WIAW and Push Up / Burpee Challenge

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Happy Wednesday! If you don't know what What I Ate Wednesday is, here's the gist: It's a quick way for you to see what kind of crap I really eat, in addition to all of the recipes I post. For more information on WIAW and other bloggers who do it, you can head here: What I Ate Wednesday via Peas & Crayons

What I Ate Wednesday via Peas & Crayons

Let's just say that this WIAW post consists mostly of a ton of small meals rather than three huge ones. My schedule lately has been all over the place, and I try to let myself keep working when I get on a roll, so sometimes I eat frequent small meals at random times, and sometimes I eat big ones at specified times. This was the former.

Breakfast:

Cookie Dough Quest Bar

Coconut Milk Latte via Nespresso

Snack 1:

Acai Matetini Tea via Teavana

Grapefruit with Stevia

Snack 2:

Chobani Coffee with Chocolate Chips

Carrot, Apple, Beet, and Ginger juice via my Breville Juicer

Snack 3:

1 cut up zucchini, baked with olive oil, spices, and cheese

Dinner:

Huge salad with avocado, steak, and fish on top

side note: leftover fish is kind of gross. i had a hard time forcing myself to take the fish pieces down. other than that, this was delish.

And now onto the challenge...

I read about a few plank challenges, so I decided to force myself to make one of my own. I started two days ago with 20 push ups and 20 burpees, then the next day was 21/21, you get it. 

Day 1: 20 Push Ups, 20 Burpees

Day 2: 21 Push Ups, 21 Burpees

Day 3: 22 Push Ups, 22 Burpees

Day 4: 23 Push Ups, 23 Burpees

Day 5: 24 Push Ups, 24 Burpees

...etc...

My goal is to do this for 31 days, which will get me to 50 push ups and 50 burpees. Anyone else doing a challenge like this?

Workout Wednesday

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Sorry folks, no What-i-ate-wednesday post for today. I just plain forgot, on account of flipping my life upside down! I don't mind :)

For now, here is a recap of the fitness portion of my typical wednesday posts. This is a week in workouts. I started my week trial of CorePower on Monday, so I am trying to fit that in each day at least once. Will keep you posted with a review coming later :)

Wednesday: 5.5 mile run, courtesy of Netflix

Thursday: Bodypump

Friday: 60 minute AM Weights Routine with my husband

Saturday: 30 minute self-guided Tabatas - I ran out of time before getting ready for Sierra's holiday party, so I made up a quick Tabata set and used my GymBoss timer while watching - you betcha - Netflix.


Sunday: Bodypump

Monday: Core Power - Hot Power Fusion - This was my first CorePower class, and I really liked it but did not find it that challenging.

Tuesday: Core Power - Sculpt and Restore - Second and third CorePower class. Sculpt was definitely challenging and my heart rate was rocking the whole time. Restore is much more of a relaxed class and I found it to be slightly painful but it seemed to be good for my joints.

Wednesday: 30 minute run, Core Power - 1.5 - I wanted to jump right into their level 2 classes, but my head is telling me I should at least try their 1.5 first. I do have experience with yoga, but have mostly been doing pilates for the last year, so I may need a refresher and don't want to be totally lost in a level 2.


WHAT ABOUT YOU?

• Have you ever tried a heated class?
• Do you like YOGA or PILATES? I have typically liked Pilates more because I tend to feel the burn more easily, but I have to admit that there are some serious mental and physical benefits to yoga, too.

Hump Day Juice Cleanse and Holiday Workouts

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I'm a day late (but not a dollar short!) with this post. I have been pretty busy lately, for reasons I will share soon, but there are some big changes in the works and some big things brewing! For now, here's a look into some of my crazy habits.

What I Ate Wednesday via Peas & Crayons

This What I Ate Wednesday (and Fitness, too) post includes meals from my impromptu hump day juice cleanse as well as my workouts from the past week. Why do I post this? Because I have gotten questions before about whether I really eat the food I post (sometimes, yes... sometimes, no...) and how often I do the fitness regimens I post (and in what order).

The Food:

I started the day with a green juice, which I had picked up the day before at Loop Juice in the Chicago French Market (LOVE that place). It was a little sweet tasting for my preference, so I added the juice of 1/4 of a lemon. I felt pretty satisfied after this juice, but I probably would have wanted to munch on things if I hadn't been in meetings all morning.

For lunch, I decided to keep things "liquid," but still wanted some protein. I had received this Orgain Chocolate protein shake in a Klutch Box a few months ago, so I drank it for my liquid lunch as I walked to Target. It was pretty good, but definitely tasted like a "healthy" shake. It reminded me of the Ensure drink that Abbot makes.

Around 2:30, I was getting hungry again, and I had a red juice in the fridge from Loop Juice. This. Was. Delicious. It was so tasty and sweet that I was sad when it was gone. As I can remember, it includes pomegranate, beets, apple, carrot, and ginger.

While I started cooking dinner, I was starving. I had planned to do the juice cleanse for most of the day but have solid food for dinner, so I made myself a little appetizer in the microwave of a corn tortilla with some mixed cheese and italian seasoning, topped with sriracha. Great little 100 calorie snack to keep you from going insane while you wait for dinner!

I roasted some shredded brussels sprouts from Meez Meals in olive oil with salt and pepper, and topped it with sriracha.

Meanwhile, I also pan seared some tilapia filets in grapeseed oil and then sprinked them with taco seasoning once the fish was cooked enough that it started breaking apart easily. I heated up some corn tortillas and made some fish tacos for dinner. My husband and I both loved them, and it was a super easy (we're talking <10) minute meal.

The Fitness:

Because last week included Thanksgiving break, my workout schedule was a little wacked.

Wednesday: 45 minute Stairmaster Sprint

Thursday: Skip! Thanksgiving, y'all!

Friday: 45 minute Stairmaster Sprint/2 mile run, 20 minutes weights, 10 minutes abs (I was all over the place trying out a new gym, so I did a little bit of everything)

Saturday: 60 minute run (6 miles)

Sunday: 100 Burpee Challenge, 30 minutes mat work (pilates-ish)

Monday: 45 minute Stairmaster and Treadmill cardio

Tuesday: Body By Science

Wednesday: Skip! I was totally wiped from the past few days of workouts, for some reason!

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

• What's your go-to "I'm starving and can't wait for dinner" appetizer?
• What is your favorite workout from this past week?

Salt-Free Mrs. Dash and Pre-Thanksgiving Thanksgiving

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Happy Wednesday! Or, as I like to think of it, Friday... because today starts the weekend, THANKS TO YOU THANKSGIVING! I am sure most of you are getting ready for the feast that is Thanksgiving Weekend (and maybe also Hannukah - either way, good food will be involved!). I am heading to Michigan this weekend to spend time with my husband's family and my brother, who is coming along. 

What I Ate Wednesday via Peas & Crayons

This What I Ate Wednesday (and Fitness, too) post includes meals from yesterday and my workouts from the past week. Why do I post this? Because I have gotten questions before about whether I really eat the food I post (sometimes, yes... sometimes, no...) and how often I do the fitness regimens I post (and in what order).

I started the day

with a cup of Earl Gray

and a couple of gross vitamins.

(It rhymed... kind of)

I also had the second halves of two Quest Bars I had started earlier in the week.

I don't know why I do this to them, because they really are not as good once they've been open for a while (they get hard...even if saved in a plastic bag).

But, what's a girl gonna do?

My co-workers had a Worksgiving feast, so I loaded up on some naughties and nices:

-Buffalo Chicken Dip

-Chicken

-Cheesy Potatoes

-Sweet Potatoes

Dinner is unpictured because I got totally distracted, but it looked like this, except for the sweet potatoes. I actually had...

-a small barbeque chicken breast

-1/2 cup of sauteed mushrooms with salt-free Mrs. Dash

-1/2 cup of mixed normandy veggies with salt-free Mrs. Dash

Workouts:

Wednesday: 5 mile run while watching Nikita on my iPad (guilty pleasure)
Thursday: 30 Minute Abs from Jillian Michaels
Friday: 60 Minute Full Body Weights
Saturday: 20 Minute Interval Sprint + Circuit Workout (1 mile run, 50 jumping jacks, 30 push ups, 150 boxing hits, x 3)
Sunday: SKIP DAYYYYYYYYYYYY!
Monday: 5 Mile Run while watching Nikita (yeah girl)
Tuesday: Body By Science
Wednesday: 45 minute Stairmaster, 15 minute mat work


WHAT ABOUT YOU?

• How was your week in workouts?
• What is your favorite thing to eat for Thanksgiving?

Food and Fitness Wednesday WIAW

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Happy Wednesday! I hope you're all having a great week of delicious meals and kick butt workouts. Today's "WIAW" includes mine. For those of you who aren't familiar with it, WIAW means I am posting all of my meals for a day. Since I constantly show you the gourmet meals I cook, WIAW is a chance for you to see what I eat when I'm not over-achieving in the kitchen (which is, honestly most days).

I've also decided to add my workout regime for the past week to the end of this post, because I have gotten a few questions from readers who have tried the workouts from my fitness page and want to know what order/frequency I do workouts in.

What I Ate Wednesday via Peas & Crayons

The theme of the day yesterday was BISON. I totally over-did it, but it was the only meat I had prepped for the week, so what can you do?

Breakfast: Cookie Dough Quest Bar (Unpictured) Yep, still doing it. I am working my way through a box from Quest, and have now ordered two more, so apparently this is my new jam. Here's hoping I never tire of it... (yeah, right).

Lunch: Salad of butter lettuce, celery, red pepper, and ground bison. I accidentally left my dressing at home, so I had to run downstairs and pick something up from CVS. Zesty italian dressing was decent...

Snack: Snapea Crisps and an Apple. Yumstown on both counts. Still working my way through a huge box of Snapea Crisps from CostCo, and I am planning to re-buy when I run out. It's the perfect way to add some crunchy to your day.

Dinner: 1/2 Yam, Butter Lettuce Salad, Ground Bison (yes, more). I am already kind of burning out on my buddy bison.

Workouts this week were awesome, and I somehow had the energy to take it up a notch from the week before.

Thursday: Jillian Michaels No more Trouble Zones (center picture). How is Jillian simultaneously so obnoxious and so wonderful? I don't get it.

Friday: 60 minute Weights Workout with my husband

Saturday: 6 mile run

Sunday: Bodypump, Mercury Method "Runner's High" class

Monday: 20 minutes treadmill, 20 minutes stairmaster

Tuesday: Body By Science (Weights)

Wednesday: 50 Minute Spinning with my husband

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

• How was your week in food?
• How was your week in workouts?
• Is there anything else you'd like me to include in these posts?

Food and Fitness Wednesday

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And we're back with another WIAW (What I Ate Wednesday). For those of you who aren't familiar with it, WIAW means I am posting all of my meals for a day. Since I constantly show you the gourmet meals I cook, WIAW is a chance for you to see what I eat when I'm not over-achieving in the kitchen (which is, honestly most days).

What I Ate Wednesday via Peas & Crayons

Sorry for the creepy picture...

I started the day with a weights workout and then headed to work with breakfast in hand. I demolished my Cookie Dough Quest Bar, as usual. 

Around 12:15, I was hungry for lunch and dug into my salad: Butter lettuce, chopped celery, chopped red pepper, cherry tomatoes, dried cranberries, and ground beef. Lots of ground beef.

Around 2:30, I was snack ready, so I had a small bag of Snapea Crisps (Thanks, CostCo! 100 Calorie bags are the bomb) and a large apple.

I was pretty starving when I got home, so I made some blackened Tilapia and sauteed some Normandy Vegetables with Olive Oil and Bobby's Make It Good Seasoning. I topped the veggies with Sriracha and Nutritional Yeast.

For dessert, I whipped up some banana ice cream with Chocolate PB2. 

In addition to my good old What I Ate Wednesday feature, here's a look into this week's workouts:
Thursday: High Performance Pilates @ The Mercury Method
Friday: 1 hour Full Body Weights
Saturday: 1 hour Spin class
Sunday: Skip!
Monday: 4.5 mile run
Tuesday: Body By Science (30 minute weights), Jillian Michaels No More Trouble Zones DVD
Wednesday: (Planned) 60 minute Spinning

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

• What was your favorite thing you've eaten this week?
• What was your favorite workout?

What I Ate Wednesday

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My second What-I-Ate-Wednesday post, and looking back on last week's, I am proud to say that this time consists of much less lazy meals! By that, I mean that I have now graduated to making my own lunch (which I typically do but lately these posts are not showing it!). Success! Cue the graduation song. Thanks, Vitamin C.

What I Ate Wednesday via Peas & Crayons

I woke up at 5:30 am to hit the gym, so my first order of business was to get some motivation in me!  I just can't do coffee at 5:30 am, and I have found that if I drink coffee right before working out, it dries me out and I have an awful, dehydrated, shaky workout. So, I had a splash of Mio in a bottle of water, which I chugged before heading to my the gym for a 40 minute run and 20 minute weight session.

Once I got to work, I had a Quest Bar (cookie dough... yes! don't ever leave me!), a packet of vitamins I DIYed (why is it so hard for me to get these down? sorry for the gagging noises, coworkers), and some chinese herbal tea. The Quest Bar is obviously the star of this show.

When lunch rolled around, I had a cup of 3 bean lean beef chili (YUM! Recipe here), a small salad with spinach, onion, red pepper, and feta, and a skin detox tea. The combination of chili and salad really hit the spot and kept me full for quite a while, and the fruity tea was a good flavor to offset the chili.

By the time I got home for dinner, I was starving. I had been running around all day and was in need of some serious fuel. I was hungry enough that I didn't even feel like I had the energy to cook (read: lazy), so I was easily swayed when my husband suggested that we eat out.

I had steak tacos (above) with avocado, black beans, lettuce, and tomatoes, on a corn tortilla. I also had a glass of vodka soda with 3 lemon wedges. Probably not the wisest (or healthiest) decision, but it hit the spot!

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

• What decisions do you sometimes make that are not wise or healthy?
• Do you always have coffee in the morning? How do you perk up for an early workout?

What I Ate Wednesday

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I have wanted to do What I Ate Wednesday posts for a while, but was too lazy to take pictures. After Sierra started doing it, I felt compelled to jump on the bandwagon.

What I Ate Wednesday via Peas & Crayons

Warning: You are about to read a What I Ate Wednesday post that is going to portray me as extremely lazy. I only actually made one of the meals I ate. It was a super busy day, so I am just being honest here!

I made a few pieces of bacon for my husband before work and had two slices, but didn't' have time for a proper breakfast.

Next, I dug into an Apple Pie Quest Bar at work. If I don't have time to make a proper breakfast, I typically start the day with a Cookie Dough Flavored bar (COOKIES FOR BREAKFAST? YES). But, I had recently hit up GNC and stocked up on a few fun flavors. I was not particularly impressed with this flavor, and will still be sticking with Cookie Dough in the future.

For lunch, I had an errand to run, and no time to properly sit down and eat. So, I had an apple [not pictured] as I walked and then I stopped at Kramer's Health Food market and picked up a juice of Apple, Kale, Spinach, Celery, Parsley, Cucumber, and Lemon. It hit the spot nutrient-wise.

Around 2 or 3, I started getting hungry for some crunch, so I dug into the Thunderbird bar I had also grabbed at Kramer's. It was delicious and I will definitely be back for more.

Dinner was the first time during the day that I actually indulged in something I had created. I made a huge batch of chili over the weekend, so I had a big bowl of that topped with mixed cheeses. The chili consists of lean ground beef, black beans, pinto beans, kidney beans, and tons of tomato.

I topped it off with some dessert "ice cream." 1 and a half frozen bananas, a few tbsp coconut milk, some stevia, and some cinnamon, all in the Vitamix. Not pictured, because I devoured it in record time.

What About You?

• What did YOU eat yesterday?