Things I Love Thursday August 14 People Edition

This installment of 

is dedicated to Robin Williams.  His death is the first actor's that really hit me.  It made me think of all the other public figures I love.

Credit:  Facebook and Emily Stepp

Robin Williams
Aladdin, Mrs. Doubtfire, Jumanji, Dead Poets Society, the list of great movies goes on and on!  Even Kaylee's heart sank a little when she found out that Genie and Alan (Williams' character in Jumanji) died.  He was an amazing actor and his genius will be missed.

Credit:  Facebook

Andreia Brazier
My fitness inspiration.  I hope to look like this eventually.  

Credit:  News.Health.com

Jillian Michaels
Love her.  She is part of the reason I am now addicted to Biggest Loser.  {I watch every episode of every season.  It's honestly one of my favorite shows.}  She honestly seems like the type of person I would want as a fitness friend and I'd LOVE her to be my trainer {I need that push to get me through my workouts}


There are so many more people I love.  Most of them aren't fitness related so I didn't include them but, they are:  Bettie White, Dick Van Dyke {I will be sobbing when he passes}, Mary Tyler Moore, The Undertaker {my second husband}, just to name a few.

What public figures do you love?

Not Another One!

On Mondays I like to give y'all a new recipe.  I do this to show people that when you are training there is no need to live off of boring plain veggies and protein.  Unfortunately this week every single recipe I wanted to blog about failed.  None of them were blog-worthy.  

So, I'm bringing you an oatmeal recipe.  {I know you're probably sick of my oatmeal recipes but, I didn't want it to come to this either!}  This recipe is quick and simple.  Its' a "set it and forget it" type of recipe.  

Enjoy!

Warm Chia Overnight Oats
Calories:240
Fat: 10 g
Carbs: 32.8 g
Fiber: 9.8 g
Sugar: 1.0 g
Protein: 9 g

Ingredients
1 T chia seeds
1 serving quick cooking oats
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
dash cinnamon (optional)

Directions

1. Stir everything together, cover and refrigerate overnight.  
2. Heat in microwave for 1-2 minutes until warm.  You can also eat them cold if you'd like

It's very thick so add a few splashes of almond milk to thin it out if you like your oatmeal thinner.

8 Weeks Left!

Another week down!  As of tomorrow I'll be 8 weeks out!  Where has the time gone?!?  The next 8 weeks are going to fly by.  I have to order shoes, make beauty appointments, buy jewelry, so many thing!  But, my bikini color has been decided.  I'm super excited about it.  I told the girls that they could choose the color and I was very surprised that there wasn't a huge argument over it.  

You know what else is coming up quick?  The end of summer and the girls going back to school.  They go back in 10 days.  Even though it's sad that Sunny is starting Kindergarten {my baby is no longer a baby!}  I'm happy that I will be able to go back to my old gym schedule and not have to watch the clock or miss out of the girls' activities.  

Pictures

Diet
Except for adding chia seeds to my diet {see my post HERE} things have gone back to normal.  I'm really excited about tomorrow.  Pizza cheat meal!  You know you have the perfect cheat meal planned when you're counting down the days.  "___ dinners till pizza!" has been my current random exclamation.  

Workouts
With the exception of Monday and Tuesday I have been doing my workouts at home.  Don't worry though, I have all the equipment at home to do 95% of my workouts.  {I actually have to hit the gym for about 15 minutes tonite just for a few exercises I can't do here}.  I honestly haven't been able to will myself out the door at 6 am and since the girls have been gone for 3 weeks I haven't wanted to miss out on thier activities.  



I get a new plan on Tuesday and I'm really excited to see what kind of changes are going to be made for the next 4 weeks.  I know that starting today I'm cutting out all soda and really cracking down on my sodium intake.  I'm a bit of a hot sauce junkie and most hot sauces have really high sodium.  

Since I'm thinking ahead.  I know that in 8 weeks I will no longer be focusing 100% of my attention on prepping for this competition.  That means my blog can focus on health and nutrition, diet and exercise in more broader terms.  Is there any subject you would like more info on or more content you'd like to see?

Things I Love Thursday August 8th

Wow!  This week has been busy!  Since we got home from South Carolina on Sunday our days have been packed with stuff!  Mo went back to cheer 3 days a week, I did all the back to school supply shopping {$200, not including clothes!}, and I registered Sunny for dance.  We still need to shop for uniforms, school shoes and I have to get Sunny new dance stuff before the 18th.  

I have made a million shopping lists and a bunch of to-do lists recently.  My memory is so bad!  If I was to rely on it I'd forget almost everything.  I make a monthly menu so I don't forget what we're going to eat each week, I have a calendar with all my blog post topics for the month, it's crazy!  The one thing I never forget is.... 

But I do have to admit, sometimes I'll say "this will be great for my Things I Love Thursday post!" but, if I don't write it down I will end up blanking when I actually write my post.

Real Food
Remember on Friday I talked about how I was living on protein shakes because my stomach would get extremely nauseous if I ate anything else?  Well, I'm happy to say that it was all fixed on Sunday.  On the drive home I got a salad from Subway {before then my stomach would start turning at the thought of a salad}, and I've been able to eat normal since then {well, as normal as a bikini prep diet will let me LOL}

Florida
I've traveled to Georgia, Virginia, and South Carolina the past few years and every time I leave Florida I come back with a deeper appreciation for it.

Chia Seeds
I bought some yesterday in order to add some fat to my diet.  {You need to eat fat to build muscle.}  They are really good.  They taste alot like poppy seeds and they are very versitile.  You can use them as an egg substitute, use them in desserts and in savory dishes.  One serving is 3 tablespoons (that's alot!) and it has 12 grams of fat (most of which are heart healthy), 12 grams of carbs, 11 grams of fiber, and 5 grams of protein.  If you soak 3 tablespoons of them in liquid they will expand to almost 3/4 cups!  There are other reasons to eat them.

1. They are high in antioxidents
2. Most of the carbs in them are fiber
3. They are high in quality protein
4. They are high in Omega-3s
5. They can lower the risk of heart disease
6. They can help you lose weight\
7. Lower the risk of diabetes and can help with diabetes symptoms

You should seriously get some to try!  

Okay, I've told you the things I love this week.  Have you found anything that you really love this week?

Never Thought I'd Be Called This!

I am so honored to be nominated by Farrah from FairyBurger for the Very Inspirational Blogger Award.  When I first started this blog I did it so I would have a place to write down my ideas and thoughts.  I also did it to journal my progress.

So here's the deal.  The rules are: Thank and link to the person who nominated you.  List the rules.  Share seven facts about yourself and nominate 15 other blogs you enjoy, then comment on their posts to let them know you have nominated them.

So, 7 facts about me.

1. I'm a breakfast junkie -- I could eat breakfast items for every meal.  I never get tired of them.  There are so many options!
2. I've lived in the same city for 4 years and I have no friends -- The only local friends I have are Ken and the kids.
3. Sometimes I feel scrawny -- Weird, huh?  Occasionally I  look at myself in the mirror and I feel like I look twiggy.  
4. I'm an overplanner -- My vacation is planned by Christmas, I do a monthly menu every month, and I'm trying to plan out my 2015 competition schedule, among other things.  
5. My dream house is in the middle of nowhere -- I want to buy a house on a huge piece of land and have a small farm.  
6. My dream job is to be a puppeteer -- I would LOVE to be on Sesame Street.  I've wanted to do this since I was a kid.  I also want to be an architect and own an ice cream shop.
7.  I used to be a professional photographer -- Yep.  Can't tell from the photos I post now but, I used to do weddings and food photography.  Food and nature photography are still passions of mine, my professional camera is just being wonky.

Some samples of my past work:

So, I'm supposed to nominate 15 people.  But honestly, Farrah nominated all of my possibilities!  So, I'll open it up to y'all.  Tell me 7 things about yourself. 

Rules For a Cheat Meal

So serious!  This is me

Over the past couple months I've learned a few things about cheat meals.  

What is a cheat meal?

"cheat meal n. By setting aside one day a week to eat junk food or whatever you want you take control of your cravings and eat on your terms. This is often referred to as a “cheat meal” because you are deliberately cheating on you diet. This is a method of rewarding yourself for eating well during the rest of the week and provides a much needed psychological boost."

Resource:  CookingMonster.com

Another definition is:

"The ‘cheat meal’ is a meal where foods not normally part of your diet are consumed in quantities that would exceed your normal caloric meal intake at a time. A modest cheat meal can be of benefit for some – but should not be a blatant excuse for a food binge. Cheat meals are appropriate when you are in a mass gaining phase. Used weekly, or once a fortnight, cheat meals can be employed as part of your mass gaining strategy, as long as this fits with your training aims. As a general rule, the leaner you are, the more frequently you can cheat, considering the above guidelines. A cheat meal is also an important psychological strategy to ensure that cravings experienced during times of strict dieting can be met but not compromise your entire food plan."

Resource:  Mr.Supplement.com.au 

I have a cheat meal built in to my meal plan on Saturdays.  Until I was allowed a cheat meal did I realize the contemplation that went into it.  There are SO MANY options!  Which one do you choose???  Well, the past few weeks I think I have overdone mine.  I've ended up so sick.  I've realized I need to rethink my cheating.  

Cheating has some rules and guidelines.  You seriously don't want to go into a cheat meal with no plan.  That just leads to stomachaches and diet destruction.  {I actually read somewhere that eating sauerkraut will help you from getting an upset stomach}  

1. Plan your cheat meal.  Decide exactly what your cheat is going to be.  Pizza?  Fajitas?  Macaroni and cheese?
2. Eat your cheat at the end of the day.  My cheat is always the meal I eat with my family.  This is normally meal 4 or 5.  
3. Don't plan your cheat meal for the same day as your rest day.  This is just a bad thing.  Your cheat meal needs to be on a day when you burn some calories
4. Don't skip other meals.  Your cheat meal should be in addition to your normal diet not as a replacement.
5. It should only last 1 meal.  Don't make it an all day thing!
6. Don't feel guilty.  This is good for your body.  It will actually help boost your metabolism and keep your body fueled. 
7. Focus on complex carbs.  I have found that my body responds best when I cheat with complex carbs.  Bread, tortillas, sweet poatoes, things like this.  

Do you have a cheat meal?  What's your go-to cheat meal or do you just eat whatever you feel like?

August 1st Progress

Happy August everybody!  And happy Friday!  As of today it's been 18 days since I've seen my girls.  I miss them so much!  This is the longest I've been away from them ever and last Saturday it really started to take a toll on me.  Since then I've been nauseous, barely wanting to eat, my stomach turns at the thought of raw vegetables or protein, and I have seriously been craving bread.  After typing up all my symptoms I know what y'all are going to think and NO! I'm not pregnant.

Some of the physical symptoms of depression are:

• Headaches
• Back pain
• Chest pain
• Digestive problems (nausea)
• Exhaustion or fatigue
• Sleeping problems
• Change in appetite (carb cravings)
• Dizziness or lightheadedness

Most people crave their carbs in the way of cookies and cake.  But, since I've been fat free for over 2 years and haven't been able to eat them my carb craving is bread. 

But, I've basically holed myself up in the house all week except to goto the gym and run some errands.  Luckily I get to see my girls in under 36 hours.  We leave for South Carolina in the morning!  {We figured the easiest way to make the switch was at the halfway point between my parents and I.  That way no one has to make the 12 hour drive}

Diet

Horrible!  Besides my morning oatmeal and other scheduled complex carbs I've been living off of protein shakes, green beans and spinach {both cooked.}  In order to curb my cravings {they were so bad that all I could think about all day was bread....it was like I imagine a crack addict feels like}, I have allowed myself a low-carb whole wheat tortilla with PB2 each nite, which is TOTALLY NOT on my plan.  

Workouts

You might wanna call the cops because I've KILLED each of my workouts this week.  After seeing my back progression from the past 2 weeks I've fallen in love with back day.  Back day and leg day are my 2 favorite days.  Since I've been adding my tortilla at nite I've also started adding extra cardio time.  {Note:  In general, it's not healthy to believe that you can eat whatever you want and then just workout extra hard the next day.}  

So, last weekend I went to the competition to check out who I might be competing against in October.  Going to the show gave me a boost of confidence in myself.  There weren't many competitors.  I think the bikini division had like 4.  

Please pardon the horrible pictures.  My camera did NOT like the lighting at all.  But, you see the guy in the yellow shorts?  Ken was amazed with this guy because he made posing look effortless.  Every other guy seemed to be working and straining to pose correctly.   This guy?  Just like a model, no effort required. I really hope my posing looks as easy as his does.

It's kind of sad that there's no link up this month with Jen at JVKom.com.  But, Farrah from FairyBurger has nominated me for the Very Inspiring Blogger Award.  I'm so honored that someone finds me inspirational!  Watch for this post on Sunday.

Oh wait!  Progress pictures.  I'm so off today.  I almost left without posting them.  I'm not as impressed with my changes as I thought I would be.  Is it weird that I try not to really look at my muscles in the mirror until Fridays?  I kind of want to be surprised with how I've changed.  

How do your emotions affect you?