Love Yourself

First of all, I LOVE Jennifer Aniston.

When I decided to start losing weight and join THE CHALLENGE, I thought I would get to spend as much time in the kitchen baking.  What I have learned about myself is that I am GREAT with recipes.  It has become a personal challenge to not stop eating the things that I love, but to make the things that I love better for me, and for my family. I love adapting recipes, and making them healthy. To be honest, since I started losing weight, I have spent more time in the kitchen.  I make protein brownies, cookies, cakes, etc.  I am even working on adapting a Pop Tart recipe that I found to make it more healthy.  Pop Tarts are my son's FAVORITE food in the world.  I cringe every.single.time that I put them in the toaster, thinking of all the processed junk and sugar that is in them.  I can't wait to perfect this recipe and share it with you all!!! 

Shamrock Shake

SHAMROCK SHAKE!!!

Ingredients:

- 2 Scoops Vi Protein Powder (that tastes like cake mix)

- 1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk

- 1/8 teaspoon mint extract

- 2 teaspoons Sugar-Free pistachio pudding mix

- Ice (to taste)

- 1/4 cup of fat-free cottage cheese (optional)

- 2-3 drop of green food coloring (optional)

Directions :

Put all the ingredients in the blender and mix until the desired consistency! Then drink it up!!! =)

McDonalds' Shamrock Shake is one of my BIGGEST weaknesses. Mmmm so delicious. But, they will not get the best of me this season. I found a delicious protein shake recipe that tastes VERY close to this shake, and IT'S GOOD FOR YOU!!!

Source : Adapted from Dashing Dish

SORE

It's legs day... Eesh!!! LoL. I love legs day, because I can really FEEL the workout. And I mean I am sore for days! Haha. It's great though, I love the sore feeling because it gives me a great sense of accomplishment!!!

So True

It is going to take me a LONG time to accomplish all of the health and fitness goals that I have set for myself, but I look forward to the journey. My only regret is that it took me so much time to get started!

Transformation Tuesday

THIS is what a 100 pound difference looks like!!!

For my first Transformation Tuesday post, I would like to introduce you to my boyfriend, Geoffrey! Geoff started his weight loss journey in early September of 2012. At this point, he is down about 102lbs!!! HOLY COW! That is an amazing accomplishment in a mere 5 months! Geoff has completely dedicated himself to a healthier, happier lifestyle. He is a HUGE inspiration, and a wonderful source of support for me. 
Geoff started losing weight as part of a contest on Reddit. It was a 90 Day Weight loss challenge the encouraged people to get active and healthy, they offered small prizes to the winners. He has accomplished his weight loss by watching his portions, drinking Vi Protein shakes, and riding his bike. He has recently added some strength training exercises to his workout regimen. He still would like to lose another 80lbs, and I know that he will reach his goal! Losing weight together has really strengthened our relationship. It is incredible to be on this journey together!!! LOVE YOU GEOFF!

Aren't we cute?!?

Stuffed Strawberries

I have been drooling over all the pictures of cheesecake stuffed strawberries that people have been posting on Pinterest!!! Unfortunately, they're not very healthy, so I decided to try and make a protein packed version of these strawberries, just in time for Valentine's Day!


Stuffed Strawberries

Ingredients :

• 1/4 cup fat free ricotta cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon Truvia
• 1 scoop Vi shake mix (that tastes like cake mix)
• strawberries

Directions :

In a small bowl, mix the ricotta cheese, vanilla extract, Truvia, and Vi shake mix until completely smooth. Then, transfer the mixture to a piping bag.

Cut the tops off of the strawberries, and place upside down on a plate. Cut an X shaped opening in each of the strawberries, and using the piping bag, fill with the cheese mixture.

2nd Challenge!!!

So tomorrow is Day 1 of my new 90 Day Challenge! I am so ready to rock this Challenge. My first Challenge I really focused on the scale, and while I still achieved my goals, I found myself dreading weigh in day, because the weight wasn't falling off like it was at the beginning. This time around, I'm going to focus less on the scale, and more on getting FIT. I'm only going to weigh myself every 30 days.

How adorable is Jamie Eason?!

My friend recommended that I follow her Live Fit workout program. So that is exactly what I am going to do. I am going to dedicate this Challenge to working out and following the plan, (both workout and diet) and I know I'm going to have a lot of success this Challenge!!! 

Cheers to the next 90 Day Challenge!!!

Bahahaha... wouldn't that be nice?!?

1 Pound at a Time!

"I may not be able to lose 100lbs, 

but I can lose 10bs 10 times."

Towards the end of my first Challenge, I was beginning to struggle with the fact that the pounds were not falling off like they were the first few weeks.  As I started to get discouraged, I came across this image on Pinterest.  It's important to remember that whether it's 1lb, or 10lbs, I am still moving towards my goal!

My First 90 Day Challenge

WOW! It has been 90 Days since I made a conscious decision to lose weight, start getting fit, and better my own life! They say, "Time flies when you're having fun!" THEY'RE RIGHT! I can't believe that the 90 days are up already!

Before I started THE Challenge, I was the heaviest I've ever been in my whole life. Weighing in at a STARTLING 220lbs. Eek! (I can't even believe I'm posting that on the internet.) I was unhappy. I hated looking at myself in pictures (and that's sad, because I have a four year old, and I want him to have TONS of pictures of his family), I felt horrible (sleepy, sluggish), and my plantar fasciitis was HORRIBLE (I mean I could hardly get out of bed in the morning, because those first few steps were unbearable).

A friend from high school had been posting a bunch of success stories, and pictures about the 90 day challenge. She and I had talked about it multiple times before, but I wasn't ready to dedicate myself to it then. Then one day I decided to just go for it, contact her, get started, better my own life.

BEST DECISION EVER!!!!

My goal for my first 90 day challenge was to lose 25lbs.  After talking to my friend, we decided that was a nice realistic goal, and a great starting point for my end goal, which is to lose about 80-85lbs.

It wasn't easy, it took making the right decisions every.single.day. But at the end of this first challenge, I am EXTREMELY happy with my SUCCESS! I lost 26lbs!!!

Here are my Before & After Pictures:

Do YOU have 90 Days to DEDICATE to bettering yourself???