Refash: a maxi dress into a jumpsuit!!

Yep a different type of FAB post. this is a FAB REFASH I completed tonight.
It all started when Salma Hayak appeared on Live with Kelly and Michael this week. Lauren and I just LOOOVED the jumpsuit she was wearing:

This is by Bottega Veneta, costs $1,880, and will not be joining my wardrobe anytime soon. So Lauren and I started researching a more affordable one that would fit in our budget and possibly be something we might be able to "share"

This one is on sale at Macy's for just under 50 and comes with the super cute belt. This one is still in consideration. But first we needed to make sure the "style" would do both of our body types. She is taller and thinner and I'm shorter and pudgier. AND there is a good 35ish pounds between us!!

So Macy's also offers this one:

Again its roughly $50 so very reasonable.

Lauren and I are thrifters and found this dress by Old Navy for $4 at a garage sale:

 

Super cute but it has an umpire waste and a tie. Can I make a jump suit out of this?

Step one was to pick out the seam where the tie was sewn in. That was probably the quickest part.

Next I removed the tie and stitched up the hole

Then I tried on the dress and lined it up to determine where a good pin spot would be.

I pinned it and took it off. Then I measured up to the pin and marked with an erasable fabric pencil

Then I cut it up to the mark on both sides. I then turned it inside out, ran it through the sewing machine and double stitched the ends of the legs and an extra stitch in the crotch seam to keep it from popping loose.

Time to try it on:

eehh

I'm not big on it due to the umpire waist. It's definitely not a botched job though.

Look at it on Lauren (please disregard her dirty bedroom. You know kids)

It hangs nicely even from a side view

And the seams seem to have plenty of give.

 

So in the end Lauren got a jumper. We've both agreed that a t-shirt underneath it is a definite need and that we want to go to macy's and try the one on sale on. I'm pretty sure that with the right waist line, this would be a hit for both our body types!!

Happy FAB REFASH everybody!!

 

P.S. I'm getting nervous, my 5k is in 7 days!!!!

 

Proving myself WRONG.....Accepting it......And moving on to focus on my Priorities!!

P90X Week 3 should start today. Here's the deal. I HATE IT! Why? I don't like the yoga the most. I hate the fact that I feel weak on the lifting days and I hate it more that I can't finish the ab ripper workout. Is it just too hard? Yes. I am physically not capable of finishing. Now if I modify I can do MOST but still not all. And more importantly I'm not having a good time which means I am more negative about it and not willing to plug it in. In fact this week I just didn't discuss it on my FB page at all. Why? Because if I post something negative I lose likes in droves. I don't want to lose my "friends" they keep me going. So What should I do? I really want to finish something I start....Yep. I really do, but its more important I ENJOY what I'm doing.
Keep in mind folks. This workout is for ME not to encourage others, but to help ME and if I'm negative about it, I can't help me AND I can't encourage others.
So what should I do?
The first time I ever dieted and exercised I used Weight Watchers for the food portion and I did Taebo and used my elliptical DAILY, but I also had a normal flow with my work schedule and personal time. NOW I don't have a set time of day I can workout. I am preparing MORE meals with my family and I am on the go a TON more with my kids.
They are important. Their lifestyle is more at the forefront right now because they are 12 & 16. My time with them is now limited but they need me MORE than ever right now.

My husband changed jobs last week. He has another week or two on training before he goes to his own shift. We know it won't be days. He'll either work evenings or he'll work nights. I return to my classroom full time in just under a month and My son will be going to another town for school and spending more nights away from home (at my gma's) during the school year. This month while my schedule is "in limbo" I think I'm going to relax. ENJOY my kids and husband, workout when I can, and choose the "better" options. No set workouts, no set schedules, nothing. By the time school starts I'll have a set schedule. I'll know where I'm going, I'll be able to be more excited about my life, and I PLAN to workout daily. So knowing where I'm going says don't fail now. Even though I plan to relax, I still plan to run. I'm training for a 5k in 3 weeks. So that will still happen. I just may not plug a video in daily as well. I may be out the door and play tennis, or go for a run, or go for a swim, or go to a theme park and walk from one end to the other repeatedly. ect.

See what I'm saying. My life is already busy. The stress of trying to throw in a workout I really am not enjoying isn't working. I am taking out P90X I cannot finish it (for the 4th try LOL) but I'll box it up and save it for when I am able to. Some day I may not hate it because I will have built up my muscles, resistance levels, fitness levels, ect to do so. But right now isn't that time. Right now it is time to focus on my family, meet their needs, and enjoy my workouts.
I'll keep you posted on what I am doing daily on Facebook and I'll probably post a few things on here as well. You will definitely see my 5k, you might see a refash I'm in the process with, and you will more than likely enjoy seeing more of my classroom and work schedule.
If I've failed you, I'm sorry. I didn't fail myself I just came to the realization that I'm not superwoman and I am putting my priorities into check.
Thank you for your understanding!!

WHEW....Where did I go!?!?

I know I know I needed to get this typed up long before now

I was at least doing it right!
So day 3, 4, 5, 6, and rest on 7 are in the books. What can I tell you about it all. I HATE the Yoga and have decided to just do stretch on those days or make it an additional ab ripper day, or maybe both. We'll see. I'm on day 2 now of week 2 and I can do the first few days of the week no problem. I need to pick up some more weights or just tough it out with the heavier ones. I'm not sure.
Anyway how do I feel right now?

Yep. I feel in the dumps. I guess maybe that's part of it. I'll keep trying. I'm not a quitter. I'd love to see some weight go away, but some of the "changes" I make cause it to go the other way. I've tried just about everything except relaxing. So I'm gonna log everything on myfitnesspal.com, exercise once a day, and REST the rest of the day. I'm pushing myself so hard and I think the stress is getting me down. In a week or so if I feel like doing more, I'll do more. Nuff said!

So I'm locked and loaded and ready to go. How about you?

Day 2 P90X Cardio X

Today I did Cardio X
The burn wasn't great on my Polar FT4, but you know what I feel like I got a great workout.
I was a little slow at getting started today. Last night my stomach muscles were sore then this morning I woke up with a Charlie horse. Cardio X has a short warm-up then it does a little bit of everything all rolled up into one 40ish minute workout. So you do yoga, kenpo, plyometrics, you name it. I like this one because of that. You go straight through and into your cool down. There is no "bonus" for you to decide to do or not (which I actually liked because it forces you to go through the whole workout and not wuss out on) While doing part of the yoga though, My left arm had a pain in it. I know it was just a muscle but odd. I wasn't doing anything that would cause it to hurt. It is just not used enough.
I took pictures after, but forgot to upload them so I'll show them with tomorrows post. I pretty much lazied around today and cleaned house. I rearranged my workout area and tested out the kids new video game.
This evening I did a one mile fun walk with my husband. It was nice. I need to get back to my running app, but right now I can feel every muscle in my body (hence P90X is waking them up!!)
Well that is day 2.
Talk to you more tomorrow :)

Can I do P90X to the end?

I LOOOVE Beach Body workouts, but I have never finished a single one I've tried. I've got slim in 6 (LOVE), P90X(LIKE), Chalean Extreme(LOVE), and Turbo Fire (LOVE). I've tried them all many times and get about a month into them when life takes a turn and I fall of the wagon for a week or two (or like this last one 8 weeks) then try again. Well I'm going to give it another shot. Do I think I can finish P90X Lean? YES. What is different this time than last summer when I tried it? 1) I have more followers and their encouragement and support has already helped me make the decision that I am ready to give it a shot. 2) My want to is different. I don't want to do it to lose weight, I want to do it to firm up so I can run faster in my next 5K. I also want it to feel strong again. 3). I'm going to blog about it!

So here goes:
Day 1 of Lean P90X~~~Core Synergistics~~~

Today started out with a 6 minute cool down before moving into the workout.
Then we moved into Stack Foot/Stagger Hands Push ups. I did 20 of these 5 on one side, 5 on the other, repeat. My arms were killing me, but guess what I DID 20!!
Next we did Banana Rolls. I'm not a strong sort so my legs are too high and I don't feel I get my upper body off the ground but for a first workout, I stayed with it all the way. I know I'll improve on this one!
The Leaning Crescent Lunge was a nice one. I used 5 pound weights. I have others but for a first time through I wanted (and will continue for a few workouts) to feel the workouts and get the form right before moving into lifting a lot.
Squat Run: again 5 pound weights. I focused on tightening my middle and swinging my arms. I feel good about this one!
Sphinx Push-Ups. He tells you that it is easier if your arms are just a bit farther up so your elbows are lined up with your shoulders. I could only do 5. I will improve but this is definitely a weak area for me.
Bow to Boat. I can do these well. I'm not good as a boat. I had to put my hands on the backs of my knees to keep my upper body up, but I had no problem keeping my lower body up.
Low Lateral Skaters: My legs drift badly. I stuck it out though and used my finger tips to lift my feel off the ground. I feel like I'll get better with time.
Lunge and Reach: I again used a 5 pound weight. I can definitely go more weight as this was too easy for me at this weight. But it was nice to know I was doing the motions right :)
Prison Cell Push ups: You do a push-up, then bring in a knee, a push up, other knee, a push up, stand up and then repeat. I did 6 of these and was DONE. WHEW their hard!
Side Hip Raises: I did ten on each side. These are super hard for me and hurt my lower back. I need to work on my core and tightening my glutes. I think that will help.
Squat X Press; I liked this one. Again 5 pound weights and I know I got the formation right (which is just as important) I was able to complete them all and stay in sync with the T.V. good workout.
Plank to Chaturanga Run: NOPE. I had to modify big time. I'm still to big. I can plan no problem so I planked and ran in place for 10 seconds then when they went to chaturanga run I just stayed in an isolated plank and then repeated the plank run when they went back to plank. I broke plank twice. Core City!!
Walking Push ups: Not bad but named wrong. You are more of a walking plank. You walk up for four and back for four. You hold tight into the frame (using your core) and keep it solid. I tumbled twice.
Superman/Banana: I sucked but stuck it out. I did them all and sweat dripped off my face onto my floor and mat. I can do superman great but banana is a work in progress.
Lunge-Kickback-Curl-Press. I feel confident and good about these. They even felt good to do. I think another time through with 5 pound weights and I'll definitely be ready to move up to 8s or 10s :)
Towel Hopping: I just did the step over. I didn't hop but I stayed with them all the way!!
Reach High and Under Push ups. I did these all the way through. I tumbled twice but kept going. These are HARD. No joke. Be prepared to feel it in your upper arms and core. Its a great workout.
Steam Engine: I'm a little slow on this, but over time I'll succeed!
The Dreya Roll: I had to create a modification to get off the floor. I crossed my legs into an X to stand up. It helps. I know as I build core strength I'll be able to stand up straight from the roll. Right now the modification is a necessity to be able to do any of this workout.
Next was the BONUS. I chose to skip through it and move into the cool down. The bonus is only 4 minutes it contains and isolated plank to Chaturanga run, and  a workout called the Halfback then table dip leg raise before entering into the cool down. The cool down repeats most of the warm up exercises but no jumping jacks or jogging in place. Instead you "stir the pot" with your arms and that's it. Workout without the bonus is 55 minutes and I burned 321 calories. Not bad for a beginner who can't complete everything as fluidly as those people in the video. I feel good about this workout and can't wait to report on tomorrow's disk!

This is what I used during this workout. Whew I really needed that towel!

I actually took this picture after I finished, but wanted ya to see I was REALLY doing it :)

 

Calories and time recorded on my Polar FT4 :)

Well I hope you enjoyed the post. If you've done P90X please stop by https://facebook.com/mydailyfitandfab and tell me all about it!!

I've tried it all now what.....

I know its been a while since I've blogged.
I'm a crazy person I guess. I'll blog and blog then disappear.
Well I'm that hot and cold when it comes to fitness and food as well.

I'm to the point where I keep gaining back the same 13lbs (meaning I'm losing them too LOL)
So this morning when I had gained 1.2 lbs I was bummed.
But guess what I didn't workout for two days. I didn't eat healthy for two days. Why? Well I had a wedding in the middle of the afternoon on Saturday and yesterday we took my husband out for his father's day lunch.
Excuses excuses. Notice how each of those things affected 1 meal time yet I blew TWO full days.
This blog is on accountability. Getting back to the basics. Focusing on what worked and looking over that. I at first wanted a perfect eating week, a perfect fitness week, and to drop 5 pounds that same week. The more I realize how unrealistic I've been to myself, is the more I realized I am why I have caused myself to play with those 13 lbs. So what have I tried to get rid of it, YOU NAME IT. I've tried a ton of Beach Body workouts (that I love), running (that I love), and dieting (that I hate) through weight watchers, myfitnesspal, livestrong.com, ect. I've tried it and I successfully lost 35 pounds. But what about these 13. Why am I gaining?
Well I can't consistently complete a beach body workout. Why?
1. I don't schedule my workouts.
 2. I don't force myself to be commited when I'm to tired or somebody else wants to do something else, or we have a visitior over ect....
3. I start off strong but when it hurts I quit.... This is a truth here. I get an ache or a pain I convince myself that the program is too hard for me and  I'm not ready to do it.
Well I can't consistently diet. Why?
1. I don't meal plan (I don't set aside the time to research healthy meals and even when I buy healthy food I can't quite prepare them in good ways ugh)
2. If there is healthy food in the house, you'll eat healthy food. WRONG. I just go out to eat. Yep I said it. I like to eat out.
3. If the kids can have cookies, chips, and chocolate, why can't I.

So these are the things holding me back. Do I have a plan? Will I make it past these?
Well its Monday. Isn't Monday the most common start over day? YEP.
Yes I have a plan. Today I plan to clean up my fridge and pantry. Make a list of what healthy ingredients I have in my house and look up recipes that contain these items. THEN I plan to make a grocery list of items I need to make 6 healthy suppers. I always eat eggs for breakfast. I plan to boil eggs and create breakfast "trays" that I can microwave on the go. AS for lunch. This one is a toughy. I normally eat left overs or sandwiches. I believe I'll stick with leftovers. I have to keep lunch meats in the house for my husbands lunch. I've got a trick up my sleeve for that one (I think) that I'll tell you about later.

Now for the fitness. Currently I am struggling because if I workout I break out in hives if I don't the hives stay away. it  has been suggested that I just don't workout for a few weeks until the "situation" is healed and I no longer have to medicate for it.
Here's the deal, will the hives hurt me? NO. However they do itch and cause me to be crankier which means head for bad foods. How can I keep the hives at bay and still workout.
Well it depends on how HOT I get in a workout.
So get up earlier (when its cooler) Will be one of my goals.
walk more than jog for this week only. Do more miles to make up the difference.
So I'm not going to kill it in the fitness area THIS WEEK.

And that brings me to my final step here.
I can only do this if I break it down into small easy to accomplish goals and plans.
I plan to do this weekly. What is scheduled for next week will be done next Sunday on my off day.
This week.
Monday: Schedule workouts, plan groceries and make them both work until Sunday.
Goal: To lose 2 pounds by Sunday and to feel like I'm getting back on track.
I can't ask more of myself right now.
I need to be strong in the food department. Eat healthy, track everything, be prepared. And be HAPPY. God bless. Hope this post helps you realize we all fall off the wagon for a little bit :)

I took a break and am bouncing back!!

Yep I did. I took a break. At first it started with diet. I struggled to keep my diet up when eating out 3 or 4 times a week because of various track meets my daughter had. I seemed to not make it home before 10pm either and that is when the workouts started slipping. For the first two weeks I worked out 3 days a week. Then it went to NOTHING! And you no what I don't feel bad about it. I focused on my family rather than myself. Yes I need to learn to combined the two and not slip like I did here. I slipped for about 6 weeks. I planned to start back two weeks sooner than I did but caught a really bad sickness that started in my sinus cavity and slid into my lungs. It took a week of medication to get it back into my head then another few days to get it gone completely. I started on Friday (5/17)

with my zombie runner. I am training again for my next 5k. Since then I haven't missed a beat. I ran Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and yesterday. Yesterday I also started Turbo Fire again.

Today I'll add in Chalean Extreme.

I do not feel any pressure here. If I decide it is too much one day I'll just take something out. But the point is, DON'T GIVE UP!! No matter how long its been since you worked out. No matter your reasons for quitting at first, come back to working out. Its important.

Food, Just important. But that one has always been my achille's heel.
Here are a few foods I recently cooked:

Avacado stuffed Tuna Salad

1 avacado (halved)

1 can tuna (in water) drained

1 tomato (half diced for in the tun and half sliced for on the plates)

1 large cucumber (sliced like a pickle

2 boiled eggs

2 cups spinach.

Mix the tuna like you normally would, add the tomato and a little bit of the cucumber. Cut up and add the boiled eggs. Dip out the inside of the avacado and add it to the tuna mixture. Then stuff it back inside the tuna.

I then laid it on a bed of spinach and added a bit more tuna (this is enough to serve 3 people)

Then I added some fat free italian dressing over the top (you could go without the dressing)

My daughter added ranch on hers. It was VERY tasty.

 

Tilapia with salsa and veggies

 

This is a 6 oz portion of Tilapia baked topped with black bean and corn salsa. Some left over slices of tomato and some squash/zucchini/and green beans mixed.

I ate this up in a  matter of seconds it seemed like. YUM O.

But I will warn you, it wasn't very filling. I definitely wanted seconds. Needs something else to make it stick to your ribs (any suggestions?)

 

So today I've got a lot to do, just wanted to let you know I wasn't dead. I also plan to add some other non fitness related items to the mix. I plan to do some product reviews for you (and myself to remember what products I absolutely love), a few refashions are coming up, and some clean outs!

Have a great day!!!

 

Nothing to it, BUT TO DO IT!!

So this is a saying you'll see a lot in the fitness world and you know what, ITS TRUE.
If your too tired, to busy, to overweight, ect. Whatever your excuse is, there is still no reason NOT to do what you planned to do.
Sometimes I am so tired and just can't eek out a rep and I force myself to TRY! When you TRY you WIN.
Trying is just as important as doing. It takes trying, failing, winning, and earning in workouts and fitness for you to get the journey. I'm not a great guru and I seriously struggle just like you, but I keep on trying.
I know that there is nothing to it if I DON"T do it so I tell myself positively TO DO IT!
Be confident and happy with yourself. Love who you are now so when you get to goal and maintenance you know who you want to be :)
For me it is no longer a set number on the scale or a set jean size, it is about how I FEEL.
I want to feel strong. I want to know I can run 5ks, 10ks what evers and ENJOY it. I want to know I can do any high intensity workout with the ferver of the women in the videos. Those are my goals. I don't want to look like some certain person or have people look at me like I'm super model awesome, those are FAILURE goals.
Set a WINNER's goal. Choose a goal that you have already had once before and reach that. Then set another and another. Soon you've met goals that you already knew you could reach and then go for the gold. Set a goal that someone you KNOW has reached. Like a friend of mine ran a 5k (same one I did last year~it was my first ever) and she ran it in 29minutes. So this year I have two 5ks that I know 100% I am going to run. I have set a goal of 30 minutes for the first one and 28 minutes for the 2nd one. I weigh roughly the same, but my ideals are different. I don't think I can do it, I KNOW I can do it.
Now it's your turn!!!!

Don't give up

Some days suck.
Sorry to put it that way, but they just do. Bad day at work, stress from a dentist appointment, unhappy weight on the scale, ect.
I mean you get the point.
Your going to run into bad things. Its just part of it. Don't give up. I mean  This too shall pass. We'll get through it. You know how some of the workout videos will say things like "You can do anything for 30 minutes" or my favorite "YOU'RE NOT TIRED" lol.
No its not going to be thirty minutes and then its over and yes you are going to get tired and need a break, but the point is you are going to get through it.
I'm in the "middle" of one of those types of events. I can say it is because of my "mood" or because of hormones or because of someone else causing both of these things to go crazy.
The truth of it is, its because of LIFE. and tomorrow will be entirely different and I may be in the best mood in the entire world.
There is no reason to quit eating healthy TODAY because of life TODAY. Continue in the healthy eating and DEFY that need to cave. Continue in your workout routine and watch the stress melt off with each stress droplet.
You'll get through. We Got This!!

The body you want is made in the KITCHEN

So the workout DVDs I've been doing lately remind me almost daily that my food is just important. And even though I eat clean, I am not always spot on.

Today my "mantra" was 'the body you want is made in the kitchen' every time I got hungry I ate fruit or veggies and drank water.
I hit 100 oz of WATER
AND was on target with my food!!
It worked! Now I hope I can do it tomorrow.
Breakfast was a 3 egg white omlet with spinach and tomatoes. Thats it!

I packed a salad of mixed greens & chick peas with a boiled egg for lunch (and raspberry vinegarette salad dressing) Yogurt and an orange for afternoon snack and an apple and egg for morning snack.

Supper isn't pictured but it was mixed greens with ground beef, black beans, shredded cheese, and salsa. YUMMY TACO SALAD!!!

 

I lifted weights tonight and did the best I've done in a long time. My heart rate was in zone for appx 25 of the 36 minutes! Thats awesome!

See here is what my daily burn was like!
Hoping to keep this up all week!
Hey did you see my giveaway on Facebook? It ended today! Tell me what you think.

My Fit Friday

Hey there!
Today I feel so much better than I did  yesterday! I've already gotten 2 of my workouts in, drank half my water for the day and eaten two healthy meals. Good days, and bad days alike, are just part of the journey.

Today I wanted to show you my workout area in my house.
My livingroom is a great room. You know the type where it is so big that it should be a dining room and living room all in one. Well we have a big enough kitchen that the space where the dining room should be was always empty or piled with junk. So we cleaned up our livingroom and flopped it. Our livingroom portion is in the dining room area and in the livingroom portion is my workout room. See:

Its pretty loaded with all sorts of stuff I use for various types of training.

See my weight training area (the tv will go away soon. I've switched to doing everything on my laptop for now)

I don't use this often, but it has these resistance bands in them and it works on your inner thights, hips, and rear. Its good for workouts and I use it when I'm being pretty lazy and working out.

This is the view from the livingroom side.

This is from my very first 5k It was the best feeling ever.

Here is my treadmil :)

This chair is perfect for chair dips and other workouts that require me to sit.

This is my schedule. LOL Yep I hang it on the wall above the weights area and near my yoga mat.

These are the workouts I'm currently doing.

Weights.

I left the shoes out after this mornings workout.

I need to clean up my area :)

This is my bike. It currently has my workout bag hanging on it b/c I've got a workout this afternoon that I need to pack it for.

 

 

So thats my workout are and having it smack dab in the middle of the house, in the living room, next to my bedroom is PERFECT for me! I've had people who've walked into my house and say "I think your obsessed." and I always respond. Nope just dedicated.

If I had a gym remotely close I'd probably not have as much at my house, but I don't so I have to create one for myself. It isn't cheap but its worth the investment!

Why I'm not giving up.

So I've been having some not good eating days, and today was one of them.
I also then follow up with beating myself up about my eating.
Eating clean is very important for a healthy lifestyle, but as I said in my eating clean post, it is just as important to modify your diet SLOWLY!! The slower the better. You've got to give your body some time to adjust to the changes.
I read a post on facebook that said that your diet is more important than anything else. If you can't do both diet and exercise then give up on exercise and focus on your diet.
I disagree. I don't want to slow down or make my metabolism sluggish. Therefore I will persevere. I'm going to have a bad eating day. My goal is to just have LESS of them each week. To succeed is to fail over and over and over again and then FINALLY find the way to get it right.
So I feel like on my days I've over eaten or chosen an unhealthy choice, that I'm still going forward in a positive manner.
Today I ate a cupcake, a chocolate chip cookie, & 3 peanut butter cookies. Each was a full serving, but they totaled a whopping 800 calories. Yup DISGUSTING for me that would be 2 hours of workouts to burn that off.
However everything else was on target, in my calorie goal, clean, and healthy.
I also drank my goal in water and am still drinking another bottle right now.
I did an exceptional workout and lifted very heavy weights (and I felt so strong doing it).
So should I give up?
NO!
I need to keep going. Tomorrow I will remember the FB comment about giving up and I'll remember why I don't. Some day I'll have it all wrapped up in a nice pretty package full of abs and bulging arm muscles.
Right now, I'll accept who I am and realize that not every battle is won some of them are just fought hard and the end result will come later.
Until tomorrow, just do your best and good luck!

Why I lift weights!

So I am very new at lifting weights. When I first started it wasn't anything I enjoyed or wanted to do. I did it because someone TOLD me to do it. Someone said you'll never lose all of the inches you want to lose if you don't lift weights.

I've always focused really heavily on the scale and after a year of struggling to lose 10 pounds I decided it was time to lift weights. AND you know what, I LOOOVE them. I'm not losing weight (yet) but I am dropping inches. I went from a 10-12 to an 8-10 depending on brands. I'm wearing more 8s than 10s and have been able to buy smalls!! SOOO super excited.

Why? well I'M LOSING INCHES.
Thats a big deal!! Now eating right and getting your heart rate up are very important, but lifting weights a few days a week has been a huge motivator for me.
I started with kettlebells and after about 2 weeks, I fell in love with weight lifting.
I soon picked a weight lifting workout routine and have been following it for about 3 weeks, yup only 3 weeks.
Here are the weights I have on hand!

I love my weights!!

I love being able to lift different sizes for different workouts. I lift only what is on the rack now. Everything else I use as "warm-up" weights. They help get the muscles warm and then I lift heavier sets.

There are many schools of thought on lifting.

I do 10-12 reps of each workout at the heaviest weight I can handle. If I can't do a full 10 then they are too heavy. If I can make it to 12 I try to go up a weight. Sometimes I have to use two different sizes and run through the same routine twice.

It doesn't matter as long as you're doing your best.

I'm excited about these workouts and CAN'T wait to see the results of my hard work.

I'll keep you posted as well :)

Q & A: What does it mean to eat clean?

What does it mean to eat clean?
   Good question. It seems to be defined differently from person to person. I take it to mean fresh or has a mother. Meaning you can grow it in one way shape or form. Fruits, vegetables, beef, chicken, pork, ect.
Now others break this down into another category as well. This being "organic" or without all of those long worded ingredients added to it.
How do I get around all of that? I live on a farm. We grow our own beef and chicken. Therefore we have fresh eggs. We also produce a great garden and at times have rabbit, duck, goat, and pig.
I had a successful garden last year, but I didn't learn how to can. This summer I plan to learn how to can.
So what have I done during the winter months? Shop at my local grocer. (and buy from a local amish green house yum!)
So at the store I am not so good at numbers and I know that different chemicals have been used, but I buy it anyway. Reason being, it is an improvement from my OLD self and I will eat what I can possibly eat healthily.
Before I shop I will look up what fruits and veggies are in season. I normally google it or look at one of my favorite blogs (one of those is Eve was partially right).
Then I make a list using my store's flyer.
I try to buy FRESH if at all possible. If not I buy frozen or dried. YEP dried. Its more expensive that way, but at least I have what I need.
Now I don't like eating the same foods over and over so I kinda make a list of meals I want to cook. AND then I'll add a few "bonus" meals for if we have company and I need to make something special.
I like to spend around $70.00 but don't forget I grow my own beef & chicken constantly. :)

This week's grocery list contains
Spinach
Broccoli
spaghetti squash
sweet potatoes
green pepper
tomato
onion
Avacado
Mrs. Dash Original
Cilantro
velveeta shred's original shredded cheese
greek yogurt
frozen strawberries
frozen blueberries
bag of pinto beans
bag of black beans
box of chicken broth
Hodges Mill Oat flour
Fat Free Skim Milk
And I know I'll add a few things as I think of them.
I eat "clean" about 80% of the time. What this means is my GOAL is to eat clean and when I am "out" with friends I will enjoy my time with them and not stress it. I'll have a soda every now and then and sometimes I want to have a cookie. Its ok.
Just do your best.
If you eat frozen pizza's and boxed dinners eating clean 1 meal a day is a HUGE improvement.
It takes baby steps to succeed. Don't throw your entire way of life out the window all at once. That all or nothing mentality WILL cause it to back fire. By doing one thing at a time you begin to create habits and soon you are full of energy, have a fast metabolism, ect.
Good luck!
If you have a question you can email it to mydailyfitandfat@gmail.com OR you can check out my facebook page @ https://www.facebook.com/mydailyfitandfab

Fit and Fab

How can I say fit and fab. Isn't that what someone would say when they REACH their goal? NO!!
How you talk to yourself during your journey is what sets you up to win or to fail.
I may not be as fit as you or as fit as some awesome model, ect, but I am more fit than I was yesterday, stronger than I was 6 months ago and continuing to advance in that area. And fabulous, what can I say about that.... I feel fabulous because I find myself to be an important person. Maybe not to you, or the world, but I am to me.

I started this journey based on what God was telling me. Yep, God spoke and I listened. What did he say you wonder..."Your a GLUTTON." I remember the moment very clearly today. I was sitting at the table after my husband and the kids had left after dinner and I was finishing what was on the plates so as not to "waste" it. Well it was going straight to my waist! So it was wasted anyway LOL
I thought about what god was saying as I spooned another serving of Mac n cheese into my mouth and I though, "I can't do this, I'm not strong enough, I don't have a very supportive family." Ect. The excuses went on and on.
Now I can't say I've always done a great job since that day, but I have improved and will continue to improve.
The most important part of any diet and exercise is your inner monologue.
You will NOT succeed if you tell yourself that you can't. The fact of the matter is YOU CAN. You are worth it and no one else is going to want it for you, YOU have to want it for yourself.
Meet your needs. Start small. 30 minutes a day. Go for a walk, stop eating after 7pm.
A single small change at a time is what it takes. You do one change this week. Get it going enjoy it and then next week you keep that one up and add another. You don't have to go gung ho and know all of the macro nutrients of your diet, workout for 2 hours in a day or be able to run a mile in 8 minutes. Those are things that come (some of them anyway) as you proceed.

I've also learned that not every diet fad or fitness regimine is right for me. Be willing to try new things you never know what your going to like or how its going to affect your mood.
First step get up and try something new!

Tell me what you try, I'd love your feedback!

I am a blogger

Yes. Its time. I've blogged over the years about the farm, my refashes, my career as a teacher, and my fitness. Each blog only gets a small snippet of my time because my focus switches.
Well why not a blog that journals ME. Not snippets but ALL of me. My Daily FitandFab on FB focusses mainly on the ME in the health and fitness rhelm, but focuses on who I am BECOMING. This blog will cover that as well and MUCH MUCH MUCH MORE!

I am excited to include my fitness, healthy living on the farm, refashions, and teaching in one spot. Each of these make up who I am. Each area, being non specific will not out weigh the other because they are all me.

Will you like my posts? I will honestly point out that I'm a major fitness nut and most of my posts will be about that. If your not into that, then I can't promise you'll like it.
But I hope you do :)

If you want to follow souly fitness related posts then please follow me @ https://www.facebook.com/mydailyfitandfab This is my entirely fitness related page on FB. Now as for the others I've closed all of those blogs. They'll all be here. In the summers when my garden is at its best I know my healthy foods and recipes will be as well.
If you want to hear more about a specific area, please email me @ mydailyfitandfab@gmail.com Thank you everyone for reviewing my blog!!