26 Days of paleo, plus a few pics :)

Well, I've made it 26 days!   (October Nutrition Challenge - woohoo!  It's almost done!)  I've stuck to the plan about 98% of the time, and I'm feeling pretty good!  My workouts are definitely improving- today I beat my record for dead hang pull-up's (which is still too low to post my results & keep my chin up, but at least it's improving!) 

Here we go with the latest update in my crazy life :)



FAITH:
We've been visiting a new church the past few weeks, and it's good to see a different point of view and perspective from some amazing peep's!  The lessons have been applicable and the people are pretty amazing!  I'm just waiting to see what the 'Big Guy' has planned for our family :)  I have faith that God will lead us exactly where He wants us to go!

FAMILY:
We are getting ready to have a great family-filled weekend!  My sister, her new puppy, and her friend Jill are coming up to visit for the weekend!  Lot's of family get-together's will be occuring, including the baby dedication of Graysen this Sunday!  Here are a few pic's of the last week or so-

Spirit Week at Reed Academy!  This is after the dance :)

My little nerd :)  Today was another dress-up day for the middle school!  We also went and had a 'coffee breakfast' at her school bright & early!

This was from October 11th, at Bri & Drew's wedding - I LOVE this candid shot!!

Woohoo~!  It's complete!  This is a dresser that we sanded down & re-stained, and added new hardware.  It is like a brand new dresser now!  Re-furb'g furniture may be a new hobby of mine!

Yep, all A's!  We are super proud of my kiddo!

Obviously taken BEFORE the Cardinal's blew the series (note: we were still smiling!)

Pat built this frame - how amazing is he?!  The painting is from my sister, from Papua New Guinea!

FITNESS:
Like I mentioned at the beginning of this post, it's going pretty darn good!  I would love to say that I dropped oodle's of pounds & I am super cut with a 6 pack, but...  that hasn't quite happened yet! :)  However, I'm lifting much heavier and running is (I should say "was", until I hurt my foot- GRRR!) much better & easier!  My pull-up's are finally improving.  The dead-hang, not kipping or flailing legs versions :)  Although those are probably not-so-awkward-looking these days, too! 

Nutrition really ties into getting good results.  I know that we read it & see all of the funny pin's on pinterest, but it's really true.  They are both pieces of the health puzzle.  If you want to have definition and lose weight, you have to eat clean AND workout.  If you ask any one of the people in fitness magazines what their routine is to get those lean lines & cut ab's, it will include clean eating.  Start with small changes- you do not have to do paleo!  I like paleo because it's easy & cut-and-dry, and I will do it.  But do eat cleaner.  Cut out the processed foods.  If you eat clean 80% of the time, you will see changes.  For myself, it's probably not going to happen 100% :)  But if you choose to do it 100%, go for it!  Your results will be awesome!




Have a wonderful Friday! I'm off to ice down my foot again & then get this house cleaned up!
xoxo, Jen :)

Day 19 out of 30 - October Nutrition Challenge!

 

I thought that this quote was appropriate for my week!  Today I am 19 days into a 30 day nutrition challenge, along with some other friends.  I'm seeing some results and feeling much better than I was a few weeks ago!  I already feel like I've made an accomplishment :)  The decision to "try" was not an easy one to come to though.  I've done paleo and Whole30 challenges before and I know that they work.  BUT I also know that it's challenging at first... detoxing your body of the bad stuff (ie- preservatives in food, sugar, etc.) is SOOOOOO good for your health, but it's also challenging both mentally & physically!  You (by 'you', I mean 'I') crave the stuff that you are depriving your body of (sugar & caffeine are my weaknesses!) and those first few weeks are not fun! 

 

Once you get past that part, you start to feel... good.  You have more energy, you are nice again (your family likes you again, haha!!), and you don't crave the bad stuff!  Instead of, for example, craving Swedish Fish, you grab a handful of almonds and it is awesome! 

 

By day 20 or so, it's easy-peasy.  The cravings are gone, you are feeling great, and seeing noticeable results.  But food choices (chicken, eggs, sweet potatoes, and salads, HAHA!) get boring so you have to search the internet for ways to spice up your diet!  By the end of the challenge, I know that I will be feeling even better. 

 

I think that this way of eating is something that is good for everyone to focus on.  I will be focusing on clean eating even after the challenge is done, simply because I know the health benefits.  If you want to get good results in the gym, you HAVE to eat clean.  Cut out the junk food, and strive to eat for your health!

 

 

 

 

Are you facing a lot of challenges?  Remember that God is there for you!  Philippians 4:13 is a great reminder- He gives you strength & with His help, you can do anything!

 

 

 

LOVE this <3

 

 

It's Friday!! Nutrition, wedding, and FAITH!

It's Day #12 of the October Nutrition Challenge!  I'm happy to say that I made it through a wedding last night without breaking my 'rules' for the month!  The only cheat is that I got on the scale- happy to say that I'm down 4 pounds in 12 days- but the main thing is the muscle tone!  It's very improved!!  Clean eating is a good thing!  I'm feeling good, energy levels are up, and I can tell that I'm past the tough part of the challenge (detoxing from sugar- HAHA!)



Last night we attended the wedding of one of my good friends- it was such a special night!  They had a beautiful wedding, & I am so happy that I was able to be a part of their special day!  

Congrats to Mr. & Mrs. Green (& Connor! & Addyson!!!)

Me, Elisabeth & Bri at the end of the night!

Me & Pat

Me & Elisabeth

Here comes the bride!!!  With her dad & son :)

There goes Brae!  She was running, but the cutest flower girl ever :)  This picture makes me smile!!

Pat & Elisabeth dancing :)

The wedding definitely had me thinking about FAITH!  When I met Briana, we were both in rotten places in our personal lives.  Despite all of that, we have both moved forward in life & are truly happy now!  We used to say that we would be 80 year old bitter women hanging out together...  now that has changed!  We will still be great friends, but now we will get old together with Drew & Pat, watching our grandkids running around!  

I know that my faith in God has got me to the place where I am now.  Thankfully, He is a forgiving God & He loves us unconditionally!  We all make mistakes- being young certainly is not an excuse, but for those of us that had rough times when we were younger, it's never too late to turn your life around!  Pray about it, and make changes!  If you need to change the people that you spend time with, then do it.  Find happiness & don't give up until you do <3

Yummy Paleo Chocolate Chip cookies!

I've tried several different chocolate chip cookie recipes, & quite honestly didn't like most of them!  BUT, today I found a new recipe & it is DELICIOUS!  As in, I-shouldn't-have-made-a-whole-pan-because-I-may-eat-them-all delicious :)  The recipe that I based it on is from the Delighted Momma blog (www.delightedmomma.com) 

I tweaked it just a little bit, and here is what I did:

Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookies-

Ingredients:1 C of coconut flour
1/2 C of coconut oil
1/2 C of raw honey
4 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla 
1/8 tsp salt
3/4 C Dark Chocolate (break into little chunks, or you could get the chips!)



Directions:

• Melt the honey and coconut oil in microwave until it's a liquid
• Mix together: coconut oil/honey mix, eggs, vanilla & salt.
• Stir in the coconut flour & chocolate chunks
• Roll into a ball & place on cookie sheet
• Bake for 12-15 minutes at 375 Degrees!

*Note- They pretty much stayed in a round shape, so you might want to flatten them a little bit before you bake them.  I think these would be good with nuts/craisins/etc- any additional stuff would be fine as long as it's paleo approved :)  In her original recipe she included coconut, but I'm not a big coconut fan so I left it out!

Mini Stuffed Peppers

Last Saturday while Elisabeth & I were at the park, Pat was working at the Botanical Center.  I have mentioned it before, but he's part of the Master Gardener program.  So he volunteers at stuff, and has some great knowledge on plants & gardening!  Well, on Saturday he was given a HUGE bag full of these mini peppers.  (I can't remember what the name was, but they look a lot like little bell peppers)  Tonight is their monthly meeting and it's his turn to bring food, so I decided to make stuffed peppers!  They can all try a dish out of the garden that they each volunteer in :)

 

Start with the little peppers.  Cut the tops off & de-seed, rinse.

 

 

For the stuffing, I used:

 

1 pound ground beef, cooked & drained

1 cup rice

1 small can of tomato sauce

 

Approx 1 T each of:

Italian Seasoning

Garlic powder

Onion powder

Worchestershire sauce 

 

Mix it all together!

 

You can use whatever seasonings you have on hand- fresh would probably have tasted better, but I don't feel like going to the store right now :)

 

 

 

 

Stuff each of the peppers nice & full!

 

 

Bake at 350* for 20 minutes!

 

 

I'll let you know how the group liked it!

 

PS- TOTALLY NOT A PALEO RECIPE!!!  If you left out the rice & added more beef & maybe some veggies, you would be on track!

Monday, October 8th 2012 ... aka: DAY 8 of Nutrition Challenge!

Well kids, we've made it up to 8 days in the October Nutrition Challenge!  Congrats to everyone that is keeping up so far (& if you've 'fallen off the wagon', pick yourself up & get back on it!)  Today I need to get some food prep & grocery shopping done, along with work, a basketball game that Elisabeth is cheering at, and work again tonight!  Busy day!!

FAITH:
We visited another local church yesterday, and the message and lesson that were taught hit pretty close to home (doesn't it always?!  Especially when you really listen!)  In the small group we talked about living through tough times...  in one form or another, I think that we are all facing some tough times.  Financial, family issues, marriage issues, work or lack therof, etc...  There is a lot of 'negative' going on in our world!  It made me think of the post that I made last week about visiting the estate sale...  anyhoo, this class referenced I Peter 1.  It's a good read because it shows you that all of these challenges and tough times are not the big picture!  Heaven is our home, not this world.  All of the worldy stuff that we worry about won't matter in the end!

1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,

To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, ² who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood:

Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

 ³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, ⁵ who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. ⁶ In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. ⁷ These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. ⁸ Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, ⁹ for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
¹⁰ Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, ¹¹ trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow. ¹² It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.



FAMILY:

 

Me & the hubby!

 

 

Me & Elisabeth- freezing at the park on Saturday!

 

 

This was a new addition at the park #NathanielGreenePark

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had a good weekend!  Nice & relaxing :)  Friday it was just Pat & I, so we watched a movie & relaxed at the house.  Saturday I slept in (yay!) and we spent the afternoon at the park.  We went to an art event Saturday evening and to dinner.  Sunday it was church, picked up Ryan, lunch with friends, and the afternoon at my parents!  Perfect weekend :)

FITNESS:


We began a new bootcamp session this morning!  I'm always excited about the new sessions- and I'm always excited to see my clients making progress!  I'll be doing fit testing today & tomorrow, and getting everything into the computer :)

Nutrition Challenge-
I think that it's going pretty well for everyone!  I know that a few people have made some non-paleo food choices,   *bad, bad!!* but you just need to start again!  Today is a new day, a new week, and you can do this is you set your mind to it!  The key is to be prepared :)

Personally, my fitness is going pretty well!  I've been really heavy on lifting and not much on cardio, so I need to increase my cardio some.  But my nutrition is good, supplements are good, and exercise is good! 


Have a great Monday friends!  And make sure that you leave comments if you're from the link-up so I know that you have visited!

Jen :)

Women Living Well Link-Up

Welcome ladies!

Make sure that you leave a comment below to let me know that you stopped by!  And make sure that you add me on Facebook (facebook.com/trainingbyjen) and follow me on Twitter (@trainingbyjen)

Jen :)

An eye opener for me this morning...

So, if you know me, you know that I worry too much (I'm working on this!) and get stressed out more than I should...  Finances, scheduling, the future- these things all cross my mind a LOT!  I've been praying a lot about these & other things that are on my mind, and I think that God opened my eyes today!  A house up the road has had signs posted for an Estate Sale for about a week.  It started this morning, and there have been cars lined up & people waiting outside since I went to the gym this morning. (My class begins at 5:30am- the sale didn't open until 8am!)  Anyhoo, after I ran some errands and drove by, there were people in the yard and on the street waiting (around 7:30ish)  Pat got home, and we rode our bikes up there to check it out.  The second that I walked in, I just had a sad feeling.  I don't know what the story is with the home owners, but their entire life was for sale.  Everything in the house had been sorted & priced.  You could tell that they had traveled a lot, loved art, and that he had been in the military.  There was just so much stuff!  It just hit me that all of the stuff that I worry about doesn't really matter...  I could make more money doing something else so that I could have more 'stuff', but that would take away from my family.  As I said before, I don't know what the story was with this family.  But it made me sad that all of their valued possessions were being sold to (rude & greedy!) people that they had never even met!  And for me, I know that all of this 'stuff' won't matter in the long-run!  We're only here on earth for a short while!

So I'm not saying that having lots of things is bad- what I am saying is that family is more important!  Prioritize- pray about it, and make the right choices!  Be there for your kids as they grow & mature!

Nutrition Challenge- Day 3!!!

Well, everyone that is participating in the nutrition challenge has survived the first two days!  Awesome job!!  Today you may be experiencing some cravings (sugar, sugar, sugar!!!) but stay strong & don't give in!  It will all get a lot easier next week!  If you're doing the challenge, you HAVE to read this article :)  The 5 Stages of Food Grief :)  She nails it (& she's from Springfield, woohoo!!)  She is talking about the Whole30, which is a little bit stricter than some of you are going for, but I think the stages that are mentioned are still very applicable to your situation!  So read it, get a laugh in, and then suck it up & don't quit :-) (aren't I sweet today?!  Yes, I'm craving sugar.  Be happy that you don't have bootcamp this evening! *evil laughter*)

Other than craving sweets this morning, I'm doing really well.   I think that it helps that I've done this a few times so I know what to expect!  Hang in there, I promise that it gets better & the results that you will see and feel will be amazing!

Are you thinking about joining in but haven't taken the plunge yet?  Send me a message and I'll get you some information!  Get healthier :)  We would love to have you join in our little motivational group!

Happy Wednesday, friends!
Jen

Happy October!

It's fall, it's October, and it's day #2 of our nutrition challenge!  Exciting things all around :)

FAITH:
I've learned over the years to LISTEN...  pray, pray, pray, and make sure that you're listening to God's response!  He always responds (not always with what you want to hear!) and sometimes it is in the most subtle ways!  Seek knowledge & His will... Lately I have felt that there is going to be lots of changes coming ahead...  I've just prayed that God will guide us through whatever lies ahead!  I'm kind of a pain- I'm impatient, stubborn, and I like to have things my way :)  lol...  In life, that's not a good way to be!  So I'm working on being a little more easy going!  It helps that I have a very laid-back and easy-going husband to keep me calm (I've always said he is the 'calm' to my 'crazy'!!)

Proverbs 2 talks about making insight your priority- "searching for it like a prospector panning for gold, like an adventurer on a treasure hunt..." now that is intense!  You can read it all HERE!

Here are the first few verses:
2 ^1-5 Good friend, take to heart what I’m telling you;
collect my counsels and guard them with your life.
Tune your ears to the world of Wisdom;
set your heart on a life of Understanding.
That’s right—if you make Insight your priority,
and won’t take no for an answer,
Searching for it like a prospector panning for gold,
like an adventurer on a treasure hunt,
Believe me, before you know it Fear-of-God will be yours;
you’ll have come upon the Knowledge of God.

^6-8 And here’s why: God gives out Wisdom free,
is plainspoken in Knowledge and Understanding.
He’s a rich mine of Common Sense for those who live well,
a personal bodyguard to the candid and sincere.
He keeps his eye on all who live honestly,
and pays special attention to his loyally committed ones.

FAMILY:

We are all doing pretty well!  We ended up having Ryan over Saturday & Sunday, so we were able to enjoy LOTS of qt with the family!  Here are a few pics from my parents house over the weekend:

Elisabeth & Graysen!

Ryan & mom baking an apple crisp!

Dad teaching Elisabeth how to play the guitar!

More guitar lessons!

Fall is here!  The leaves are starting to change color & fall off the trees :)

Elisabeth & I spent some time shooting hoops over the weekend- here are a few 'action' shots that I took of her!  She is just now learning how to play- after years of me trying to get her to play, she finally has decided to learn a little bit about my favorite sport!

FITNESS:

Work is going well!  My clients are getting good results and I'm happy with their progress!  We started a 30-Day Nutrition Challenge yesterday- it's pretty similar to paleo, and I know that everyone will see results if they stick with it!  Last time that I did a challenge, I dropped 8 pounds & several inches in 30 days!  Depending on your fitness level, you may lose more or less, but the main thing is the changes that you will feel & see with your body!  Trust me, you will be excited on Halloween when you do your second set of measurements & pic's!