times to ask how I was liking them so far and asked me to keep them informed of the integrity, that says a lot.

Earphones: Treblab XR500 Bluetooth
I absolutely love the way that they fit into my ears, fit is a big problem for me with earphones. They have amazing ratings on Amazon and on the site that I purchased them from. They charge quickly and have a great charge. I selected this one because it does also have water resistance to a degree, which I wanted incase I get rained on when running. They also allow me to not have to carry my fanny pack around the gym!

Ring: Rinfit Silicon
I got hubby one by back a couple of months ago from Saferingz, but they did not have any that he wanted for me. He picked out this company because they were hypoallergenic and they had colors that I would like. I am really loving them because they are so comfortable, they fit under my gloves, and keep any "gym daddys" at bay. I am so excited about wearing these when we go hiking during the summer months and not worry about losing my ring.

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 

Saturdate: Double Date

This weekend we went out with the In-Laws, I am so blessed to have such great In-Laws! We went to Greenbrier Restaurant in Gatlinburg because the hubby was craving one of their steaks with Maitre d'Butter and their loaded baked potatoes. I have to say that their steaks are definitely one of my favorites in the area.

I thought this statue was too cute! 

After dinner, we stopped at Mad Dogs for doughnuts and ice-cream. I got the Red Velvet Cake and the Devil's Food with Peanut Butter Icing. I preferred Matt's Maple Yeast Doughnut over my cake doughnuts. We also got this monster of a cinnamon roll to try.

Mad Dogs Cinnamon Roll

We saved it until Sunday since I was out of macros and neither one of us wanted a sugar coma.
It was crazy good warmed up and with a tand more icing that we made, since we like it slathered.

Love, 

Jamie Lynn 

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