15 Week Bumpdate and Slowing Down!

Hey guys! It's been about a month, sorry for the lack of posting. I promise I'm still around. I always forget how hard it is to blog during the holidays, and this year, we had a ton going on.  No wedding this time (thank goodness, that was a lot last year), but with our baby news, we had a lot of family to visit with in the past few weeks.  Holiday parties too. Celebrating a one year anniversary.  Both of us had crazy work schedules. We're packing to move into our new house in the next two weeks. Christmas was great and were both fortunate to finally spend a holiday in the same town for the first time in about 4 years.  

SO things have developed in the past few weeks.....

That's me at 13 weeks.  I told Jarrett to take this picture because there were a lot of requests from my out of town friends to see the bump.  It's definitely there.  I also worked a whole exhausting day and wolfed down some dinner before this, so a food baby is sitting on top of the real baby.  I also was super duper tired but trying to look perky. Don't judge me, that pregnancy fatigue is no joke. 

Today I'm at 15 weeks.  No new picture to post, but I'll try to put that up soon.  I'm blogging from Starbucks and feel kind of like a tool asking a random stranger to take a belly photo this morning :)  I'm pretty sure that I'll be all belly throughout this pregnancy.  I haven't gained any weight yet, which is odd to look down and see your waistline look totally different than it did a few weeks ago.  

Physically, I feel awesome.  Right around Thanksgiving, I started to feel a huge surge of energy, which is encouraging. Everyone told me that the second trimester would be the best 3 months of my life, so I'm definitely taking advantage of that right now.  I will not lie, I have avoided the gym for quite awhile.  Smelling sweat and being around a ton of people makes me anxious, so I'm doing more home workouts, walking and running.  I have lost some muscle tone after not doing anything for the entire month of November besides walk Boone.  There were just days where I would be so tired after work that it was all I could do to cook a pizza and take the dog out for a quick walk without wanting to immediately take a nap.  I napped in my car a few times.  I just learned to rest when I needed to.  So glad to have some energy back though.  I have enjoyed getting back outdoors and doing some workouts.  My husband has enjoyed me becoming his DD for the next 6-7 months.

Mentally and emotionally, I have my good days and bad days.  There was a Christmas commercial or 6 that I cried at. There were people that felt super opinionated about what I should and shouldn't be doing while pregnant, which has spontaneously made me want to throat punch them at times.  The hormone surges were really tough and made me feel less like my perky self.  Growing a human is no joke.  

Eating clean in general is just hard to do.  It's a lot of prep each week and it involves having the desire and taste for whole, natural foods.  I have craved pizza, pasta, cereal, and cheese for 12 weeks.  Major carb load. It feels like the night before a half marathon....just every day of my life for 3 months. Things like chick peas, broccoli, and spinach that I loved so much lost a ton of appeal.  But now that I'm feeling better, I'm enjoying fresh fruit and veggies again and back to some small meal prep.  I do feel like I need to eat immediately most days though, and have had some emergency situations to where I felt like I would panic if my soup and sandwich didn't materialize in front of me in less than 10 minutes.  I had a pregnant friend get super snippy one time at a waiter who didn't bring out her Mexican cheese dip quick enough.  I always thought that was hilarious until I pretty much came to a quick understanding of what she was going through recently.  MUST EAT NOW.

All in all, I'm hitting the sweet spot.  I feel healthy and more like myself.  One thing that I am learning to adjust to is telling myself to slow down.  And that it's OK to slow down.  You guys all know that before there was a baby on the way, I was working like a crazy nut and doing things after work like power lifting, pushing 150 pound sleds, and trying to squat my body weight.  I've cut back hours at work to 40 hours a week.  The industry in which I work is demanding and this time of the year is by far the craziest, but I had to scale it back in order to stay sane.  It's hard, because I'm usually an overachiever, but I have something more important going on right now that needs my attention.  I'm learning that it's fine to say no to certain things.  I'm typically a people pleaser and always feel the need to make everyone happy, but I'm quickly learning that is not longer my mojo while carrying a baby.  I have to focus on me and my little family right now.  I have to make decisions that I feel like are good for me, but that may not please everyone around me.  And you know what? It's OKKKKKKKKKKK.  It's OK to go on a run if I feel up to it.  It's OK to let my laundry go a few days.  Its OK if I feel like laying in my bed on Sunday on a gorgeous day and binge watching Netflix 80's movies. 

Hoping that all of you had a wonderful holiday with your friends and family.  Here's to an amazing 2015 full of love, laughter, and of course fitness :)

The reason for no blog posts...Bump Date #1-11 Weeks

Hi.......................it's been awhile...............

I promise there is a good reason for the blog hiatus! A very small, teeny, exciting one. 

That's right! Baby Davis is officially making it's way into the world Father's Day 2015. We are beyond pumped and have been sitting on our news for a solid 8 weeks, so we decided to officially make things social-media official this Thanksgiving.  What better time to share, because we are truly thankful for this wonderful blessing in our lives.  That and I truly COULD NOT hold it in any longer. Our families and close friends and a few co-workers have known, but we kept things quiet in Facebook land.  My mom took our announcement pictures Thanksgiving Day, which seemed like the best time to share.  Even Boone managed to cooperate....sort of!

He's not quite sure what that stocking means yet...

A lot of people have asked for the details on how we found out and shared the news.  I'll start at the beginning (well not the exact beginning, you guys all know how this works).  We started trying in August after our vacation in Florida.  In September, I thought I might have been knocked up, but was not. The first week in October, I felt slightly off.  I couldn't put my finger on it.  I was killing it in the gym and eating super clean, but I was feeling a little more winded and just more tired, but just kind of ignored any pregnancy type symptoms and kept going.  Because I was pumped at my strength progress over the past few weeks, who knew there was something else going on.

October 9th, I randomly invited a friend over for wine.  Weirdly enough, right after I did that, I decided to pee on a stick, because that totally makes sense to do that.  I mean, that's completely logical, right?

I forgot about the test sitting on the counter, came back in about 10 minutes later, and had to do a double take, because there was a very faint line down the middle.  I was shocked, hot, excited, and about to faint all at once.  I even ran outside in the sunlight to look at it again, and sure enough, it was there.  I felt like I was totally imagining it, so off went a text to Jarrett to see if he saw it, and to my best friend, who is a nurse.  Jarrett's response was "Woaaaaaaaaaaaaah!".  Which resulted in about 100 text messages/questions on what we do next. My best friend replied "Yep, you are definitely preggers".  Let's just say there was no wine drinking for me that night. 

Amazing how a few short moments can change your life.  There was a butter bean in there. 

Because my lovely sister has a 6th sense, she called right after I took my test.  The best part was she had been in a minor fender bender that day (OK that was not awesome), but I let her talk about her stressful day for a solid 10-15 minutes.  And then I decided to break the news.  I told her I had some news that would brighten her day and told her I had just taken the test.  She was BEYOND excited.   I'm talking screaming into the phone, forgetting her accident, jumping all around-excited.  This is her first niece/nephew, so she's super pumped.

This all went down on a Thursday, and we had already made plans to visit my parents that weekend before knowing we were pregnant.  And it was tough to decide on if we should share that early, because I was literally like 4 weeks pregnant, according to Google.  Anything could happen in that first trimester and I was a little nervous about that.  But we decided to share anyway with them, because I'm a big blabbermouth and it is hard to keep my mouth shut over such big news like that. 

We stopped halfway through our road trip that Friday to buy them T-shirts for their announcement.  Jarrett attended the University of South Carolina, so we bought T Shirts from the USC book store that said Grandpa Cock and Grandma Hen (mascot is a Gamecock, kinda like a rooster).  We put them in bags and headed up the road.  We walked in the door and chit chatted for about 15 minutes.  Then I let them know we had some gifts for them.  They opened up their shirts.  My mom figured everything out first, MEANWHILE, my dad is not paying attention to the shirt and goes "Oh another Carolina shirt! Thanks!".  HELLO! I had to tell him to read the front.  About 30 seconds of re-reading, he got it, and they were over the moon.  They are first time grandparents, and let's just say that the rest of the weekend was pretty much a big celebration. 

When we got back home, we broke the news to Jarrett's parents next.  We went to their house one evening and had no idea how to make our announcement, because we didn't do T Shirts or have a cute idea.  Mainly because I was very tied and lazy at that point.  We had a hard time coming up with something.  As we walked in, our sweet almost 2 year old nephew came running towards us and we knew he would be our announcement.  We found a piece of paper and wrote "I'm going to have a cousin!" on it and kept it in our chairs until dinner.  We gave it to him and said "Brody, show everyone your note!".  Well, he didn't know what that meant, but we held it up anyway and the Davis's were super pumped to find out another grandbaby was joining the family.  And it was fun to have our nephew as part of the fun.

Anyway, it's been 8 weeks since all of that and a lot has happened.  We had our first appointment.  It went extremely well.  Seeing the baby and hearing the heartbeat was probably one of the best days of my life.  Hearing what sounded like galloping horses was the best sound in the world.  Strong heart rate of 167.  He or she is an athlete, like mama :) We also purchased a house to support our growing nest and are closing in December.  It truly came out of the blue and we got a great deal and it just felt right.  We are moving to a great neighborhood of older homes that is near a good school district, and close to all parts of Charleston.  It's a little scary to do all of this close to the holidays, but life is scary, so we're just going with it.  Boone was in desperate need of a yard, and we got one with this house, so this worked out great. 

Pregnancy has been pretty uneventful so far.  I haven't gotten sick, which has been great.  I have felt nauseous at times, and it was a CHORE to go through the grocery store most days. I feel like a vampire with the super sonic sense of smell. I had to make Jarrett get groceries up until this past week.  I have good days and bad days.  The draining exhaustion was the first sign that my body was changing.  I mean, I did not even realize how tired I would be. 

If I were to tell you guys I was eating clean this entire time, that would be a complete lie.  I've avoided veggies altogether for 8 weeks, but have craved fruit, so that was a fair trade.  I wanted pizza and breadsticks A LOT.  I've craved cereal.  I consumed a lot of pretzels and soda crackers to not feel nauseous or dizzy most days. I carb loaded :) My protein intake has probably gone down, because eating any type of meat made me want to gag.  Even in week 11 when I'm feeling better, I can't do a lot of meat just yet.  So I'm trying to stick to some protein shakes and drinks to supplement that. It's tough to be in a competitor mindset and work out hardcore all the time and watch what you eat, and then your body takes on a completely different mission.  It 's like being in an alien's body, there is no controlling what's going on with you.  I've cried in front of my boss twice now and given him a complex :) Hormones...

And I'll be completely honest you guys, because I'm always honest on here, that part was tough for me.  To avoid the gym because I was tired all the time made me feel like a weak person.  There were times where I would drive up and sit in the parking lot and the thought of lifting weights made me ill.  I felt so out of touch with myself.  I would go home, pour some cereal, and lay on the couch until bed time in the first 8 weeks.  It was super tough.  I mainly stuck to walking the dog a lot and doing squats and lunges when I felt like it.  I've felt the muscle tone weaken in the past few weeks, and that has been hard, because I was performing a lot of CrossFit type workouts up until I found out I was pregnant.  My doctor encouraged me to keep doing what I was doing before with modified weights and a little less plyo.  Working out does make me feel better, but feeling so stinking tired made it hard to do anything.  That was a tough thing for me to accept.  

Side note, on all of this being a tough transition. I have to give major props to my hubs, as J has been completely supportive of my mood swings, my down days, and gassiness.  Well, maybe not that last part, but he's been a trooper.  He knows the days I feel awful and there's either dinner/takeout waiting on me, or clothes folded.  As we come close to celebrating 1 year of marriage soon, I cannot be more thankful for this amazing man that does everything for his family.  I am truly blessed to have him as a partner.  He will make a wonderful daddy.  He's rooting for a boy so bad!

Once I did accept that my body was changing, I understood it was for a good reason.  I'm building a home for the next few months for a wonderful little being that needs my nutrition.  At 11 weeks, I have finally started to feel better.   I rest when I feel like I need to rest.  If a 3 hour nap is in the cards, I take it.  If a jog with Boone feels good, I do that.  I'm planning to re-introduce some weight lifting this week, mainly light lower body, but working on toning my arms and shoulders.  Those were coming along SO nicely a few weeks back, but now I feel like I have bat wings again.  I've done  a ton of reading on the benefits of strength training for easier deliveries and increased blood supply to the baby, so that's my goal over the next few weeks as I hopefully feel better.  Maybe some pilates thrown in for additional low impact strengthening.  I do feel like eating some healthier meals finally, so I'm excited to get back to meal prepping.  With the house stuff happening as fast as it is, it will be tough to do these next 2 weeks, but I'm happy to eat things that make me feel good again.

That's the latest! Last week of the 1st trimester is right around the corner, along with another doctor's appointment, so more news to come soon.  The purpose of Chubby Spin Instructor doesn't change, so keep an eye out for a surge in some new workout and healthy eating posts this week!

Much love to you all that have been supportive! Glad to be back in the world of writing now!

What I'm Eating

I've gotten a lot of requests from my friends and some family members to post about what I'm eating.  It's no secret that I started to clean up my diet last year as I prepared for our wedding, but as time went by, I got lazy.  I wasn't meal prepping as much during the first part of the year.  I did better over the summer, but slacked again recently. I think the most common phrase we use in the fitness world is "Failing to plan is planning to fail." It's so true. If you forget your wonderful handmade lunch, chances are you'll be eating leftover work lunches or processed snacks, drinking a DDP (that's diet Dr. Pepper for the layfolk), and then feeling crabby and gross by 3 PM. 

Sound familiar?

I don't subscribe to any type of label on how I eat. It's mostly low carbohyrdate, but I do love some Italian food and will treat myself to pasta every once in awhile.  But it's not Atkins.  I've found that cutting out food groups altogether makes me drop weight quickly, but then I also want to kill everyone around me.  Like Adam Levine did.....I would NOT mind being all covered in blood next to him....just sayin'.....

WOW, that escalated quickly!!!!!

Anywho, I don't do the South Beach Diet.  Or the famous Jen Anniston The Zone diet. It's not really a diet of any kind.  It's not Paleo, although I do love looking up some Pinterest paleo recipes.  Plus I've found that if I post something like "Look at these paleo pancakes I made!!!!", then some of my crossfitters will judge me because I may have used like a smidgen of non-all natural, bought right from the WalMart-honey. Don't judge me!

People have also asked if I cleanse from time to time.  YES.  I absolutely do.  I do it safely though. I still eat.  Non of the cayenne-pepper lemon juice deal, but I know some people that do that, so I won't be all Judgey-Wudgey-was-a-Bear on that. I have used Advocare a few times.  It made me feel wonderful and so clear-headed after 10 days.  LOVE it!

Let's just put it this way.  I eat a lot of food, but I also eat mostly whole foods.  I would definitely lean towards this is more clean eating than anything else. Meaning grown in the ground, or it might have walked on land or flown in the air or swam in the sea at one point.  I love fresh fruits and veggies.  If I could grow it in a garden, I'm probably eating it.  I've started looking at food as fuel, not comfort or a way to ease stress.  That's what hardcore, butt-busting workouts are for.  Seriously, if you are angry, and want to throat punch all of the things, why not funnel that into a positive force and go run? Or throw heavy things? There have literally been times to where I've been fretting and stressing over something, and I will go all beast mode because sweating and hard work makes me feel better.  I have cried in the gym and covered it up like I was sweating to death.  It's a release and it just works for me rather than a bag of cheetos.  Plus if you cry on your cheetos, you will have perma-orange fingers.  Nobody wants that!

Here is a sampling of what my meals have looked like in the past month.  

Protein shakes.  I'm plain old vanilla, but love to throw fruit in there and some flax seeds.  If you're in a fall mood, blend with some pumpkin puree and cinnamon.  Like fall exploded right up in your mouth.  

Lean protein and good carbs.  Chicken strips, sweet potato and broccoli.  And hot sauce. Can't leave that out.

Zoodles! For real, I love the Vegetti (say it in front of your friends and watch them laugh at how dirty your kitchen tool sounds), and it does make great "noodles" if you don't want pasta.  I saute with whatever is in my fridge.  Usually some grilled chicken, there's some turkey meatballs in there, and sundried tomatoes.  YUM.  Very filling.

For snacks, I try to stick to fruit and nuts.  Pretzels too, I feel like straight up chips are too greasy and too salty at times.  Boiled peanuts (hey it's football season, that's a staple right now). Protein balls are awesome too.  They are usually made with some type of nut butter, cinnamon, vanilla protein powder, and maybe some chocolate chips.  If you want a recipe, Pinterest is the place to go, there are THOUSANDS of balls out there......#twss :)

That's just a glimpse into what I've been preparing the last few weeks.  I posted about how I was working out like a beast but not feeling my best and it definitely pointed to my food intake.  I can tell you that this week, I've kept myself honest with all of my own meals (minus a work catered lunch on Wednesday), and I feel great.  I've also started going to the gym at 5 AM.  And then I go home after work and have still had the energy to do things like redecorate a bathroom.

They say you are what you eat.  I believe it.  Abs are indeed made in the kitchen.  I am seeing results and noticing the effects of it up front.  I feel 100% better than I have in a few weeks.  Also, for you ladies out there, I feel like eating this way balances me out on the hormone side.  Which we all know can be like trying to figure out a calculus equation.  Food does effect you no matter what you think.

One of my trainers, who happened to be my spin director for years, gave me a document one time that "graded" food.  It really helped me learn how to shop, read labels, and learn what to avoid.  I'm sharing it with you guys today hoping that you'll rethink some of the choices you make.  I shared this with a good friend who was a bagel and cream cheese girl for breakfast everyday for years.  She took this as Bible truth and slimmed up and now runs marathons.  It was so cool to watch her transform.

Hope you guys enjoy this! Happy Friday and here's to a great weekend!

The condition of your body today is the sum total of all the food choices you made in the past. The condition of your body in the future will be the sum total of all the food choices you make today and here on out. Choose low grade food and you will get low grade results and performance. Choose low grade food and get a low grade body. Choose high grade foods and you’ll get a leaner, stronger, more muscular machine with more energy.

When choosing what you eat at each and every opportunity, ask yourself this question:  Did this food come out of the ground or off a tree or plant this way? If it grew from the ground, walked, flew or swam, it’s natural.

Grade A Foods- Fibrous carbs

Spinach, Broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, tomatoes, asparagus, onions, cucumbers, colored peppers all other fibrous green veggies or salad vegetables,

Grade A- Starchy carbs

Yams, sweet potatoes, barley, oatmeal(old fashioned unsweetened), beans(all types, black eyed peas , slow cooked brown rice, red and white potatoes, carrots

Grade A Simple Carbs

All fresh fruit(not canned or sweetened)

Grade A Proteins

Chicken breast, extra lean ground turkey, all fish, shellfish, egg whites, non fat cottage cheese, top round steak (leanest cuts possible)

Grade A fats

Flaxseed oil, fish oil, fatty fish

Grade B Carbohydrates

A “B’ grade is a good grade. Not the best but it’s good nonetheless. There are many good B foods to choose from, 100% whole grain unsweetened cereals, pastas, breads, pitas, whole grain unsweetened muffins, quick oatmeal, quick brown rice.

Grade B Proteins

Flank steak, extra lean sirloin, extra lean ground beef, nonfat or 1% fat sour cream, cottage cheese, cheese, yogurt, whole eggs

Grade C – average, not poor, not failing, but not good either

Grits, cream of rice, cream of wheat, white rice, pasta from enriched flour, bagels, cheerios, sweetened/flavored oatmeal, enriched wheat bread

Grade C Proteins

Turkey thighs, lunch meats, low fat cheeses, cottage cheese, yogurt, low fat ham, pork or ground turkey

D Grade Foods- foods that are high in refined sugars or made from bleached flour. Highly processed.

Sweetened box cereals, pretzels, crackers, bleached/enriched bread- Wonder bread, muffins and baked goods made from white flour, sugar and/or hydrogenated oil.

Grade D Proteins

Full fat cottage cheese, cream cheese, sour cream and half and half

Grade F foods- The ones that you should almost never eat. Hydrogenated tropical oils (palm, coconut, palm kernel oil. Hydrogenated vegetable oils, anything deep fried, margarine, very high calorie cuts of pork or red meat. Candy, sweets, chocolate, cookies pies, croissants cakes, doughnuts, Cinnabons, and soda! Potato chips, fast food burgers, full fat milk. Processed full fat meats, bologna, salami, bacon, beef jerky, sausage, lunchmeats, hot dogs. 

Everything you eat, either helps or hurts. Make sure that your body is changing for the better and getting the best possible fuel by choosing the highest grade of food.

T

Battling Negativity

Good evening late nighters!  Short and sweet post tonight, but full of some good motivation.

So I'm sitting here working on my spin class I'm teaching in the morning at 5:45 AM and had some time to reflect on the day.  (Yes, you read that right, AM not PM, did you know that 5 comes twice a day????)  I can't wind down for whatever reason.  So I thought I would write a brief post.  It was a good day, but honestly y'all, everything in my path tried to derail me.  

The reason you guys haven't seen me around in a bit on the blog is because I've been fighting some of those demons I talked about in my post called Learning to Cope.  You can read about that here.  I work in one of the most stressful environments, and our busy season, typically coupled with the time change, usually takes me down hardcore.  Last year, I breezed through because....well, I had a wedding to look forward to in December (really hard to believe we've almost been married a year, eek!).   I guess in thinking about that, I will every single year come December 15th :)  But overall, once things start ramping up, the hours get long and the stress can reach points that are hard to deal with.  I've been doing this for almost 5 years now, so you'd think it would be old hat by now.  It is still a struggle, but I get through it.

When I wrote about how I was feeling as a woman, wife, and just a person in general, I look back at my anxiety and think WOW, I was crippled.  Not only that, I was crippled by a poor body image.  I was hiding in my clothes and not feeling super confident about me.  I was still finding comfort in food and letting myself not be disciplined. 

Over the past few weeks, I've been keeping up more with an online accountability group I joined last year.  I joined it because I think that like blogging, being honest to the public (aka Facebook) helps you stay in check with your calls.  I joined ANOTHER group the other night with some of the same folks, and it involves staying healthy for fall.  Definitely a challenge because we all know that pumpkin spiced EVERYTHING is available like free candy and I don't know, something about the fall makes me want to consume a bottle of red wine from my couch a few times a week....in my sweatpants.

So back to today and how everything tried to derail me (and this is where my awesome group comes into the picture).  I arrived at work a little later than I like and got a crappy parking space.  Harumph.  I could NOT get coffee until about 10:00 AM, all because one million people were at the coffee machine all morning.  Hence why I like going in early.  My laptop is a dinosaur and shuts down without warning at least 4 times a day now.  Just in general, people felt snippy and not super chipper.  My office lunch was less than stellar.  I know I know, the troubles of a growing company, woe is me, stop whining, Rebecca, right?  

RIGHT! Because every few hours, I would check Facebook, and people were posting pictures of their healthy breakfasts and daily motivations.  Like "OMG I ran 2 miles today in the cooler air, YAY FALL!" Or "I had protein shakes twice today and loved both of them".  All of the positive vibes kept me really motivated to push through the crazy workload I have going on and just keep going.  

I also left at 5:00, did not turn my laptop back on, and bought myself a new comforter from The Target.  Something about new things make you feel refreshed sometimes.  I also randomly went to a Scentsy party the other night and knew one other person, and it was totally last minute.  Stuff like that would usually set me on a roller coaster of brain battling myself, but I felt like going, and I went and had a blast.  See? I feel like I'm making SOME progress with this anxiety thing.

Maybe it's my new cookie scented candle or my new group with all of their amazing energy, but fall has me totally motivated to have a new attitude this year.  There were things today that I wish could have happened.  I was waiting on a phone call that just did not come through.  I tried to complete a task that has taken me awhile, and I still have road blocks.  I didn't make it to the gym like I wanted.  But all of that is ok.  To know that I'm not bothered by those things makes me realize that the changes, though small, are happening.  And I'm proud of that. 

Ok time to sleep now! I have some really cool workout moves that are coming your way tomorrow after I teach so prepare yourself for some awesome training routines I've been following!

Good night!

It's been awhile..............

So what have I been up to?  This picture should pretty much explain it...

Let's just put it this way...I'm living, breathing, eating, and sleeping college and professional football this fall.  I always look forward to fall because it's a time of year that brings back, in my humble opinion, the most exciting sport on earth.  I'm highly competitive, so I love watching anything that involves 2 people or teams competing for victory.  When Jarrett and I met, I remember thinking to myself "please please PLEASE let him like the same team as I do".  And he did.  The rest is history.  4 years later, we are tailgating veterans and we live for this time of year. We don't love the same pro teams, and I actually grew up without any sort of professional football "team" in my house, but now my Saturdays and Sundays are full of the gridiron.  It's fun times.

One thing that I typically struggle with in the fall is gaining weight.  It's inevitable and the same cycle starts every single year.  I should totally know the warning signs by now. First, the time changes. It gets darker earlier. Then, I feel like laying under a blanket and binge-watching Netflix.  Before I know it, I find myself in the kitchen with cookies shoved in my face and I'm like....how did I get here? Where am I? I don't remember eating these things!

Here lately, I've taken some decent measures to ensure that I'm not buying new jeans in the winter because my butt blew up from all of the foods.  I also don't want to live in leggings every day because one, I don't want to have a camel toe all the time.  Two, elastic waistbands are completely bad for you and you know it's time to do something when your stretchy pants don't fit anymore.  Any of my nurses out there get this? Scrubs are great, but when you somehow find yourself want to wear scrub pants and not real pants, then you might want to back off the food intake. 

Or your underwear, if you underwear is down past your butt every day, time to hit the gym.  Unless your name is Kim Kardashian, then that's normal...

On the workout front, I'm doing great there.  Hitting the gym 3-4 times a week. I want to make it a solid 4-5 days. With a stressful job and all sorts of life things going on right now, I've loving my sweat sessions.  I'm been lifting heavy and my clothes are fitting better.  I love going at night, turning on a good playlist, and just getting down and dirty.  It's fun, I always feel better than when I started. I'm seeing some nice changes.  

But not as fast as I'd like to see them...which brings me to how I've been doing with food...

In the past few weeks, meal prepping has taken a backseat.  Work has been crazy and we've also been on the road so much for football that Sunday meal preps have been on a smaller scale. I've not been good about breakfast, but then again, the company I work for supplies an endless amount of fruit all the time, so that usually helps with a morning meal.  I have been prepping mostly all my lunches, so I typically take leftovers. There are some days though that I literally have been so busy that I've forgotten to eat.  I've gotten into this bad cycle of not eating, and them when I am hungry, I'm ravenous and want to eat 2 pans of lasagna.  That's a bit dramatic, but that's how I feel.  Just feed me and tell me I'm pretty, mmmk?

Seriously though, the one thing I notice about this not so great eating cycle is a difference in the gym.  I don't have enough endurance some days.  Other days, I feel like a complete crazy person and want to run full speed laps around the track, do 30 burpees, and then pass out.  All of that up and down points back to my food intake.  Even though I don't work out with a trainer any more, the ones that I had last year made a big impact on how I work out and eat.  I learned a ton about nutrition.  I remember one of my coaches at one point talking to me about food.  I was trying to drop weight before our wedding last year and even though I'm a fitness person and should know all this, it sometimes takes another person pointing out the obvious.  He was giving me advice after I told him what I was eating.  Same thing, I was eating healthy, but then would cheat on the weekends, but would be exhausted during a workout, hence no endurance and no big gains.  The truth was I wasn't eating enough and eating at the right times.  I would skimp on breakfast, but each a huge dinner and feel like a fat slug.  Tailgating ALWAYS messed me up because there's just too much temptation there.  And alcohol can be a bit of a pest.  I do try to not drink during the week, because when you're 32 and also trying to have a baby at some point, it's a better idea to hold off.  Plus nobody likes a Tuesday morning hangover. 

Getting back on track this week means a few changes.  I will meal prep all of the meals, not just some.  This is a lifestyle for me and husband, and when we get lazy, we see it in our waistlines. Food is fuel and that's how I need to begin treating it again. I'm packing a bag every day with gym clothes and will go each night for an hour.  Packing and having it ready to go just makes life easier.  Failing to plan is planning to fail.  And lastly, I'm taking the time to do what's best for me.  Moving into the busiest part of the year at work typically means longer hours.  It's bound to start happening October 1st, which is Wednesday.  This year, I'm approaching things differently than I've done in the past.  I'm going to walk away from my desk some days and go on a quick walk.  I'm going to actually take a lunch hour and get out.  I'm going to force myself to not be chained to my desk for 9 plus hours a day.  I think "resetting" falls right in line with this time of year.  Fall is exciting.  It's about change, new things, and I think we all start to feel invigorated when those temperatures drop some and the leaves turn.

Let's make it a great fall and reach our goals together.  May we all be the fittest ones at Thanksgiving this year and not like Joey from Friends...

Getting It Done!

I'm BACK! Welcome to the Thunderdome.  Did you guys miss me? Sorry for the weeklong hiatus.  J and I had a mini vacay last week with his family and then work was quite hectic for the 3 days after.  We had a blast! We mostly played with our sweet nephew, Brody.  He is SO SMART and learned to say Aunt Becca.  And Uncle JJ.  (insert melting heart and warm feelings in my ovaries here).

Isn't he adorable??!?!?!?!??!?!?!  We love him.  He's so sweet and funny.  Look at his teeny little bruise on his cheek! He's so tough.

Ok so I digress, like all vacations, I got slightly off track, so I'm back on the wagon this week.

This happened tonight...

Yes that is a redneck camoflage bookbag that I indeed own.  Yes, I use it to primarily go hunting.  No I have not shot anything ever, but I love to traipse around in the woods with my Daddy.  It's bonding time with nature.  I also have some matching boots.  

Inspiration for this came from going to the gym on Saturday and seeing this dude practically melting into the floor while running up a stairclimber...with a weighted backpack.  This was my reaction while climbing right next to him...

There was literally sweat running into his shoes.  So that sparked a little idea.  WHY NOT DO THAT MYSELF!?!?!?!?! He looks like he's about to pass out AND having a swell time...all at the same time.

I tried to do my own version of his workout tonight. I loaded up 35 pounds into said camo-pack and hopped on the stairclimber for 20 minutes tonight.  Ya know...just to warm up...NBD.

Here's a piece of advice if you are going to try this workout.  Maybe tell the gym staff that you're not stealing weights to take them home, you're just trying to get all crazy with your bookbag.  Got some weird looks tonight and had to be all like "OH these are my training tools, I'm not stealing them I promise!!!"

(Prince be like...what you doing with all those weights???)

Anywho, 20 minutes + 35 pounds = OMG MY LEGS ARE DYING.  Pouring sweat all down my cankles.  It felt great! Super hard, but really cool to have people stare at you while you're pounding up the "stairs" while sporting some weight on your back.  I felt this everywhere.  Core, back, arms, and definitely glutes, hanmmies and quads.  Not a bad full body workout. 

After I did my climb, I unloaded 10 pounds and them did 2 sets of lunges and squats around the track in the gym.  Lunged one straightaway, then jogged to the next, then squatted, then jogged.  Repeat. Finished up with some planks and pushups.

And now I can't walk!

I don't know what works for everybody, but I find that when I lift heavy and also do some cardio, usually with weights (body weight or real weights), I get the fastest results.  I posted this picture of myself (bathroom selfie) last Friday right before a wonderful girl's night with 2 of my best friends.  Yes I wore my shades, but I was in a hurry.  Don't judge me.  (And I'm sorry you can see my plunger).

Here is the one thing this picture says to me.  I am strong.  I look at my arms and am starting to see definition.  My waist is smaller.  I can tell that my face is thinner.  I also have a tan.  Hey, tan fat is way better than shiny white fat, just sayin. I feel powerful.  I definitely see change compared to say this picture...

This was taken back in March.  While Boone is SUPER cute in this photo, I definitely hid behind his cuteness because I felt so big that day.  I was kinda back to my old self and realized I had let myself go like leading up to our engagement back in January 2013. 

Progress is a slow process you guys, but it happens when you're serious about it.  It's so cool to look at old pictures and see how I've changed, both good and bad.  You have to want to get work done each and every day.  Even if that means you know you can't make it to the gym one night, but you go for a walk at lunch instead.  OR you trade your hamburger for a salad at Wendy's.  Or you put on a weighted backpack and look up the side of a mountain and try to talk yourself out of it.  But you do it, and you're really glad when you look back and say "I did that!".

It's time y'all.  Time to get it done.  Time to get serious.  Time to do the work!

Night night!

Sunday Morning Thoughts: Words and Music to Fire You Up

A lot of you guys obviously know by the name of this blog that I'm a spin instructor. 6 years and running. One thing that absolutely drew me in from day 1 is the power of words and music, sometimes even song lyrics can get you absolutely fired up.

For some reason, as I was just writing about words, Stuart Smalley and his cardigan, bad wig and mirror came to mind...

"Because I'm good enough, smart enough, and doggoneit, people like me!"

Haha! Isn't Al Franken like a senator or something now? I hope he transforms into Stuart on the Senate floor one day, that would be hilarious.

Wow, I just derailed big time, back to the original message!

Like a lot of my students that I teach, I'm big on a killer playlist.  I love songs that motivate and a crazy beat that just pushes you up and over the hump.  I also love awesome quotes from athletes or motivational speakers that just stick with you when you hear them.  I tend to read some of these each  class and it's a great way to coach without telling people to "Add two turns of gear, I see you faking it over there." I spend a lot of time pulling together the right stuff for 45 minutes each time I teach.  One of the best pieces of advice that my spin director Jonnie gave me early on was, plan your ride and the goal of the class, and then add your music and anything you'd like to say.  It will come naturally rather than trying to be a DJ up there and please everyone.

TRUTH! And that's what I've been doing for 6 years.  Not all of my songs have words to them and some of the best rides I've done before have contained crazy instrumentals (think the soundtrack from Inception, OMG.  Will make you want to run around a track like Usain Bolt).

(Lol, look at Prince Harry.  What a geek!)

This morning, I got up knowing that I wanted to get back in the gym today before our quick 2 day trip to hang out with J's family at the beach for Labor Day.  Yesterday I did legs and my booty was super sore this morning, but alas, these hiney cheeks aren't going to get perky on their own.  I strolled up to the stairclimber, took a big deep breath (because I knew it was going to suck) and got on it.  Started my playlist and just went to town.

Now as I was pulling together my playlist this morning, I just felt in the mood for ghetto and just fun jams. I know, it's Sunday and I should probably be listening to Enya and getting all peaceful and stuff, but I just wasn't having that.

About 18 minutes into my 30 minute stair climb, B Spears lit up my world with "Work B*tch".  (Right about now,  my husband has eye rolled and said "ok yeah, I can't read this anymore!").  Now..............we all know that B Spears isn't known for being like the Mariah or Whitney of the music world.  Girlfriend likes to lip sync BUT....this song came on as I was just feeling like I wanted to quit.  That whole part that starts out "You want a hot body....", in my mind I was like "YES I DO!!!!!!!!!!!!" 

And. I. Went. Nuts. The sweat started to pour.  The lady next to me looked over at me, smiled, and picked up her pace too.  It was just what I needed to push through.  And who doesn't want to look like B Spears 10 years ago with abs like the underside of a turtle?

And then it was like Christmas because more fun songs started to roll in...."Numb" by Usher. (Ursher, Ursher....how can you NOT love the dude, he's the bomb).

The song opens like this: "They say life is a battlefield, I say bring it on".  WHAT! Not only is the beat of this song infectious but the words are killer "Keep on doing the same old thing, and you're expecting change.  Well is that really insanity or just a loser's game".  WOW Ursher, speak the truth this morning bro.  Seriously though, that was around 22 minutes, sweat was literally all over the floor below me and it was feeling awesome.

The last song that came on was Eminem's "Til I Collapse.  How can you not get jacked listening to that chorus?  It made me want to throw my hoodie on, jump rope, tape up my hands and just start swingin' at people!

Till the roof comes off, till the lights go out

Till my legs give out, can't shut my mouth.

Needless to say, this morning was a hard workout, but with all that inspiration flowing through my headphones, it was honestly easier than I thought it was going to be.  The lady next to me watched me get off the machine, took her headphones off, and goes "I don't know what you were listening to, but I want your playlist. You were going to town this morning!".  

Life if short you guys.  You have to capitalize on each and every day.  Not all days are awesome.  Heck, my life for the past 3 months has been a major struggle, but I keep going.  We have so much to be thankful for.  I look around me and I have a great husband, 2 awesome (sometimes obnoxious) furry children, good health, a home, and jobs.  We probably complain about all of those things way too much.  I think back to that lyric about life being a battlefield and it totally is.  But you know what? BRING IT ON! 

(but not like the Kirsten Dunst movie, you know you want to say Go Toros right about now)

Happy Sunday y'all!  Get out there and work!

Week Recap and Getting In Shape for Fall

Happy Friday Y'all!

So a few of my friends are out right now having some tequila drinks and tacos, and I'll all in my glasses, in my stretchy pants with holes, doing laundry, while Tink snoozes right next to me......and occasionally stares me in the face for a head rub.

MAN, Friday nights have changed in the past 5 years.  I'm getting old.

So I have been slack on posting since last week, sorry!  It's been quite crazy at work and I also took yesterday off in the afternoon becaussssssssssssse..................COLLEGE FOOTBALL HAS RETURNED!!!

I mean for real, 2 of my most favorite things in life are 1) Christmas, 2) College Football.  Wait, back up, 1) JESUS....you get the idea.  But seriously, fall is one of my most favorite times of year.  I've grown up going to football games and I just so happened to marry the biggest college football fanatic in the world.  So, it's tradition and how we spend our falls.  We love it.  It's fun.  I live for it every year.  Just check out my Facebook posts every Saturday if you need good entertainment :)  I'm like a dude trapped in a little short body with boobs and a loud opinion.

Check out my buddies, Shirley and Ronnie.  They are like newly married and showed up in their matching outfits.  It was epic!  Jarrett was just proud I wore something with an actual team logo.  He does not understand that most college gameday outfits for girls involve a dress and/or cowboy boots.
But it was 95 degrees in the shade yesterday and ain't nobody got time to be all dressy!

This week was a little rough between work and working out.  I managed to squeeze in 3 workouts, which was not great, so I'm attempting to get a long one in tomorrow.  #weekendwarrior  I knew that yesterday would be out the window due to our day long adventure to the game, and today was spent quietly recovering at my desk.  Lots of water and protein.  Anywho, the long weekend is upon us, and I plan on relaxing but getting in some long walks, some circuits, and maybe some more beach workout posts since we'll be on the beach for a few days with J's family.

I did manage to keep my food on track, which is amazing and a challenge within itself.  I made a big crockpot of salsa chicken on Monday and ate that all week, along with some pork chop leftovers.  Salsa chicken is just how it sounds.  Chicken breasts + salsa = crockpot awesomeness.  Just serve up with some brown rice/quinoa, avocado and black beans.  Yum! Use it on tacos, casseroles, quesadillas....you name it, it will work!

Sweet and short post tonight. I feel weird not writing more after I had 2 serious posts back to back last week.  I sat here for like a few minutes and was like "I should have more to say but............I think I got all of that out of my system last week!".  For rael though you guys,  even after all the love and support last week, every day is still a battle to come out on top with just myself.  Lots of work being done right now to get to a good place.  I thank each and every one of you for hanging in there with me. 

Happy long weekend!!!

Sunday Night Thoughts

Happy Sunday you guys!

This week has really been eye opening for me.  I received so much positive feedback from my Thursday post Learning to Cope.  All of the emails, texts, comments and Facebook messages meant so much.  I can't thank all of you enough for your love and support as I posted something super personal.  It was really empowering.  Again, thanks for all the support, brings a tear to this little southern girl's eye.  I'm just a normal woman in her thirties trying to be honest about myself, hoping that maybe I'll inspire someone out there to get happy.  

Writing that post last week made me realize that my blog is taking on a new life form.  In the past year and a half since I started writing, I've been through every high and low you can imagine.  Losing weight, struggling to stay sane while planning a wedding, marrying my best friend, struggling through the first months of marriage, job changes, gaining weight, and then deciding to hold myself accountable again by blogging and getting my health and fitness back on track.  All of that I think lead to my struggle with wanting to be perfect.  I was trying to do so much, yet I wasn't truly fulfilled.  It's really caused me to think on how I reach out to others.  What friend am I forgetting to reach out to each week? Who can I reach that I don't know, but can identify with what I'm going through? And through it all, at the end of each and every day, can I sit back and say "Today was hard, but I am truly satisfied with me?"

That last part sounded like how Carrie Bradshaw started all of her columns...

I have to share with you guys about our Sunday, because what happened I believe is truly not by accident. This morning, we got up and went to church.  We absolutely LOVE our pastor there, who has provided us some great support in the past few months.  They have wonderful programs, services, and a budding ministry.  We were both particularly excited this morning because it was our Fall Kickoff today.  It meant a new series, new teachings, and cool things to look forward to for the next few weeks.  I always find it's refreshing to start a new series, get really in depth with it and grasp all the concepts each week.  Super awesome and I love that we kick every fall off this way.

Not to mention college football is only 4 more days away....

Ok back to the Fall Kickoff. Church was PACKED this morning.  Our usual row was full, so we sat near the front.  There were chairs in the back corners.  So cool to see so many people in a full service.  As our minister Chad got up to speak, I just felt the entire room change.  He opened by telling us that an 18 year old college freshman in our congregation had passed away at 6:00 AM this morning.  She contracted a rare infection and had gotten really sick while on campus.  Her parents of course immediately rushed to take care of her last week.  Her condition got worse and she lost her fight early this morning.

We.  Were.  Stunned. 

As Chad continued to talk, I could just watch everyone around me start to hug their children or lean on their spouse's shoulder.  A life gone way too soon that impacted all of us, whether we knew her or not.  As he continued, he mentioned that even with all of the new comers in church this morning and all of the planning that took place for Fall Kickoff, that he felt lead to speak a different message.

Pause for effect.  My heart completely stopped for a second.  My dad is a retired minister and I truly know and understand how much thought, time and prayer goes into a Sunday sermon.  I watched him start his weeks off for 30 years reading and studying.  When Sunday morning rolled around, he was focused like an Olympic athlete ready to win a gold medal.  It's incredible how determined and rock solid he was all of that time.  To totally change your message is like jumping off a cliff blindfolded.  

As the sermon continued, he spoke about how we are all called to love just as Jesus loved the church. That we are to live out His message in our every day lives.  To know that life is not permanent and that our time may come today, tomorrow, or maybe 20 years from now really hit home with me. I sat next to J rubbing his hand thinking about how quickly 4 years has gone by for us, and now 9 months of marriage.  It all just keeps on going, we get older, and we truly never know what day is our last. One thing that he mentioned is that you could have all the money in the world, big houses, boats, things, but you could be surrounded by all of that and never be fulfilled.  Our fulfillment can only come from God.

WOW.  Talk about bringing my last post to the forefront of my mind. I've filled my life not really with things, but with activity.  I got involved teaching spin (which I love).  At one point 4 years ago, I taught Spanish to a small church group.  I loved that too.  I babysit sometimes.  I dog sit/house sit when I can.  We got a dog that likes to eat all kind of craziness and cause us stress.   I took on more responsibility at work at times.  In all of that, I lost time for me.  Seeing my friends.  Going to dinner with 3 girlfriends that I cherish more than they know.  Working out.  Making time for my husband when he really needed me.  Taking the time to travel to see my family. 

As the service ended, a lot of tears flowed as we remembered this sweet girl that went home early this morning.  Probably shouldn't have worn any makeup to church today, hah! As J and I drove to breakfast, he said to me something that again clicked deep within me and made me think.  He said that all the years that he's spent spinning his wheels over moving up in his career and trying so hard to make work changes and make more money, this girl is gone at 18 and will never know what any of that is like.  We should be thankful for what we have and live our lives with love and peace knowing that we are loved by God, our family and friends.

In having such an emotional Sunday, it really caused me to re-examine my life, my purpose, and this blog.  One word that keeps coming to mind is "Transformation".  I want to see not only myself transform mentally and physically, but I want to see others join me in doing the same.  I want to live my life like this sweet 18 year old girl did, not knowing if it's my last day to be alive.  I want more than anything to make sure my friends know that they are loved and appreciated.  I want to go to lunch with people when it's not convenient, but it's worthwhile to my life to see that person.   I want to make challenging decisions that scare me, but fulfill me.  I want to be someone that people look back on and say "She was so happy, loved life, and she truly lived it with purpose".

I know that the posts as of lately have been serious, but I feel a small shift in the world that is propelling life towards something lovely and wonderful.  I hope that all of you start to realize your own purpose and join me on this journey.  Whether you want to lose 50 pounds and you want my support.  Whether you're struggling in your marriage and you need a listening ear.  I want to be there for that.  Maybe you're contemplating starting a family and are scared to death.  Or you are facing major life decisions that rock your world.  Life is hard but we are not meant to live it in fear.  Do the things that scare you, but that in the end, make you the person you are. 

I hope that you guys had an amazing Sunday with your close friends and family.  I pray so many blessings over each and every one of you guys reading this tonight.  May your week be filled with a new sense of purpose and drive!  Please reach out to me and let me know about your own journeys and what you are going through! I love hearing stories of how people are changing their lives!

Much love you guys!