Good Monday Morning! I hope that you had a great weekend. We sure did, as I mentioned on Friday we went to visit my brother and sister in law in Cleveland. We went to a great dinner at an authentic Italian restaurant in Little Italy on Saturday night and then went to the Cleveland Zoo on Sunday, which Ariana loved! It was a nice visit and we are excited they will be moving back to Michigan after they have the baby. How was your weekend? Did you do anything fun or go anywhere exciting?
Before I get to my week 8 in review I wanted to update you on my IIFYM program, or lack thereof. After 5 days on the plan with a lot of planning, cooking, weighing, and scheduling my meals not to mention too much food (for me at least) I have decided to stop with the IIFYM. It is not for me. On Thursday night I ate so much food (mind you it was all healthy food), but I was eating just to reach a number and it hit me that this really isn't going to work for my lifestyle. It was taking over my whole day, and for me that is not balance. I have been working on reaching that good balance and the IIFYM was taking me out of that. I wasn't listening to my body and didn't stop eating when I was satisfied, I was eating just to hit my macro goals. I am going to return to my normal healthy eating habits and I will track for a few weeks in My Fitness Pal to make sure I am getting the right amounts of food for me. I think that for the right person IIFYM would work, but in the end I had to do what I felt was right for me and my body and stop before it did damage to all the work I have been doing on creating a healthy lifestyle that I can maintain.
On to my week 8 in review! I took 3 rest days this weekend, mostly because we were so busy, but also because I was so sore from my heavy lifting week. Even though I had one week left on my original schedule, I changed up my week a little. This week will be a new plan with some Jillian added in! I can't believe that I am moving into weeks 9-12! I definitely have more definition than when I started, and I am feeling much stronger so I will continue to work toward my goals. I know that it takes time commitment and consistency to reach my goals, and I know that I have what it takes to get there. Check back tomorrow and I will share my weeks 9-12 workout plan.
Monday- Heavy chest/arm day
Tuesday- glutes and abs
Wednesday- Heavy back/shoulders
Thursday- heavy arms and some quads
Friday-Sunday- REST
This week I am going to do 3 days of lifting and 6 days of the Jillian Michaels Ripped in 30. I did this DVD program before and I love it! I am going to work it into my week and see how I feel at the end of the week. The few things that I was doing with IIFYM and will continue are eating a pre-workout snack about an hour to hour and a half before my workout and then 30 minutes before taking half scoop of super pump maxx with creatine on my heavy lifting days. I feel like these two changes helped with my workouts. How was your week? Did you get your workouts in?
photo credit |
Clean Eating Butternut Squash Soup
(original recipe here)
Makes 8-10 servings
Ingredients:
2 tsp unsalted organic butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 large onion, chopped
2 to 2 1/2 lb butternut squash, peeled and chopped
5 1/2 cups low sodium vegetable broth or water
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cumin
3/4 cups 1% organic milk
sea salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
1- In a medium stockpot on medium high heat, melt butter and saute garlic and onion for about 5 mins
2- Add squash and broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and add cinnamon, nutmeg and cumin. Simmer on low for about 2 hours.
3- Using a handheld blender, puree soup until smooth. Add milk and blend until combined. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and serve with sliced whole-grain bread.
Nutrients per 1 cup serving: Calories: 132, total fat 1g, Carbs 30g, fiber 5g, sugar 6g, protein 3g.
As for the rest of my menu for the week it will include:
Breakfast: eggs, toast, fruit
Lunch: salad with lots of veggies and a protein (chicken, salmon, etc), Post-workout shakes (meal replacement)
Snacks- almonds, hard boiled egg whites, apples, bananas, mozzarella cheese, kind bars
Dinner- butternut squash soup, and I think I will pull out the crock pot and make some slow cooked meals this week. I will share recipes throughout the week.