Preparation

Next Sunday I'm running in my 1st Halfmarathon and honestly I never had a plan to run a 1/2. After I had my girls two years ago the plan was to just get back in shape, run a 5K, nothing more really, just have fun. Last year I won a registration for a 10 K thinking that would be fine I went for it, finished in just over an hour and really enjoyed it. It was the Susan G Komen for a Cure which is close to my heart. From there I thought if I can do this I can do 13 miles. So I looked for a fun half marathon to do. Sarasota is a favorite area of my husband and I, perfect Sarasota music half marathon, love music too. Today I ran 12 miles in preparation and felt really good especially the first four. I ran these with two new friends that I made in my running group and it was great, they kept me motivated, we chatted, got to know each other a little. At mile six I had to stop and take a potty break (I was in the park near the restrooms so no need to pee in the brush). I picked right back up and finished strong in just over two hours. My goal for my half marathon is to do it within two hours and 30 minutes I think I can definitely accomplish this goal. Wish me luck, it looks like we're gonna have great weather too. I will of course give an update and have some pictures to share after. Even some more bling!

Quinoa salad

Ok I know this looks really gross but boy is it delicious. Ava is devouring as I type.

Meal Prep for the Week

I've recently discovered something about myself that I secretly knew but never really addressed. I'm fantastic at working out, getting my cardio in, I find it relaxing and actually enjoy it however, I then go home and eat a pint of ice cream or 1/2 of a pizza for dinner. I'm horrible at dieting and as the primary meal preparer in my house I find myself scrambling every morning at like 6am to get ready for the day by fixing 4 lunches and 4 breakfasts and plenty of snacks for myself and my husband (we are both big snackers, nothing crazy like chips and candy bars but nuts, granola, fruit, etc.). In the evening I'm scrambling again to fix the girls a snack before I strap them into the stroller for our evening run and then come home to make dinner. Some friends have been doing meal prep to keep them on track with their weight loss and meet their goals. I'm going to give it a shot starting with the following plan. Keep in mind that my kids (even though they are only 2) eat what we eat and love fish (I know a lot of kids don't). If you are a parent you know this is abnormal :)

Monday
Breakfast - Strawberry Protein shake (the twins will have cereal too)
Snack - Ham and Egg cup (super yummy and easy)
Lunch - Baked Chicken with Asparagus
Snack - mixed nuts
Dinner - Quinoa salad with pesto and cauliflower

Tuesday 
Breakfast - Green shake (the twins will have cereal too)
Snack - Sliced Strawberries
Lunch - Salmon, hard boiled egg, mixed veggies
Snack - small "simple"salad (for me this is spring mix with light dressing)
Dinner - Turkey Tacos

Wednesday
Breakfast - Ham and Egg cup with sliced fruit
Snack - coffee shake
Lunch - Chicken with Spaghetti Squash
Snack - nuts
Dinner - Grilled Shrimp and Zucchini

Thursday
Breakfast - Strawberry Shake
Snack - Peanut butter on celery
Lunch - Turkey bacon with Asparagus and hard boiled egg
Snack - Quinoa
Dinner - Salmon with mixed veggies

Friday
Breakfast - Green Shake
Snack - sliced strawberries
Lunch - "Simple" salad with chicken and egg
Snack - nuts
Dinner - Mashed Cauliflower with grilled sirloin


I think preparing most of this on Sunday and having it ready to go for during the week is going to make my life much easier. I'll do my best to stick to this menu, it's so tempting to eat pizza or sandwiches work regularly orders for lunch. Wish me luck!


Update:

I gave this a try last week and it worked great the first few days. Preparing lunch was a breeze each morning. Dinner for me and the girls was easy too but by Thursday husband was no longer interested in eating what I prepared for him. I had actually made him salmon on a salad which he normally loves but decided he wanted chili instead.... Friday we went out to eat but I still had a sirloin and vegetables.

Transformation doesn't happen overnight!

Here is my progress. Top left picture was taken in March of 2012, top right November 2013. Below is now as of TODAY in awesome size 6 Miss Me jeans