Fitness Friday - How I Did On Week 2 (first full week)

Hello friends!

This was my first full week making more of an effort to watch what I put in my mouth and get my body moving.  As I write this, I am currently drinking my breakfast: Spinach, Kale, raspberries, blueberries and one banana-delish!  Anyway, the week had a few lows but mostly some highs and that's really what I need to focus on although I need to be aware of what I need to work on-for sure.  At the very end are my weigh in results.

So my goals last week were:

• Start the day reading and reciting something motivational (book, quote, etc.)
• Drink water & no soda or juice 
• Exercise for 40 minutes Monday - Friday
• Track my food on My Fitness Pal

How I did:

• The one thing I heard, wrote down and recited this past week was "Push through - You are stronger than you think".  This was said by my fellow friend Michele on YT (her channel is: makeupMLC).  She shared some weigh loss advice and toward the end she said this which seems simple, but for me is so powerful.  
• I definitely focused on drinking water although last night we had Burger King for dinner and I ordered a half coke, half diet coke which is progress.  
• I skipped my Tuesday workout but did 35 min. Mon.,  / 15 min. wed. (went right before gym closed) plus strength training (arms&back), / 40 min., Thur. plus s.t. (legs) and today and tomorrow I will be back at the gym.  Today and tomorrow I'll do another 40 min. with arms & back today and legs tomorrow.  So I didn't stick to exactly what I wanted but again..progress.
• Fail. Let's just be honest..I tracked for only a day and a half.

Next weeks goals are going to be the same but continue adding in strength training.  Oh and here I am last night ready to tackle leg machines and then the elliptical for my cardio.  Christina's "Fighter" helped me get through my workout. :) 

Some things I did that helped make this week easier for me was prepping my food and smoothies.  I went grocery shopping early this week and bought some prepped salads and split them in two for a meal alone or as an appetizer to accompany my lunch or dinner.  I also split baby carrots and cherry tomatoes into snack size bags.  The other prepping I did was make pre-measured juicing/smoothie bags and freeze them.  I took them out 30 min. prior to making and it was so easy to blend, didn't take any time at all.  Here are some pics I took.

Prepped Juicing / Smoothie Bags

 One large prepped salad - I bought 3 different ones and split them into two making a total of 6 salads

 This is one salad split into two, one is almost too much

 Four Salads later and prepped snack bags

 Overall, I think I did good.  I definitely could have increased my cardio BUT the week isn't over for me yet.

Today's weigh in: exactly -2 lbs.  (wish it was more but I will gladly take a loss over a gain)

I hope you got to eat something healthy this week or got your body moving!  Share your tips or thoughts below!

XO, P

Easy Dessert Recipe: Dump Apple Cake

I have to admit something.  Every time I go somewhere and taste someone's homemade recipe, I always ask for it.  This is how I have so many recipes that I will be sharing with you that are tried, true, easy and delicious.  And so I bring you another easy recipe to try, this time a dessert.  I received this one from a lady I met through a work event many years ago.  Here goes:

Ingredients:

1 c. oil

2 c. sugar

2 eggs

3 c. flour

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. vanilla

1 can apple pie filling

1 c. pecans

Instructions:

1) Combine all ingredients and stir manually so that it is mixed evenly

2) Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes.

3) Serve and enjoy!

I told you it was easy!  You can also serve this warm with vanilla ice cream if you'd like.  Let me know if you try it! 

Thanks for spending time with me today!  

XX,

P

Update / Additions To My Blog

I feel that if I can be completely honest with my viewers / friends on You Tube then I can certainly be honest here.

Recently, I've struggled with whether or not to write about topics other than beauty related - EVEN THOUGH my blog description is about beauty, brains, fitness and fun.  At one point, I wanted to dedicated this blog primarily for beauty discussion such as skincare, makeup, nail polish, etc.  However there's SO much more I want to share with you, and more so on a personal level. After many weeks of debate, this morning I made my decision.  There are so many things I have learned so far in my life (I know there's way more coming) whether it's about relationships with friends, family, marriage as well as finances, food, recipes, not taking life for granted, etc. that I just need to share with you.  I've always thought that if I can help one person then my my goal was accomplished.  So that's what we're going to do - dive in on a little bit of more personal, real life topics.  NOW WAIT...that does NOT mean that I'm no longer going to be posting beauty topics but I want sprinkles of other conversations as well.  I hope that this is okay with you.

With that said, I am really excited about these changes and I hope you are too! I feel like this is the consistency boost I need on my blog instead of always debating as to what to post on here versus on my You Tube channel! What a struggle that can be!

I think I've rambled enough so that will be all for this post but look out because I will have another coming either later today or tomorrow.

Have a great day and thanks for spending time with me today!

XX, P