Week 8 in Review + Butternut Soup Recipe

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

Here is a clean eating butternut squash soup recipe that is sure to please even the little ones in your house.  This chilly weather makes me crave warm soups. 

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.

What are your workout plans for the week?  Do you try to plan your meals for the week?

Five Things Friday

Happy Friday Fitness Friends!  I have seen Five Things Friday posts on some of my favorite blogs, and I wanted to join in the fun on this beautiful day.  I would love to hear what 5 things are on your list this fab Friday.  These are not all fitness related, but what the heck, I wanted to share anyway.  I also have a love for fashion!

1) Embellished sandals

I got these super cute sandals for a steal at DSW today.  Kind of a funny story actually, my friend Kim and I went out for a girls night and traded shoes (mine were killing my feet!) and she ended up wearing mine home.  Her and her fiance just rescued a new dog and he decided they looked like a good chew toy!  She gave me a gift card for DSW which led me to this great find!  I think I can squeeze a few weeks out of these bad boys before I have to put them away until Spring.

 2) Fall Colors

With the money left over on my gc I saw these awesome fall colors at the register (they get me every time!) and I just had to snag these to pain my nails for the weekend.  Ariana, my mom and I are headed to see my brother and sis-in law (who is preggers with my first niece or nephew) this weekend and I wanted to have fresh polish!  I never do my nails anymore and it felt like a nice treat.  These are colors I will use all season long.

3) Cute messages on shirts

Since, Ariana is growing like a weed these days we needed to do some fall shopping for her today.  My mom told me there was 40% off all kid stuff at Old Navy so after DSW, this was our next stop.  I got a ton of super cute stuff for her, she is going to be a little fashionista (although I am sure she could care less right now, but will thank me later).  While I was there I decided to peruse though stuff for me, and one of my finds was this super cute and lightweight sweatshirt.  It is so comfy and will look cute with a tank and jeans.  There were others with little saying, but I loved this one, its a reminder to live with your heart and soul!

4) Patterned workout leggings

Activewear.com posted these on their Facebook page and I just had to order them!  There was a 10% off your first order on the site, which paid for shipping, so I thought I'd try them out.  I know I workout by myself at home, but I thought if I ever get back to my yoga practice these would look cute and be comfy!  You may catch me wearing them out and about, but hey that is one of the advantages of being a stay at home mom, Ariana doesn't care if I spend the day in yoga leggings.  I also found a super cute back and grey pair at Old Navy, what can I say... I am a sucker for cute workout clothes!

5) Spending time with this sweet girl

I am so blessed that I get to stay home and take care of our precious daughter.  She is growing up so fast and learning so much and I get to be here to experience it all.  She was quite the trooper during our shopping trip today and fell asleep on the way home.  She is so much fun and has her own (strong willed) personality.  I thank God for her every single day.  She is the reason I keep myself active and healthy.  I want her to grow up with a good role model, not have body image issues, eating the right foods (or at least knowing the right way to eat), and staying active.  I want to be here for my grand kids (yea, I know I'm getting ahead of myself here), so I will take good care of myself so I am here for her!

Healthy & Delicious Single Serving Recipes

Order your copy here

Do you love to try new recipes, but hate having so much left over to tempt your sweet tooth?  My fellow Sweat Pink Sister Kamila Gornia of the blog Sensual Appeal has the answer for you!  She created a single serving cookbook with healthy and delicious recipes that include breakfasts, snacks and desserts.  A lot of these recipes are gluten free and vegan, and if they are not, just a few tweaks will make them fit your dietary needs.  Kamila allowed me to preview her cookbook and I am excited to try many (many) of these recipes.  My daughter has a sweet tooth (I wonder where she got that from?) so I love having healthy alternatives to usually decadent recipes is a must.  Here is a sneak peek from her breakfast recipes! 

Chocolate Protein Oats

1/2 scoop chocolate protein powder
1 Tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 cup almond milk
+ more for topping
1/4 cup water
dark chocolate chips for topping
Set the stove on low-medium heat.
Throw in dry ingredients first and mix, then throw in the wet ingredients except the topping ingredients (chocolate chips and additional milk).
Stir and cook for a couple of minutes until the desired consistency is reached. Stir occasionally, more towards the end of the cook time.
Put in a bowl and drop a few chocolate chips on top. Swirl them around if you like. Add more non-dairy milk to top and voila

This recipe for Chocolate protein oats sounds so good and looks easy to make.  This is going on my weekend menu and I know Ariana is going to love it too.

If you want to order your own e-book that is instantly downloadable head over to her website and place your order.  With the low price of $7.99 how can you not?  Oh, and if that's not enough check she has given me a 25% off code to share with you, my wonderful readers!  Enter BLOG25 for your 25% off discount.

Thanks to Kamila for sharing this great collection of recipes with me.

I will be sure to share the ones that I make with you guys here, so check back!

IIFYM Day 4 + A New High Protein Grain

I am well into day 4 of my new nutrition plan, IIFYM.  IIFYM stands for If It Fits Your Macros (see more here).  I am doing this new plan because with what I was doing before I was not getting the results out of my workouts that I wanted to see.  I want to build more muscle and I felt like my nutrition wasn't supporting that goal.  I sought out a coach with the help of a fellow Sweat Pink Sister Michelle Piccolo, who is 10 days out from her first figure competition!  With her advice I contacted Dr. Layne Norton and he referred me to a few coaches.

 After reading many profiles and bios, I chose my coach Carrie McMahon from This Fit Chick .  So, here I am 4 days in and I feel great, I'm lifting heavier and I get to eat!  Carrie gave me my exact macros and a fiber goal to hit each day based on my goal, and I am not going to lie I freaked out a little the first day I saw the numbers and almost (almost!) didn't do it.  But then I thought, I need to do something different if I want to add muscle and get the overall fit figure I am wanting, so I am sticking with it.  Carrie is very helpful and answers all my (many) questions very quickly.  She suggested an app which makes it easier to track my macros, and even though I can eat what ever I want within my macros for the day, I am sticking with whole unprocessed food.  There is also a lot of planning (for all 5 meals) and prepping to make sure that I have the right stuff on hand, but that is not too different from before.  My energy levels are high and I am not starving, although every 3 hours I am ready for my next meal, which means my metabolism is revved up!  Stay tuned for more updates as I progress in the next 12 weeks.  There is also an article on Body Building.com today about Macro Math, if you want to read more about using macro tracking to reach your goals.

Recently I came across this new high protein grain during a shopping trip at Costco.  I was intrigued and decided to grab a bag.  I made it the other night, and it is amazing!  I love it so much more than quinoa (I never was the biggest fan of plain quinoa), it is great just cooked with nothing added to it.  I was worried when I opened the bag because it had a very "earthy" smell, but I was pleasantly surprised when I tasted it.  It has a nutty taste, with the texture of really fluffy brown rice (think P.F. Changs).  The nutrient profile is amazing too, with 8g of protein per 1/4 cup it is a great addition to my meals, and fits in great for my macros.  I am hooked and will run to Costco to stock up, because if you shop there you know, if it doesn't sell they get rid of it.  If you see it any where else let me know.  Grab a bag and cook some up to try, then let me know your opinion. 

Lastly, head on over to Eat. Drink. Be Skinny! to check out part 2 of my Building A Home Gym On A Budget series.  This one is an awesome workout you can do at home with your new equipment.  While you are there make sure to join her newsletter and like her page on Facebook.  Thanks Teresa for having me back!  I look forward to working with you more in the future!

Also, just a quick note...if you leave a comment/question and want to be notified of follow up comments/responses, make sure to click the Notify Me box in the bottom right before you post.

 

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