INSANITY // Week 5 Plan & Progress Report

Well, it is officially time to try and get back in a routine over at our house. My mom flew out Saturday morning; we were all very sad to see her go. What a blessing she is! She comes right in and takes over helping with everything that needs to be done. She was an extra special encouragement this time as she helped guide, encourage, and reassure me on learning how to take care of my little man and his diabetes. 

Today starts my second month of INSANITY. I honestly can't believe it. The first month flew by, and I am sure this month will too because...

Yes, that's right, we will be moving in a couple weeks! When we moved here 2 1/2 years ago, our intentions were to buy right away, but life kind of threw us some curve balls with my third pregnancy and looking for houses was put on the back burner. My Hunter and I have been going out with our realtor for the past 6 months looking at house after house. I thought we would never find one, because after owning once before, we now had a better idea of what works and doesn't work for us. But two Fridays ago, we pulled into the driveway of this house, and I instantly knew it was for us! My Hunter fell in love too! Needless to say, between homeschooling and packing... and then unpacking and settling in, this second month of INSANITY will probably slip by. 

Okay, so I did get a chance to lay down Friday evening with my girls during our family movie night and plan out our menu for the week. Here is a peek at what we will be having for supper each night. 

Monday - Black Bean Soup with Cheese Muffins

Tuesday - Pumpkin Pasta

Wednesday - Toasted Almond Chicken Salad Sandwich

Thursday - Vegetarian Stew {My meat-lovin' man will love this one when he finds out. ;) }

Friday - Pizza {Whole-Wheat crust! We found that kept Little Man's numbers lower than the week before when we had white crust.}

Saturday - Chili with Cornbread 

Sunday - Crockpot Chicken Greek Chicken Soup

What does my week look like with working out? 

Today will be tough I am sure. I have done two fits tests so far, and that is a workout in itself. I will be pushing to beat the numbers I had from Fit Test 2, you can bet that. Now that I am on month two, Shaun T is upping the game and adding in Max Interval Circuits too. I'm up for the challenge though! ;)

Challenge yourself this week! Whether in your workouts, fighting to get one more rep or with your job, there is always something to improve.

And, if you are up for a whole new challenge, consider joining my next challenge group where we will be detoxing from Halloween and working towards having more energy as we move into the holidays.

I am linking up with Katie today, because it was such a marvelous weekend with us finding our new home. Stop by and check out some of the other fun blogs.

Have a great Monday, friends!

INSANITY // Week 4 Plan & Progress Report

Happy Monday! I hope you are all enjoying a fabulous start to your week. I wanted to update you on my progress with INSANITY. The end of week two and the start of week three went a little different than planned. We ended up in the emergency room with my little guy a week ago this past Saturday. After some blood work and x-rays, it was discovered that he has Type 1 Diabetes. Our world has forever changed in that moment. It has been scary and overwhelming, but at the same time we are finding blessings and trying to focus on some positive. 

We had to spend three days in the hospital, which meant my workouts took a back seat, as they should. My eating has also been so-so. Hospital food? Yep. Dessert? Some. Snacking at night. You bet. Isn't this how it goes at times? We can't all be perfect all the time with our eating and working out. But we don't have to let these moments ruin it all. Get back on track, plan meals, start the workouts back up, and make it go time!

I was ready to start working out again Wednesday morning. I found that pushing myself to the limits really helped with kicking any pity I was starting to feel to the curb. No time for that! I was a sweating machine by the time I was done, and it was sweet to have the encouragement from my oldest daughter as she cheered me on from the couch.

Week three started out with my second fit test. I pulled out the numbers from my first fit test and was determined to beat or at least match those. Here are my week two numbers with week one numbers in parenthesis. 

Move: 

1. Switch Kicks - 57 (48)
2. Power Jacks - 54 (54)
3. Power Knees - 120 (109)
4. Power Jumps - 33 (30)
5. Globe Jumps - 12 (10)
6. Suicide Jumps - 25 (21)
7. Push-Up Jacks - 21 (20)
8. Low Plank Oblique - 38 (38) 

Week four is about to start now. I am sitting here updating and drinking my E&E again. I have been tired in the mornings and have recently been doing my workouts in the afternoons. Getting up to do those 2 AM blood glucose checks on my little man have made me feel like I have a newborn again. I am exhausted. This morning, however, we have a doctor's appointment to get to, so I knew if I wanted to get a workout in, I had to get up anyway. I have goals I want to accomplish so I am just moving things around in my schedule, sleeping in and working out at different times. Here is what week four is going to look like for me: 

Meals have been a bit up in the air and put together the day of. I am trying to redo our meals, just because I now have to count carbs and track those for my little one. We have tried out some new recipes over the weekend and so far they have been given thumbs up from the family. I will definitely be sharing those here on the blog.

Here is a general idea of meals for the upcoming week:
Breakfasts: Shakeology
Lunches: Avocado Quesadillas, Leftovers, Salads
Snacks: Veggies & hummus, Apples w/PB, Nuts and fruit
Suppers: Tacos, Chicken, Chili, Spaghetti

I can't wait to have this whole diabetes thing down a bit more so I can feel prepared for the week. So thankful my MIL is out here helping. Even with her help, our day is super busy and packed as we are adjusting.

How is your week looking? Have you hit some bumps in the road with your fitness and health goals? If so, I challenge you to find some ways this week to work around those and keep moving forward. You can totally do it!

Have a great week, friends!

INSANITY // Week 2 Plan & Progress Report

Hello Monday! Where is September going?! Seriously! Fall is officially here in our house. We put up our decorations last week and love the cozy feel it gives. Life is in full swing with school, Bible study, gymnastics and all the other activities our family has going on. With the busy hustle and bustle of life, it is important to have a plan to stay on track with your health and fitness goals so you don't fall off the wagon, because we all know that is easy to do too.

I just finished my first week of INSANITY, and I am feeling great! The first day I had to take a fit test. This was a twenty-five minute test, involving eight different moves. I had to try and see how many of each move I could do in one minute. I will repeat this test every two weeks to track progress.

I remember My Hunter doing the first fit test and watching him sweat buckets during, so I knew in advance that this was still going to be a workout.

Move:

1. Switch Kicks - 48
2. Power Jacks - 54
3. Power Knees - 109
4. Power Jumps - 30
5. Globe Jumps - 10
6. Suicide Jumps - 21
7. Push-Up Jacks - 20
8. Low Plank Oblique - 38

The rest day I had yesterday couldn't have come at a better time though. I was starting to feel tightness in places I haven't in a long time.

Week 2 is about to start as I sit here drinking my E&E getting ready to start my Cardio Power and Resistance workout.

I created a vision board last Monday night, and I track my progress there. It is the best feeling to go to bed at night and cross off another successful day. Even better was taking down the "Week 1" sticky note!

Last night I snuggled up on the couch after getting the kids in bed with a cup of tea and my favorite show playing and started planning out my meals for the week. Here is what is on the plan. It's not set in stone. If something comes up, or I just don't feel like eating a certain meal, I will change it. But a lot of my meals are repetitive. I find things I like and I am okay eating them again and again.

Monday -
Breakfast - Proatmeal with berries, almonds and rice milk
Snack - Shakeology (2 scoops)
Lunch - Venison Burger Salad and berries
Snack - Carrots and hummus
Supper - Grilled Salmon with asparagus and squash

Tuesday - 
Breakfast - Yogurt Bowl
Snack - Shakeology (2 scoops)
Lunch - Grilled Chicken Salad
Snack - Tuna Salad in a tomato
Supper - Flank Steak, baked potato, and asparagus

Wednesday - 
Breakfast - Fruit and Cottage Cheese
Snack - Shakeology
Lunch - Venison Burger Salad and berries
Snack - Cold Cut Platter
Supper - Chicken Stir Fry

Thursday - 
Breakfast - Shakeology
Snack - PB&J bread and cottage cheese
Lunch - Venison Burger Salad and berries
Snack - Tuna Salad in a tomato
Supper - Crockpot Chicken

Friday -
Breakfast - PB&J toast and cottage cheese
Snack - Shakeology
Lunch - Grilled Chicken Salad
Snack - Cold Cut Platter
Supper - Pizza Braid

Saturday -
Breakfast - Egg White Breakfast Wrap
Snack - Shakeology
Lunch - Grilled Chicken Salad
Snack - PB&J toast with cottage cheese
Supper - Venison Meatballs and pasta

Sunday - 
Breakfast - Shakeology
Snack - Apple and cashews
Lunch - Tuna Salad
Snack - Cold Cut Platter
Supper - Grill Burgers

There we have it! This is my plan. Bring on week two!! Remember that you can follow along weekly right here on the blog and daily over on my Facebook page. I have a new recipe I will be sharing here tomorrow and hope to get one or two other posts in this week yet with tips, ideas and motivation.

Make it a great Monday, friends!

My Favorite Month

Hey everyone! I hope you enjoyed your extra long weekend!

I am pretty excited over here that September has started. It is my favorite month, hands down. Fall is in the air, sweaters and boots will be coming out, baking will start, candles start burning... so much to love!

I like to look at my month before it starts and make goals. I thought I would share some of what will be happening for me in September.

1. Fall decor will be coming out! It is my favorite time to decorate the house. You can put things up in September and they can stay up through November! {I am not one of those people that decorates super early for Christmas.}

2. We will be getting outdoors. Walking daily is what I am hoping. I love the cooler temps. and want to soak it all up before snow season starts.

3. Head to the Farmers' Market. I want to start eating more of what is in season. We went to the farmers' market for the first time here a couple weeks ago and really enjoyed it. I want to get there again and start buying locally.

4. Have a date night. I would like to have more than one, but it's hunting season, my friends. I am aiming for one. That's a realistic goal. ;)

5. Buy a new candle. I am craving a new fall scent. Bath and Body Works has some great ones. Now to decide which I want.

6. We will celebrate my birthday this month too. Nothing big or fancy. Just some time with my fam. is all I want.

7. Read one book. Currently this is the one on my nightstand. I am really enjoying it. My friend has number 2 and 3 of this series and said they are just as good, so I will probably continue on with this.

8. Finish PiYo. I have month one down. One month to go. Really enjoying it!

9. Be committed to our school year. We started last week and it went really well. Now to keep up this momentum. 

Your Turn!

• What are you looking forward to this month? 
• What is one goal you have?
• Do you have a favorite fall recipe?