Big Ole Recap

So you know what happens when you work in sales and are on the go a lot? The days and weeks blow by and all the sudden you blink and realize a week and a half have gone by since your last post, and you didn't even realize. So a good amount has happened in that time so lets recap:

Valentines Weekend:

 

Valentines weekend with my soon to be Hubby was fantastic, I couldn't have asked for a better time... or a better guy to marry :) Evan and I have celebrating a total of five valentines days together so far. Every year before this we took the route of staying in for valentines day and cooking together but this year we wanted to do something a little different and actually made a reservation for a Brazilian steak house... amazing! For someone who has never been, basically you start with a salad bar then they bring around large swords of assorted meats that they carve for you at your table and you eat and eat and eat until you cant anymore. We left insanely full but happy

 

P.S. boy does my honey know me or what... that or he may actually read my blog, he knew just what to get this fit girl, he more than spoiled me

 

Save the Dates:

• Our Save the Dates and custom address stamp arrived in the mail and we got to work on collecting addresses, stamping them, making labels and getting them ready to send out. They aren't quite finished but we hope to have them mailed out soon

Sister Time:

My little sister is graduating from college in May, and no I cant believe it because that just reminds me how old I am. With graduation quickly approaching she came out to Dallas for a career fair and to do an interview and we got to spend some sister time together for a few days

Bridesmaid Dress Shopping

While my sister was here I definitely put her to work and made her go with me to try and hunt down some bridesmaids dresses, we went to the coolest store that had tons of designers to try on. However after leaving the store I felt no less confused about which way to go for the dresses, mainly because the prices are insane and I wouldn't feel comfortable asking my bridesmaids to spend that on something they will wear once.

Ice Storm

My Sister made it out of town just in time to avoid our first Texas ice storm of the season. For those of you not in Texas, ice storms are the weirdest thing but they tend to shut down the entire metroplex completely. Sunday evening the sleet started and fell for several hours and overnight that all froze covering the roads in an inch thick of straight ice, which meant everyone worked from home. It was nice having Evan at home and having a slow pace day working and staying inside away from the cold. Our dog Bentley was not a fan of the cold and the ice and was highly upset when we made him go outside, don't worry I used this as an excuse to whip out his cute doggy pjs I only put on him when its cold... yep I'm one crazy dog mom and I am not afraid to admit it. 

Yes I realize every almost every single picture from this post is the wrong orientation but apparently I don't notice these things when I take them... oh well what can you do? Stay tuned for my next post of macros and iifym coming soon!

This Week's Workout Recap

Several people have asked what my typical week of workouts look like so I thought why not just tell you guys what my workouts looked like this past week. While each week is different for me there are some constants every week. I try to weight lift at least 4-5 times a week hitting each of the following body parts at least one time: biceps, triceps, shoulders, chest, back, legs, glutes, abs. Here are the splits I used for this week:

Saturday: Back, Chest and Abs

Sunday: Biceps, Triceps, HIT sprints

Monday: Leg Plyos

Tuesday: Shoulders and Glutes

Wednesday: Upper Body Circuit

Thursday: Rest Day

Friday: Hot Yoga - I'm hoping anyway :)

A couple notes to keep in mind when looking at this, first being I wouldn't usually do glutes the day after leg plyos and I wish I hadn't it was not a wise idea I was just too sore. In addition I recently changed up my weight splits in order to make more time for other workouts like yoga and group classes I used to lift five days a week, and some weeks I still do. You just have to find what works for you.

I am excited that its Friday and a long weekend for this girl. We get Monday off as a holiday and I am very excited for a little extra time off. I am also ready to celebrate Valentines day tomorrow with my honey, we have plans to go out for a fancy indulgent meal and I cant wait. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Upper Body Circuit

Last night after the end of the work day I wanted to get in a workout but wasn't sure what I should do. Since Saturday I had actually already hit all the muscle groups and my legs had certainly had enough so I figured why not mix it up and doing an upper body circuit, targeting the entire upper body and keeping the heart rate up. For this workout I picked one exercise per muscle group in the upper body to hit and completed them in super-sets sandwiched in-between bursts of cardio and did high rep and low weight for any weighted exercises. Needless to say by the end I was out of breath and super sweaty so I would call it a success. 

The entire workout took me about 45 minutes to complete and I was more than ready to walk to a local juice bar next door for a post workout protein shake when I was done. This juice bar has some of the yummiest protein shakes/smoothies I have ever had and I am hoping I will be able to recreate something similar at home. I will let you know if I have any luck on that front.

Let me know what you think and stay tuned!

Tips for Better Eating Habits While Traveling for Work

My job requires me to travel quite a bit and while it can sometimes be fun and it is much preferred to sitting at a desk all day having to travel that much can sometimes take a toll on you. One of the main reasons I find it hard is it requires me to eat out for all of my meals. Well even if you are ordering the healthiest thing on the menu all restaurant food is much higher in fat then if you cooked something at home so when you eat out all three meals its still not that healthy.

Frustrated after my last business trip I simply decided with the proper prep work and packing I could avoid having to eat out for so many meals. Today I am leaving to go work in Austin for the week and here is how I am hoping to set myself up for success and less eating out on this trip.

1. Pack some healthy snacks

• The last thing you want is to be on a plane, in the car or stuck at the airport on delay and starving, because what is that likely to lead to? Stopping at the closest place for food, usually unhealthy. Snacks I like to always have on hand with me:
• Qwest bars- 20 grams of protein and only 20 carbs fill me up and keep me happy
• Almonds
• Protein powder- I either pack a shaker bottle or you can use any water bottle to whip up a quick shake
• Greek Yogurt- for this trip since I am driving I am able to bring along a couple yogurts no problem

2. Bring at least a couple healthy meals

• For this trip I went and picked up some Icon Meals and prepped a couple of my own. Icon meals are a Texas local business that hand makes healthy meals for on the go. Each meal has the macros listed on the package and is high in protein and low in fat. They also have an option for you to order custom meals as well.

3. Get in a workout

• I always feel better about work trips when I get in a good workout. For me I usually buy a guest pass to a local gym instead of using the hotel gym so I have a full set of equipment.

4. When eating out look at the menu before you get to the restaurant, I do this to help me pick the healthy options out and know what I'm ordering ahead of time. I also look at the nutrition information when it is available you will be surprised which dishes end up being the healthy options at restaurants, more times than not it is definitely not the salads.

5. Get back to your routine as soon as you get home

• Last but not least if you do get slightly on track on a trip, don't beat yourself up about it or allow it to derail you. Once you return home just get back to healthy eating and exercise and you will be just fine.

Plymoetric Leg Circuit

As I make the attempt to shift more of posts on the blog to health and fitness I found myself thinking about what I myself like to read on similar blogs and realized aside from recipes and lifestyle stories I love when fitness bloggers share their workouts so today that is what I am coming at you with.

Todays workout is a quick plyometric circuit that makes the legs burn. I like to throw this in once a week to compliment my weight training. I do this for a couple reasons, one being my legs are a trouble area so I want to work them aside from heavy weight training to help them lean out. Also a plyometric workout like this is a great cardiovascular workout as well because it keeps your heart rate up.

 

This workout is on the agenda for Evan and I tonight, this is often a go to for us for Monday evenings because we can complete it in our apartment gym avoiding the Monday gym rush as well as it only takes 30-40 minutes to complete, so a killer time saver workout after a crazy first day back at work.

 

I hope you all enjoy, all the moves should be easy to find videos of if you are unfamiliar but everything is simple to catch onto. Let me know what you think.

 

 

**Please note I am not a certified personal trainer this workout is just one that I like to do and have picked up the components from training videos and trainers I have worked with

What to get the Fit Girl for Valentines Day

Valentines Day is just 10 days away! For any guys out there wondering what to buy the fitgirl in your life, I have a few suggestions. Getting her something that compliments her fit lifestyle, no matter how small will make her so happy!

1. Lifting gloves- I personally have been eyeing the Versa Grips instead of a traditional glove. We may like to hit the gym and throw around some weights, but that doesn't mean we want to destroy our hands in the process, plus a cute color or pattern makes it even better.

2. Headbands- workout headbands are something every girl needs, in several colors. This a good low cost option

3. Water bottle- A cute water bottle is always fun to have, I like these by Pink because they usually have fun sayings, hold 32oz of water and have a handle. At

4. Lulu lemon- If you want to splurge and by a gift for her that is truly one for you as well pick up a pair of lulu crop workout pants like these.

5. Qwest Bars- If you want to give her something in place of candy (although chocolate always welcome) get her some assorted flavors of Qwest bars, my current favorite is their new S' mores flavor.

There are plenty of other great options out there as well, just something to show her you know and support her interests will make it all the more special.

Wedding Chair Signs

I absolutely love to DIY and craft... when I have the time. What better excuse to get your craft on than an upcoming wedding? For the first of many wedding projects I wanted to make a set of Mr. and Mrs. signs for our chairs or sweetheart table... yet to be determined.

I started with two unfinished pieces of wood from hobby lobby, some stain, graphite paper and a white paint pen.

Step 1: Stain your wood, let dry for several hours

Step 2: Print out your desired wording to scale

Step 3: Cut out your wording, layer with graphite paper and tape to board

Step 4: Trace over wording with a pencil, the graphite paper will leave a light tracing on your board

Step 5: Trace over graphite shadow with paint pen

Step 6: Embellish with any extras you desire, for my Mrs. sign I choose a peach silk flower for the corner

Step7: Drill holes and attach string if using for chair signs

Next: Display proudly at your wedding because you will officially be Mr. and Mrs. :)

Protein Banana Bread Cake

Happy Monday Everyone!

I did share this recipe on my instagram but wanted to make sure to share it on here as well since it was such a good one.

What you Need:

• 1/2 ripe banana
• 1 scoop vanilla protein
• 1/4 almond/coconut milk
• 2 TB Oat flour
• 1 TB sugarfree banana pudding mix
• 1 TB almond butter
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1 TB mini chocolate chips

What to do:

• Mix all ingredients except chocolate chips in a blender
• Pour into microwave safe dish, top with chocolate chips
• Microwave for 1.5-2 minutes and enjoy

Macros for this dish as is: 10F/28C/30P

You could reduce the carbs and fats on this with some adjustments as well. Please let me know what you think :)