Eat healthy, run hard & be happy.

(via healthwins)

This is so perfect for strength training — know which areas to target!

(via healthier-habits)

Oh, April. You have been one interesting month! My April goals were going fantastically as of the second week (Week 12). I was down from the 160s to 156.4 lbs. On April 13, I was involved in a car accident (someone hit me in a parking lot) and a neck sprain caused me to not only be exhausted and soar, but limit my ability to work out. Although the doctor encouraged I got back to exercising ASAP, it took me a good week or so to start feeling myself again. I also had to a lot of car shopping to do and traveling since my car was totaled which affected my schedule.

ANYWAY, with that said, I’ve tried to get back on the horse and finish April out strong. The week after my accident, April 14-20, I ran a few days, but skipped yoga due to headaches and inability to move my neck. I completed a 5K on April 20 through the Fort Worth Zoo, but I only ran about 2 miles of it at a slow pace and then walked to enjoy the animals at the zoo, like the beautiful elephants! I finished in less than 40 minutes.

I rode my bike to the race since it was only about 3.5 miles from my home, which started a new fitness trend for me. I have a hybrid bike that’s not too heavy and Fort Worth is filled with awesome trails, so I decided to start riding my bike at least 10 miles once a week. This past Sunday, April 28, I rode a fantastic trail for 14 miles and it was absolutely beautiful in the warm weather. I’m back to yoga (two classes last week and hopefully three classes this week) and running with Nike+ tracking. My weight has plateaued for two weeks at 155.2, but I’m determined to keep going. 

I’m really determined to get back in the 140s weight-wise, so I want to really work hard in May and lose 6lbs. My solution: begin training for that half marathon I keep talking about. I’m still researching a good plan for me, I’m thinking something that’s about 12 weeks from Fitness Magazine. Then I’ll sign up for something in Sept/Oct and push myself to do it!

Finally, I’ve added a new goal to my list. I want to do a sprint distance triathlon (1/2 mile swim, 12-mile bike, 5K run). My only real weakness is swimming. So alongside training for a half, I will start swimming lessons. Ideally, I would do a triathlon next April, but maybe sooner. I want to do something local when it’s warm out, so I think that might be the best time to allow for good training. Once I get a swim program nailed down, I’ll try to swim once a week. Can’t wait to start using my gym’s indoor lap pool!

So here’s to surviving car accidents and getting back to accomplishing my goals! Let’s do this, May!

Great 12-mile bike ride to the gym and back! Loved the beautiful weather and riding next to the Trinity River on the trails. Burned more than 350 calories!

Lunch today! Half flatbed with sauteed papers and onion, “fried” zucchini bites and a mandarin orange. So yummy!

April is almost half over and I feel so good about my progress! I’ve been sticking to my fitness goals and eating as healthy as possible. I only had one dinner out this week (sushi) and I filled up really quickly, which was a great feeling! I had my weekly Thursday weigh-in last night and I lost 1.6 lbs. It’s been hard to not weigh myself every day now that I have a scale at home, but I think it’s nice to track this type of progress on a week-by-week basis. It helps me see how my hard work has paid off! And I like that I’ve managed to educate myself enough where I’m not counting calories or depriving myself, but I’m still losing weight (and building muscle!).

• SW: 168ish
• CW: 156.4
• GW: 135
• Loss of about 12 lbs in 12.5 weeks!

And here’s what I’ve been up to in exercise:

• Mon 4/8: Rest day
• Tues 4/9: Yoga 60 min
• Wed 4/10: Yoga 60 min; Cardio (running) 1.6 miles
• Thur 4/11: Cardo (running) 2.01 miles

I’ve been bringing my tofurkey on flat bread sandwiches to work and loving how good they taste and how fast they are to make! All I need is some spinach, cucumbers, onions and bell peppers to add and I’ve got a great lunch that’s low in calories and high in protein. YUM!

Okay, ready to finish off Week 12 strong!

Today in yoga I successfully executed crow pose. This has been something I’ve aspired to do since I started practicing yoga in February. It felt so good for my toes to finally lift off the ground!

I’ve had a good week in health and fitness. I took Monday as a rest day, went to yoga for an hour yesterday and then had another hour of yoga today with 20 min of cardio (ran 1.6 miles in 17 min). Tomorrow is my weekly weigh in and I’m hopeful I’ve lost! I am finally starting to feel strong and toned. I’m hoping to add free weights to my fitness routine this week. I made a plan for myself (which I posted) and am following that, just switching the days around as needed.

I’ve also discovered chai seeds, tofurkey and Trader Joe’s delicious flat bread. I’m adding the seeds everywhere I can and then plan to make tofurkey, spinach and mustard sandwiches for my work lunch! Excited to find this meatless product with high amounts of protein! The flatbread also has about 4g for the portion I use. Lots going on. April has been successful so far. I’m remembering why I started this journey and how important it is to never give up! Progress is progress even of it’s slow.

I’ve got a timed 5K next weekend (April 20) that I will aim to complete in 31 min or less. I plan to keep on training hard!

Made some fresh cucumber salsa last night for lunch today. I ate it with Trader Joe’s quinoa and black bean tortilla chips. DELICIOUS!

The recipe for the cucumber salsa was based off of this pin. The ingredients included:

• 2 cups finely chopped seeded peeled cucumber
• 1/2 cup finely chopped seeded tomato
• 1/4 cup chopped red onion
• 2 Tbsp minced fresh parsley
• 1 jalepeno pepper, seeded and chopped
• 4-1/2 tsp minced fresh cilantro
• 1 garlic clove, minced or pressed
• 1/4 c reduced-fat sour cream
• 1-1/2 tsp lemon juice
• 1-1/2 tsp lime juice
• 1/4 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp seasoned salt

I didn’t have lime juice, so just used lemon juice. I used golden onions instead of red, and Chobani Greek Non-Fat Yogurt instead of sour cream. This made about two lunches and a snack worth of salsa!  And using the yogurt amped up the protein amount.

Working a long 12-hour day and needed some caffeine to stay awake and protein to curb my cravings. I used a tablespoon of instant coffee mixed with about 1 cup of water and some sugar free caramel macchioto creamer from Coffeemate. I added in some vanilla ice cream protein powder, 1/2 a banana and ice and blended. It’s delicious! Better than Starbucks and packed with protein and potassium.

Feeling sweaty and good! Finished a 5K in less than 31 minutes! Yep, feeling REAL good :] another goal SMASHED!