30 Days of Yoga

Happy Saturday and Happy Easter EVE :)
I decided that I want to make an active effort every day to be more gentle and loving with my body and mind.  You see... I'm VERY VERY type A personality/perfectionist.  I must do things the right way or no way.  I tend to be VERY hard on myself about things.  I think this is why dieting, rigid plans, being restrictive has always backfired with me.

source

I think someone would automatically think that by doing the Whole30 that would trigger those obsessive and perfectionist feelings.  I won't lie- it has a couple of times when I accidentally ate something that had some unapproved ingredients in it. But I learned from it (that I should do my research and prepare) and moved on.  But to be honest I feel like it has done the opposite.  I've learned that I need to eat more food every day and I have learned to NOURISH my body.  I don't feel like I am being restrictive because I'm putting really good quality and nourishing foods in my body at every chance I get.

Also, with the Bikini Body Guide- that is a strict workout plan.  The schedule has 3 strength training days, 3 cardio days, and 1 stretch day. I'll be honest- I don't think I have stuck to that schedule one time and I am on week 7.  I learned that because I'm doing quality effective workouts I don't feel like I need to be so hard on myself if I skip a day.  And I've skipped a few days.  I think I only skipped 1 or 2 strength days on the program. But I've skipped several cardio days.  And I don't feel bad about it.   Not at all.  And guess what- I've still seen results that I am so happy with.

When I got sick this week I took several days off and slept in... No guilt.  This is all new to me.  This is something I am working on and working at constantly.

So that brings me to my newest challenge for myself- 30 days of yoga... Yoga is something I have always wanted to get into more.  I used to go about once a week and I always really enjoyed it.  Then I stopped that for quite a while and I miss it.

I got this idea from Yoga with Adriene's 30 days of yoga series.  I am going to use her videos in addition to the local studio that I won the gift card to. After 2 years I am finally going to cash in the month of unlimited!  I think this will go hand in hand with my new attitude to be more gentle and loving to myself.

I want to go to the studio as much as I can and days that I cannot I will do one of her videos.  This may be a little hard to do in addition to the BBG workouts. But I am going to find a way to make it work even if it is a 10-15 minute practice real quick at night or before work.

I am starting today with her day 2 video because it sounded better for me- Stretch your body and soothe your soul.  I am super sore from my leg workout yesterday and I think I need this.  My schedule is a little messed up from being sick this week and I would like to get in a cardio session or a strength session later today or tomorrow.

Today is my final day of the Whole30 program and I couldn't be more pleased with myself!  I will do a full review/wrap-up of that soon!

Happy Easter!

What I Eat In a Day

I'm back!  I can't believe its been almost a year since I've blogged!  Where has the time gone?

I decided to start with this post because its one of my favorites to read on others' blogs and watch on YouTube. It gives me some ideas and I just enjoy reading about it.  

I should preface this by stating that I have been doing the Whole30 for the past 23 days. If you're unfamiliar with the Whole30 I encourage you to read about it here.  I'm sure most of you have hard of pale before.  Basically, no grains, sugar, dairy, gluten, refined anything, soy, or anything processed or from a package except a few random things.  Everything all natural!  I've mostly been eating meat, fish, veggies, eggs, and fruit. If you're interested in completing one I recommend the book- It Starts With Food.  I've really enjoyed this way of eating.  But it has really taken a lot of the enjoyment out of my meals. I've just been eating to nourish my body rather than eating for entertainment.  I haven't eaten in a restaurant in several weeks other than the occasional Chipotle lunch in a pinch.  I plan on doing a full post on the Whole30 and my experience once it is over this weekend.

So on to what my typical day looks like in food!

Breakfast: 

-2 fried eggs with fresh eggs from the farmers market cooked in ghee

-A side of green beans- so random- but I try to eat veggies at each meal. Usually for breakfast I just have whatever veggies are left from the night before

-an orange

-a glass of ginger kombucha

I drink a ton of water all day. When I get to work I have either hot tea or coffee with coconut milk or homemade almond milk (tutorial coming).

-Around 10am I have one of my herbal supplement drinks: Solle Vital I will do a post on all of my herbal supplements soon

 Lunch:  forgot to snap a pic until almost done!
-salad with leftover chicken, avocado, strawberries, dill, and a boiled egg
-baked sweet potato with ghee

I had to run to Home Goods at lunch to return something and I found these snacks.  I love stuff like this. I ended up eating this whole bag. Both have only fruit as the ingredients.  No added sugar!

 And 2 pieces of this:

 Around 2:00 I got hungry and had this:

When I got home around 5 I was starving!  I randomly ate a boiled egg and drank some water to hold me over.  Then dinner was not my favorite. I actually ended up throwing half of it way because it just wasn't good.

Dinner:

-Tuna steak marinated in coconut aminos, ginger, cilantro, and green onion

- sautéed cabbage and sweet potatoes

Then after dinner I had a big spoonful of Sun Butter. 

Not the most glorious or exciting meals but this is what a typical day looks like these days!  Each meal I try to include protein, fat, and carb. Nothing fancy.  On the weekends I will cook more elaborate meals that my husband and I can enjoy together. But for now- this works.  

Hope you enjoyed a little sneak into my day:)

Holiday Hottie Series- Catch Up

Happy Wednesday everyone!
I really hope social media goes back to normal now that the election is over.  I'm all for people voicing their opinion.  But intentionally attacking another person because their opinion is different is just ignorant and a real asshole thing to do.  I'm over it!  America chose.  Now we can be happy because its who we voted for, or we can move on and support our country regardless.

Enough political talk!  Let's move on to the Holiday Hottie series! 

I am really loving all of the encouragement and positive attitudes that comes with something like this! I love seeing the check-ins and pictures on twitter, facebook, instagram, and the TIU Community.  Its so much easier to keep going when you know so many other people are doing the same thing!

The daily workouts are throwing off my half marathon training. But the HM isn't until February.  So I have an opportunity to even start back from the beginning if I wanted to after this 2 weeks is up.

Yesterday's workout was so so tough!  Take a look at the cardio circuit from yesterday!

I managed to make it through and burn 367 calories! 
M1: pumpkin protein pancake and coffee
M2: green juice (kale, banana, apple, cilantro, & ginger) and 2 boiled eggs
M3: tempeh sandwich w/ asparagus
M4: Luna Fiber bar and hummus w/ green peppers
M5: almond crusted tilapia and roasted brussell sprouts

Now on to today's plan.  I started my day with the MaliBooty workout.  I woke up pretty sore this morning.  So this was a killer!
My meal plan for the day looks like this:
M1: pumpkin protein oats and coffee
M2: plan greek yogurt w/ honey, pumpkin spice, & pear
M3: sauteed tempeh and brussell sprouts
M4: hummus w/ bell peppers
M5: Hearty Mushroom Soup

I hope everyone has a great day!  And if you haven't joined the Holiday Hottie challenge you can do so here!

5DSD results are in

Guys... I am proud of myself for completing the 5DSD the right way and sticking to it the whole week.  For me, the biggest accomplishment had to be two-a-days for 5 days in a row!  That's a big deal for someone who has a really hard time with workout motivation.  Once I get going I'm good... But starting off sucks... And a lot of time I just don't do it.  I know this will be a real challenge since as of today I no longer have a gym membership.  Its going to take some real determination to work out at home. 

I have to say- it wasn't bad.  It was pretty easy for me.  I tried to 7DSD in the original Tone It Up plan.  And it was really hard for me.  I was starving every single day.  And I think I ended up cutting it to 5 days b/c I had plans that weekend.  I might have lost a pound that week. I can't remember.  I just remember I got really bored with the food and very hungry. 

Also, the two-a-days weren't bad either.  I am an early-morning person anyway. So I alternated either a run or the HIIT the beach routine every day.  And both of those were done within 30 minutes.  Then in the afternoon I would either run or do a 30 minute toning routine.  So I didn't feel like I spent tons of time working out.  I just got up about 40 minutes earlier than usual and then spent 30 minutes in the afternoons. I still had plenty of time to do what I wanted. 

Saturday morning when I woke up it was really rainy out so I didn't go for a run. I really wanted to get in a longer run.  But I also kept telling myself that I should just let my body rest for a day.  Then it felt sort of weird.  I feel like that 5 days helped to set a habit for me.  I eventually ended up just doing some yoga poses and stretching because I felt like I needed to do something.  The first thing I wanted was grains!  I had not had any grains all week.  So I opted for some oatmeal! 

So overall, I would HIGHLY recommend everyone trying this if you're a few pounds away from your goal weight, just want to jumpstart your weightloss, or want to reset your way of eating. 

I weighed and measured myself that Sunday before starting.  I hope I measured correctly.  Here's my results:

Starting Weight: 132.4
Ending Weight: 128.2
Total Loss: 4.2 lbs!

Starting Measurements:
Calf: 14"
Thigh: 20.5"
Hips: 35.5"
Waist: 25"
Arms: 10.5"

Ending Measurements:
Calf: 13.75"
Thigh: 20"
Hips: 35"
Waist: 24"
Arms: 10"

Total inches lost (counting both sides): 4"

I was in extreme shock! I feel like that's a lot!  Hopefully I measured correctly. I definitely feel like my pants are looser!  Its really weird b/c one of my thighs is like .5" bigger than the other... starting and ending. Its strange. Anyone else like that?

Since today is the start of a new month I want to set a goal for myself for the month of October.  My goal is simply to get moving for 30 minutes/day 6 days a week.  I know I can do it because of the 5DSD!  Now I just have to remind myself of that!  What are your October goals?

Is anyone else doing the 5DSD this week?

XO-Heather

 

3in30 Challenge: Final Thoughts

I didn't do a very good job of updating you guys during my challenge.  But here's how I did:

• Do some form of exercise 3x/week
• DONE! 
• I surprised myself and did pretty good here.  I may not have made it to the gym 3 times every week all month.  But I went at least twice and took the pups for a walk on the other day.  
• Start and finish 1 book on my list
• DONE!
• I started reading Stealing Faces on my iPad at the beginning of the month.  I'm about 65% of the way through.  It's not super exciting.  Some days I can get into it and get really far.  But other days I'm just not interested.  So I started and finished Lauren Conrad's book, Lauren Conrad Style. I've had this on my coffee table for a few months.  I started and finished it in the past 2 weeks, reading a little each night.  It was a great book.  I loved it!
• Stay on budget
• Here is where things went south.  You'd think since I blog about frugal living I would knock this out of the park.  But it's not always easy, and sometimes things come up.  
• I went a little over on our grocery budget, about $100.  I started buying healthier snacks for husband and I to keep at work.  This is hard because we don't like the same things.  So it is almost like buying double.  I also went to the produce stand every week instead of just buying my produce at Wal-Mart or wherever I went.  Usually the produce stand is cheaper, but not always.  I like to go there to get my fresh food because it is local.  
• I also want to clarify that I don't use coupons on every thing that I buy.  I also won't say, "no, can't get it. don't have a coupon."  I just try to do my research on the best deal for an item and find a coupon.  But it doesn't always work out that way.  Sometimes I buy things on a whim.  Some weeks I don't feel like deal hunting or worrying about the extra leg work.  I'm in a hurry, and I just need to get in and out of the grocery store.  But I usually only let that happen about once a month.  But it is also so easy to let the grocery bill get away from me while not worrying about it.  $100 is a good bit to go over budget.  So I MUST do better next month and quit being lazy.
• We also went over $60 on the auto/gas budget.  This is something I don't care too much about since it's so hard to alter it.  Husband and I commute to and from work, and we obviously have to go every day.  I also travel to some of our dental offices sometimes.  But I do get paid mileage, which goes straight to the savings account.  I do this to account for the extra maintenance on the car.  Our friends and family live out of town.  So we spend A LOT of time in the car.  I was also due for an oil change this month too.
• Husband had to pay for his last section of his CPA exam.  This went under our Miscellaneous section.  And let me tell you, these are NOT cheap!  But he only has 1 left to pass.  He's taking it the week before we go to Vegas in November.  I'm so proud of him! 

So all in all, I got 2/3.  Which is good, right?  I'm a little upset with myself about the budget.  But it's ok, because we have a good buffer in case we overspend.  It's not like we spend outside of what we earn.  We just can't put as much in savings if we overspend.  But there's always next month to make it up.  I am DETERMINED to be under or right at budget for groceries for the month.
Do you set personal goals for the month?  If so, how'd you do? 
I'm excited, because the weather is supposed to be great.  Tonight I am going to a Yoga class with a friend.  It's called Vino & Vinyasa.  They will have a wine reception after.  I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend.
XO-Heather

Day 17: Alternative- Break a Rule

Today's original prompt was to take something out of your repair pile, repair it, and wear it.  But I don't really have a repair pile, because I'm not very crafty or good at fixing things.  So Kayla's alternative was to break a fashion rule.  I know this rule doesn't really apply anymore, but I wore two different patterns.

top- Express; cardi-Gap; skirt- Loft; shoes- Target; necklace-Tiffany & Co.

I know that most fashion rules these days are outdated and get challenged daily.  That's why I wasn't sure if this would count as "breaking a fashion rule."  But this would usually be outside of my comfort zone.  Especially mixing the taupe on the skirt, gray on the shirt, pink cardi, and teal shoes!!!  But that is what this blog and 21 day challenge are for right?! To challenge myself. 
I found several pairs of blue jean shorts at Target today.  They were on clearance for $8.  I have a few Target Q' for $5 off women's denim.  I'm super excited, because I am going back to get a few pairs of $3 shorts!  Tomorrow is the start of a new month, so I'm going to buy something dammit!  I think I even said I would extend this challenge until the end of the 21 day challenge.  But come on people, $3 blue jean shorts!  I can't pass it up.  Plus, the Q's expire on Friday.  I still have a good while of smoldering hot weather here in Louisiana. 
Check out the Kayla & the other participants.
XO-Heather

Day 16- Menswear

Today's prompt was to rock a menswear inspired look.  I chose a V-neck tee, dress pants, and a blazer.  I considered wearing a button-up, but it's just too hot around here!  I figured the blazer was removable in case I start to die of a heat stroke.

tee- Target boyfriend tee
blazer- Old Navy
pants- the Limited
shoes- DSW

I have a confession to make... I bought this t-shirt on Saturday.  Does that break my challenge?  I mean, it's just a tee...
I've seen a lot of people with these boyfriend tees from Target lately.  And I've heard a lot about them.  Linley raves about them on her blog, Dwelling & Telling.  They're usually sold out of them at my Target.  But I found this hunter green in my size.  They are regularly $8.  But there was a Target coupon, to print from their website, for $3 off any Missimo item.  So I got it for $5.  It's really soft and very comfortable.  I have a million different fitted t-shirts.  But I like them long, like this one.  And it's hard to find them in a longer length sometimes.
I said in the original post that it would only be clothing (not accessories) since that's what i have an abundance of.  So for the entire month all I have bought myself is a t-shirt for $5.  Husband bought me this striped top with cut-out shoulders for $7.  I also bought a pair of $7 faux snakeskin pumps from Target and a leather carry-all pouch from American Apparel for $50.  I think I did pretty good.  The only time I slipped up was for a t-shirt for 30 days!  This is coming from someone who went to Loft at least once a week on her lunch break to shop in the past few months.  But now my wish list on Pinterest is quickly growing.  So I can't wait to shop again!!!! 
Make sure to check out the other participants in today's challenge.  
XO-Heather

21 Day Challenge- Day 1- Remix it!

I am participating in the 21 Day Challenge.  So for the next 21 days I will be out off of my normal schedule.  I'll (hopefully) be posting outfits each day.
I've also decided to extend my shopping ban until the end of the challenge, which is September 4th (4 extra days!)  BTW, I've done great so far.  I bought a cute pair of clearance pumps from Target today for $6!!  But the shopping ban was against clothes, not accessories.  Since that is what I have an overflow of.  So 15 days in- I'm still good!     
Today is the first day of the challenge.  The prompt for today is to pick an item to remix at least 3 times over the course of the challenge.  I chose this black Mossimo dress from Target.  I bought it off the sale rack several months ago for $10!  It's super comfy, but wrinkles quickly.  This dress is a blank slate for a ton of different options and accessories.  So I knew this would be a great pick to remix.
So here's the first remix: simple, casual, with a little pink flower added! 

dress- Target; shoes- Target

you can see Mocha's tail! ha!

Sorry for the crappy picture quality.  I didn't realize but the lens on my camera had some kind of film on it.

Look at this sweet pup with his new toy!

Everybody, Everywear- Pattern Mixing

shirt- Sears; skirt- Loft; shoes- DSW; necklace- Mignon Faget

This is my first Everybody, Everywear.  Pattern mixing is not something I usually do.  I can't seem to get it right, and I'm not 100% sold on this outfit.  But I wanted to challenge myself to try new things. So here you have it!
Notice the shirt?  This is the one I mentioned in yesterday's post.  My wonderful husband bought it for me on his lunch break yesterday.  I did not break the challenge... It was a gift!  Man, I am lucky! 

Mixed Up Monday- Weekend Recap + Challenge Update

As promised on Friday, I had a very uneventful weekend.  Friday night the husband and I went to Baton Rouge for a little while to get out of the house.  We rode around LSU's campus just looking at the lake, the sorority and fraternity houses, and the scenery.  They have such a beautiful campus.  The sorority row there is so different from Southeastern's campus, where I went to school. 

LSU

Then we went over to Perkins Rowe, an outdoor mall with boutiques, restaurants, and a movie theater.  We walked around a bit.  We went to Starbucks and had a cupcake and root beers.

Saturday we laid around most of the day then went to have a few drinks at The Londoner that night.

Sunday was my usual grocery shopping day.  Then we went to the mall to find the husband some new shoes.  I walked in Sears while he was looking at something and came across the cutest t-shirt.  It looked just like this one from Victoria's Secret that I've been wanting.  But I refuse to pay $35+shipping for a t-shirt.  Except this one was $7 and had stripes! I love stripes.   

Victoria's Secret Cut-Out Shoulder Tee- $34.50

 

 I was quickly brought back to reality when the husband reminded me of my challenge.  So then I pouted the rest of the day, and I am still mad I didn't buy it.  It was $7, had stripes, and cut-out shoulders.  How did I pass that up?  Stupid challenge...
XO-Heather

Mixed Up Monday- New Month, New Challenge & OOTD

Good morning!  Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend.  It's the first day of a new month which is when I like to reflect on my spending habits from the past month.  I decided this morning I am challenging myself to not shop for any clothes for the entire month.  I'm not making this decision because I went overboard with shopping last month.  I've just realized that I have a lot of stuff in my closet. 
When I first started reading fashion blogs, about a year ago, I would buy a lot of clothes to recreate the outfits that I saw.  I toyed with the idea of doing  Kendi's 30 for 30 challenge.  But I didn't think I was quite ready for that, and I still don't think I am.
I feel like August would be a good time to take on this challenge.  It's still really hot here and very much summertime.  So I'm not itching to buy fall clothes yet, but I'm sure I will be next month.
So in order to make this official and hold myself accountable I am announcing a "Shop My Closet Challenge" for the month of August.  I hope to discover items I haven't worn in awhile, use what I have to recreate others' outfits, and learn to shop wisely.  This just means that I will learn what sort of "staples" my closet is missing.  Wish me luck.  Anyone wanna join?
Now I'll leave you with an outfit from the weekend.  We went to dinner with friends at a casual sushi restaurant and then out for drinks.

dress- Victoria's Secret; belt- F21; shoes- random store in the mall

Hope everyone has a fabulous day!
XO- Heather