Working Out and Fueling Up: Baby on Board Edition

Happy Tuesday and happy holiday week to you!  Whatever you celebrate, I hope you are taking it easy and not stressing yourselves out.  We are extremely low key and just excited to spend time as a family of three on our days off.  We are going to be taking our first born on lots of walks and to the beach and going to do some fun workouts together, which I will update you on.

As I promised a couple of weeks ago, I wanted to talk more about my workouts now that I went and got myself in the family way.  As a disclaimer, I am not a trained fitness or medical professional and this is just based on my experience.  Please ask your doctor for any fitness advice.

Just like my eating, some things have changed while others stayed the same.  I always knew that I wanted to work out when I was pregnant, both for my health and for the health of the little one.  There are so many benefits including better weight control, overall health, circulation, and of course better mood and self confidence.  As an active person, I knew that I would not be happy as a sedentary being and I knew I needed to keep exercise as a part of my life.  I did quite a bit of research since the rules on pregnancy fitness are a bit outdated and I found what worked for me.

First Tri

When I first found out about the pregnancy, I carried on as usual.  There are no modifications needed in the first trimester and as long as you have the energy and are not doing anything new, exercise is perfectly safe.  Of course you are never supposed to overheat while pregnant, so I made sure that I was well hydrated.  I have to admit that I was tired, more tired than I had ever been.  I was also traveling for work for much of my first tri and missed more than a few workouts.  I walked every day with the pup for at least 30 minutes and attended 1-2 yoga classes per week.  I also did some cardio at the gym as I started to feel better.  I had to make sure I ate dinner before my evening workout or else things would go south quickly.  As an evening exerciser, I never worried about going into a workout a bit hungry- I was able to make it with a small snack, but pregnancy is no joke.  Many times this caused me to miss a class because I was still digesting, but I was still active 5-6 times a week, although very moderately active.  When I felt too sick, my hubby also took out the pup, so I did miss a few evening walks.

Second Tri

Once I hit the second tri and was no longer feeling queasy all the time, I got back to more of a normal schedule.  I do get a little more winded doing normal things, but I'm not big enough to feel uncomfortable so I can see why people really enjoy this time.

Unlike a lot of the health blog world, I am more of a moderate exerciser.  Yes, I'm active every day (or most days), but I was never a distance runner or power lifter.  I built a workout schedule that worked with my life schedule and promised myself a long time ago that I would only do what I enjoyed: yoga, walking, hiking, light lifting, and elliptical or bike cardio machines.  I am able to maintain this schedule as a prego and here is what a typical week looks like:

-daily dog walks (unless it's too cold or hubby kindly offers)

-2-4 yoga practices (either studio or on my own with podcasts)

-2-3 cardio sessions at the gym with light weights

I have been having spontaneous rest days here and there depending on my schedule but still find myself pretty active with at least a quick dog walk or even working in the kitchen, which I still consider work!  The best thing I did was take a couple of prenatal yoga classes.  I really picked my instructor's brain to learn about the modifications I can use in my regular classes.  I am a huge believer in yoga and its health benefits and hope to use it as a tool throughout the whole pregnancy. 

Fueling Workouts

Since I exercise in the evenings, I often have either my dinner or a large snack an hour before a workout.  I know that I need to increase my calories now (by about 300 cals) as well as replace those lost during exercise.  Although I don't count, I make sure to eat when I'm hungry and I think it's been working well.  I definitely make sure that I get my protein sources in and find that fruit is a great snack before and after workouts.  I have had a few days of ravenous hunger thrown in here and there, but try to keep it civilized for the most part.  Let's not talk about the mountain of treats in my work kitchen right now :)

Question for you: Have you made any exercise modifications lately?  If you have been pregnant, how were you able to maintain your fitness?

Things I'm Loving- Part 100

I am positive I have done many, many, posts of the new things I'm loving.  I blame it on my obsessive personality and my "ooh- look it's shiny" approach to new things.  All my pictures are via instagram.  I apologize in advance, but I think it can make everything look better.  If you disagree, please don't burst my bubble. Ladies and Gentlemen, let's get it on!

One-dish dishes: I roasted orange chicken and added asparagus and pineapple as a last minute throw in.  The best part is that everything cooks together and it's less dishes for my resident bus boy (love you hubs).

Hiking in the open space: There is nothing better than taking off for a hike with my boys in the open space.  We get to explore new parts around us and the view are spectacular.

Rediscovering old breakfasts: I love my overnight oats with Greek yogurt icing for those hot mornings.

Cherries to go along with breakfast.

Nutella: It's been in my pantry for 1.5 days now and I haven't opened it yet.  Not sure where this self control came from, but I'll remedy the situation soon.

Other things that made my list?
- Lifting heavy!  I've been lifting with the hubby for the last 5 weeks and I'm getting stronger
-Yoga. Still love it
-Trying new workouts- I'm going out of my comfort zone and going to try a very different exercise class this weekend.  I can't wait to share with you guys.
-Moroccan oil.  Yep, I bought it and I like it.

What are you loving lately?

Real Adults Play

I hope you have had a great weekend.  Mine has been spent with some of my favorite people while playing outdoors.  The weather has been in the 60s and quite sunny and it was a perfect weekend to hit the trails and climb some hills with my boys. Walking or hiking is one of my favorite forms of exercise because unlike being on a treadmill, there is a purpose and end result to the workout and when the scenery is so beautiful, it's so worth it.

I'm pretty much convinced that the reason we get old is because we stop playing and I can't let that happen. 

We roamed through open space and saw some old farm houses.

 

Some of us drank water from the little river while others observed.

We totally ran into this bad boy while he was grazing.  I'm not gonna lie- I ran and almost peed my pants a little bit.  Scary bull- no you can't eat our furry child.

 

We discovered our new hiking buddy likes the water almost as much as he likes disturbing the wildlife.

We found our way through new trails and practiced our balance skillz.

We climbed hills and looked out on beautiful views.

Finally, we came home for frozen yogurt, hugs, and baths.  All in that order.

Expanding My Horizons

Despite being a blogger and expected to try new brands, recipes, and foods, I have talked about how I eat the same foods over and over again.  Part of it goes back to when I discovered some foods were healthy and others were not and I decided to just pick a few and repeat them over and over again (lame sauce).  Now that several years have passed and I'm into more of a variety, I still rotate the same 5-10 meals every single week.  I also have the same status calls and meetings, workout schedule, and TV schedule every single week so I decided to shake it up this week.

• I have had a mango for a snack every single day.  I know they are from Peru and not organic and not local and good for the environment, but they are delicious and make me feel like I'm on vacation.
• I bought flavored yogurt- crazy right?  I usually like to add my own toppings, but french vanilla mint sounded like a win-win situation.

 

•  I bought granola and ate it for dinner.  It is called Ancient Grains and made me feel worldly 
• I got over my doggie separation anxiety and took 3 classes at my yoga studio this week.  Turns out my dog still loves me when I leave him for an hour
• I wore a skimpy top to one of the said yoga classes and didn't care
• I ate beef for dinner on Monday night and spent the next two days eating veggies because I thought my body was confused
• I left work at 5:00 every day this week
• I switched to gummy vitamins for my multi because even if I'm an adult, I don't have to act like it, right?  Plus gummies are delicious.
• I tried running outside.  I got winded but it felt good.  Thank goodness my dog stops to sniff stuff or I would have passed out.
• I walked out of Target without half of the store's inventory.  Just a prescription and nail clippers.  This is progress

I just came back from a late walk and now I'm off to catch up with Modern Family.  I heart that show and it's staying on my weekly rotation along with my mangoes.

2 Week Recap on the Eats and Fitness Update

Happy almost weekend!  There is something so hopeful and fabulous about Friday that makes me all giddy for the weekend!  Don't you think so?

As promised I wanted to give another update on our new eating plan since it has been 2 weeks.  I am proud to say that I am 2 weeks sober today- no chocolate or coffee in.2.weeks.  That is insane for me!  Would I jump into a pot of coffee and a dark fudgy brownie?!  Heck yes, but I haven't yet!  This week has been fairly easy.  Overall I'm happy with how things are going and looking forward to seeing if this lifestyle is something I can maintain.  Here is a short recap and a few highlight of my favorite eats:

Highlights of the week:

• Planning, planning, planning!  All lunches, dinners, and snacks were packed for hubby (and me most of the time) and I also made a lot of progress pre-cooking for the week (go me)!
• Trying new foods and snacks (like my new beloved millet)
• I've kicked my coffee habit and feel great
• Eating lots of almond butter and avocado
• My vacation ice cream weight is gone and I'm holding stable at my happy weight
• We have been eating so.many.veggies- I have gone through 5 pounds of carrots this week and will soon be orange.   My favorite dinner is this millet, mixed greens, kale, onion, garlic, and sauce-filled salad:

This bowl is a gigantic mixing bowl.  Please don't hate on me. I get hungry.

Things that can use some improvement:

• While planning for hubby has gone fabulously, I have found myself a little unsatisfied.  I had to resort to buying these before the gym so I wouldn't pass out, my snack was missing, and that's just stuuuuuupid.  Ya gotta do what ya gotta do, right? These were yummy!

• I should make my own juice.  I bought this kale, cucumber, lemon, celery, apple juice for the price of a down payment on a condo.  No bueno.  I need to stop being lazy and make my own.  It was so good though!

•  I'm not sure if I'm getting enough protein because I get hungry pretty quickly after meals.  I'll be sure to monitor this week
• I'm probably mixing up some foods in the wrong combos and in the wrong blood type, but I'm flexible and this is not meant to be restrictive

Fitness Update
In my last post, I also mentioned that I would do a quick fitness update. I haven't been accountable lately and I think now is the time.  I'm still LOVING my yoga classes. Loving them!  However, while on vacation and hiking, I did notice that my cardio was not where it was before and I have decided to incorporate more cardio into my routine.  This may be the first time in my life that I'm eating and exercising for health and I want my fitness to reflect that too. 
My goal for now is 3 yoga classes and 3 cardio per week.  I tend to lean towards yoga, but the gym has been fine and I have had a chance to zone out, people watch, and listen to some ghetto fabulous beats while I pretend I'm in a music video in my head.  Am I the only one?  I am still not running like I said I would, but when my new shoes come in, I might give it another try.  Always time to try something new, right?

Questions for you:
1. What kind of music do you prefer to listen to when you workout? Rap and a little Euro trash house for this lady
2. Do you have any new exercise plans going on right now?  I'm adding in some cardio for my ticker.

Taking the Hard Way Out

First- I wanted to thank you all again for voting for me to make it round 2 of Project Food Blog.  I was not going to enter at all (you'll see why later) and I really appreciate the effort you take to vote for me.  For real.

Taking the Hard Way Out
Yesterday I woke up, finally in my own bedroom after being away from home for a work trip for three days.  I was tired, I was cranky, but I knew I wanted to get a yoga class in and planned to go to the intermediate class this afternoon.  I did a few errands around the house, grocery shopped, made my blog entry, (which took longer than anyone would imagine) and of course was running late.  Well, being perpetually late doesn't work for me since my studio locks the doors exactly when the class starts.  Fashionably late is not an option here.  And guess what?! I got locked out of the intermediate class. 

I panicked and started walking to my car, but remembered the advanced vinyasa class that started just ten minutes later.  I took this class once before and it was hard, like really hard.  I sucked it up and went to the class.

Did I excel?  Heck no.  I used all of the tools- blocks, straps, extra padding with the blanket, and even had to come down to child's pose to rest.  I lost my balance a lot and I sweated like a chubby kid in front of a chocolate cake.  The teacher, a man who looks like Genie from Aladdin (if he were a real person, of course), came over and corrected me- stretching my screaming tight hamstrings.  Have I mentioned I'm the least flexible person, like ever?  It's true.  In the end, it was one of the best classes I ever took and I appreciated the experience more than my comfort zone classes. 

If left to my own devices, I take the easy way out when it comes to physical activity.  Every hard hike I ever took with my husband began with many excuses, bargaining, and exit strategies.  I even started making future excuses for our upcoming trip- a trip we have been planning for over a year. 

I'm still trying to figure out where these actions and excuses come from.  I'm at a healthy weight, fit, and have been exercising pretty regularly for about 14 years.  I'm no longer the fat kid faced with the dreaded mile in middle school, I'm no longer the slowest kid in class, and I can probably do a lot of stuff if I just took the hard way out.  I am making a goal to push myself out of my comfort zone- in my workouts and in other aspects.

Question for you: What have you done lately to take the hard way out?
For me, it was this yoga class, and going to grad school while working full time and planning a wedding

Say Cheese

Thank you guys for all of the kind comments of congratulations and for sticking around.  This weekend was great!  I spent time with the hubby, got in some yoga, bike rides, a little running, and housework.  Of course there was food- because that's really what I'm all about.

On Saturday we hit up Costco.  In addition to the time and money I'll never get back, I did come out with a really cool product- this local to me, organic cheese. Disclosure: I was not paid to talk about this product and purchased it with my own money because of my own beliefs.

This cheese is from the Sierra Nevada Cheese Company and they are located in Northern California, about an hour away from me and comes from happy California cows.  So far we have tried the garlic & herb flavor and it was great.  I used it to make the husband a quesadilla for dinner tonight.

We also had another local product- carrots grown in our backyard garden.

This week is going to be another busy one- I'm making a better effort at cutting down my stress by being a little more organized and planning better.  Let's see how it goes!

Questions: Do you have any favorite local products?  What did you do this weekend?

Hit the Jackpot

First...an update-I got the green flag to proceed with any physical activities that I wanted to do as long as my foot felt fine and what do I do? YOGA!  I'm hooked guys. I'll be doing some posts on my favorite classes at YogaWorks and am excited to share with you.

My weekend started with a bang when I made a pit stop at Whole Foods right after my yoga class on Saturday morning.  I knew I had to get my hands on the new trendy trend with ya'll.  Look what I got: Jackpot!

They do exhist!  So far I have tried a half of the carrot cake...and it does not taste like carrot cake to me, but still good!  I also got some coconut water to keep myself hydrated like when I'm sitting on my bum at the office and stuff.

We continued our adventure to the beach.  Again, this is a Northern California beach, so I wore sweats and walked along the ocean while my partner in crime surfed.

Today was spent running errands, doing homework, and hanging out with a few of my select posse.  I found this picture on my phone as evidence of two of my favorite boys. Love.

I'm feeling rested and ready to conquer my week!  And since I've kept my face off of here long enough and I got a new summer dress, here is one that hubby snapped of me. 

See you later this week!


Tell me the last new food product you got that you just HAD to try because of the blog peeps?

Getting Creative With Exercise

I hope you are having a great week and enjoying the first few days of summer.  Thank you for all of your support while I was writing my paper and accidentally ignoring you.  I finally got some sleep this weekend and I am close to being human again!

As I whined earlier, I'm on a bit of a medical-induced exercise hiatus because of my toe.  I can do anything that doesn't involve shoes, putting weight on my right foot or swimming because of the germy chemical situation (personal trainers- how about me for a client!?).  I have to admit I was bummed and still a little mopey (and fine- perhaps I say mean things when I see people frolicking outside or running), but I have decided to try my BEST.  I know it's only temporary and people have had much bigger problems.  I have been doing some fun new exercises and wanted to share them with you.

1. Pilates- I use a Shape Magazine DVD and it's a great 30 minute workout
2. I am joining a yoga studio!  yogaworks is a fancy shmancy studio in my city and I tried them out on Monday.  I have been missing some yoga in my life so I'm going for it.
P.S. That link takes you to a promotion if ya wanna try them.
3. We went cherry picking on Sunday.  It was so much fun!

I mostly supervised, but I picked a few as well.
4. Lots of planks with my new personal trainer who is hard core.  Move over Jillian.

5. Bicep curls and scaring your loved ones

I have no food updates for you- just enjoying all the fresh fruit and trying to keep my hands out of the cookie jar while overloading on fiber.  Story of my life :)


Coming Soon...
I am going to be traveling to Indianapolis, Indiana for business at the end of the week and will try to check in then.  Lots of hotel excitement!
My favorite guest blogger will be back to talk about one of his favorite hobbies.  Here is a hint:

I hope you are enjoying your week and I'll talk to you soon!

Question for you: What makes you happy? 
For me, it has to be family, friends, good weather, good food, and sparkly things.

I Don't Eat French Fries

I don't have too many food philosophies but I can summarize my eats in 3 rules:
1. I have to know what's in it (except tart fro yo.  I don't want to know, so don't tell me).
2. It has to taste good- this encompasses the 'worth it rule for extra fancy chocolate splurges'.
3. It has to be good for me.

For these reasons, I am not usually tempted by things like french fries.  Perhaps it is my cultural upbringing in which potatoes were a central theme, or maybe my recently acquired snobby tendencies, but I am never crazy about french fries.  Chocolate or cake is another story.  Chocolate and cake together and I'm sold.

However, when we went on a trip to the Asian grocery store, I needed to buy this obnoxious veggie- which I later found out was a yuca root:

(The long potato-looking thing right in front of the sriracha)
Here is what my dear friends at Wikipedia told me:

Yuca is also known as cassava and is native to West Africa and South America. Cassava is the third largest source of carbohydrates for human food in the world. The soft-boiled root has a delicate flavor and can replace boiled potatoes in many uses: as an accompaniment for meat dishes, or made into purées, dumplings, soups, stews, gravies, etc.  

Pretty cool, right?  As soon as I realized this was potato-like, I figured fries were the way to go.  I chopped up the sucker- which was a workout all in itself, and created Coconut Butter Yuca Fries:

Directions:
-Cut up one yuca/cassava root into fry pieces
-Season with salt and pepper and 1 Tbsp coconut butter (I used my lonely Artisana jar)
-Place fries in a single layer on a sprayed cookie sheet
-Bake in the oven at 400 degrees for 30 minutes or until crispy- flipping throughout

I loved the subtle coconut flavor on the fries and ate them for breakfast this morning. 
They were quite starchy but extremely filling and good!  I can't wait to experiment more with this root!  For those who care, the veggie is extremely dense at 330 calories per cup.  I can see why it's such a source of sustenance throughout the world!

On another note, I needed this carb replenishment after I took a class at 24 Hour Fitness on Saturday morning.  They had a spin class on the schedule called "Last Chance Workout"- the name that the contestants kindly call the crazy workout session before their weigh-in.  I thought it would be lame, but went anyways.  I loved that our instructor, a very burly dude had no idea what The Biggest Loser even was but managed to kick my smug butt so hard that I looked like a wreck when it was all over.  We spent 7 minutes on the bike and did plyometrics and various other obnoxious things that had me wanting to toss my cookies halfway through.  I didn't quit and loved pushing myself.  I was instantly sore and spent Sunday finding new muscles that ache.  Awesome. 
Since I don't find enough ways to embarass myself in a public forum, here was the 'After':

That shirt was a much lighter orange when we started.  Another point- my hair.  Let's just say I got a little roughed up:

Yep, straight out of the mental hospital.  If this is what the Loser contestants do, hats off to them.
Questions for you: Do you like group classes? What are your favorites?
Do you like french fries?

Defining the Relationship

Smells gooood!
Thank you for sharing all of your fabulous childhood memories with me.  I loved all your answers.  In case you missed them- here are some fabulous ones:

My lovely sister in law: The smells that remind me of my childhood are mangoes , my uncle had a mango ranch and every time they were in season we got huge boxes of that yellow goodness!
Good times :)
Jessica Comfort food scents remind me of my childhood, but I'd have to go more with perfumes my mom used to wear and other scents like that.
Anne Marie  My grandmom or mom's homemade spaghetti gravy reminds me of my childhood.
Ildie: DILL. Fresh dill. My mama used to make all of her own pickled vegetables and she loved adding dill. :)
Shannon : I have so many smells that trigger childhood memories. There is a certain flower smell that reminds me of summer in Woods Hole (Cape Cod). Always makes me smile.
Kalin: the smell of tomato plants (the plants themselves have a distinctive scent) makes me think of childhood. we grew a ton of 'em as a kid, and i was always roaming through our tomato patch stuffing my face with them.
Jolene: I agree with Kalin about the tomato plants - they totally remind me of my childhood. So does campfire smell, and chocolate chip cookies!
Mo  the smell of meatballs and baked ziti remind me of sitting in grannies kitchen testing her meatballs. we both knew they were ready for hte sauce but we both liked to "taste" them... for quality assurance...
Gabriela :The smell of my house after being away from it always reminds me of childhood...I love this place, and it holds so many memories!! Chlorine is another childhood smell, from spending way too many days in my pool as a kid!

So very awesome- as are all of you!  I love that you were able to share some fun memories mixed with delicious smells.

The Talk...
In the past few months I have been working through a bit of a workout "defining the relationship talk". I don't call it a break-up, but more of a pause to evaluate things. 
I am not a runner, I don't have any kind of a sport to build endurance or strength for (unless you count power chocolate eating or shopping), and I am not looking to lose a significant amount of weight.  To add to that, I also don't follow a strict diet (makes me rebel and go apes*it), nor am I vegetarian, vegan, high protein, or gluten-free. 
None of these things have meant that I have gone to the gym for less than 4 days a week or not enjoyed my time there, but I seem to always be looking for the next new thing when really, I have fun doing my own thing.  I love making up an obstacle course among the juiceheads at my gym, running on the treadmill for no particular length of time or distance while listening to music so embarrassing I sometimes take my headphones off to make sure I'm the only one who can hear it, or benching by myself with no spotter (doesn't matter that it's just the bar with the Cheerio size weights or that the person next to me smells like poop) only because I want to know that I can.
I know a bit of focus is good, but I like coming in with a general plan and then doing my own thing.  Maybe one day I'll have a hard core training plan, but for now, I hit all the muscles once a week and do my cardio thang.
The other day I ran 3 miles for fun and lifted shoulders like a maniac (shoulders are my favorite). 
I think I'm in the happy, butterflies in the tummy stage of the relationship.  I think there is still a little mystery left and the open door peeing policy is NOT welcome.

The Other Talk...

Another item that I have been defining lately is my relationship with meat.  I am not a huge fan, but eat organic chicken or wild fish maybe once a week.  I don't crave meat, but if I do, I want it to be from a reliable source.  I know there are a lot of fabulous veggie bloggers and I love them all, but I just can't commit either way and I ain't gonna.  Plus, I have an irrational fear of anything that is supposed to taste like meat but isn't.  No veggie hot dogs or chicken nuggets for this girl. 
I love tofu, but I'm not sold on its benefits or harm, so when I eat soy, I go for fermented soy in the form of tempeh.  I tried it again in my Tempeh Tacos, and I am pretty sure this one and I are in it for the long haul! Really, I want to marry tempeh.

Tempeh Tacos

• Pan sear 1/4 block of Trader Joe's tempeh with taco seasoning and oil spray
• Heat up 2 small tortillas of your choice- I prefer corn
• When your tempeh is hot enough, build your taco with Mango Salsa an LOTS of guacamole or toppings of your choice
• Devour along with the whole farmer's market tomato

While I'm at it, I have to gush about my real relationship.  My husband spent his evening helping me do my grad school finance homework for fun tonight because he is a math genius.  He also washed all the dishes and is patiently waiting for me to come to bed so we can have our Modern Family date.  If that isn't love, I don't know what is.  I'm off like a prom dress!

Tell me about your gym/workout relationship- is it true love?  I also want to hear about all the things you are training for!

Getting Down to Business

Welp, I'm back- only a week later.  No worries- I missed all of you immensely but was busy being terribly important (at least that's what I tell myself) at work.  Along with this little lapse in posting, I have been trying to keep up with eating well and exercise, but of course life gets in the way, so I'll show you what happens when I get real.

I always eat my veggies first:

Veggie wrap with cucumbers, hummus, spinach, shredded carrots, and cheese with another pound of cucumbers on the side.
Veggie-palooza 2010:

Roasted sweet potatoes and brussels sprouts, yellow tomato, mushrooms, and cucumbers.
Once I get that out of the way, I get down to business- Exhibit A and B, respectively:

Fro yo love

I plead temporary insanity while cramming for my Finance test.  Plus, my spicy tuna sushi and massive amounts of wasabi were burning my face off.

Both were necessary.
Also necessary was getting some quick exercise in- I did one of my favorite strength/cardio workouts as a cool down the other day:

Can you see me back there?  Yep- I bring my iPhone and take pictures at the gym. Don't judge.  I love pushups and taking breaks so I bike hard for 1 minute then get down and do 20 pushups on the bosu ball.  Repeat, repeat, repeat till you get to 100.  It's fun and I love that I can tone while I do cardio.  Give it a try if you have workout ADD like I do.

I'll be back tomorrow (I promise) with some actual cooking but I've gotta give it up to the fabulous moms in my life!
Happy Mothers Day to both Tanias and Elena!
Hope you celebrate with the special mom in your life and if you are a mom- hope you enjoy some extra love and sanity on Sunday!

Fitness Bread

Hey Guys!
I've been running around all weekend enjoying my time in the sunshine- (a big shout to madre nature for giving California some sun this weekend) but I'm back to talk about stuff other than this weekend!
I think that a great deal of my activities this weekend were accomplished thanks to the new product I tried last week- Mestemacher Fitness Bread:

(Source)
Disclaimer: I bought this bread all on my own and I'm not being paid to talk about it.
Anyhoo, I loved the ingredients list (see website here):  
 Ingredients
Rye Kernels, Water, Whole Rye Flour, Oat Kernels, Whole Wheat Flour, Wheat Germ, Sea Salt, Yeast.

Pretty simple huh? 
I tried it in a fabulous veggie sandwich one day:

As well as a lovely snack plate another day:

Working on My Fitness:
I like to think that the fitness bread got me through a 4-hour hike on Saturday and A 4-hour bike ride on Sunday, but in reality I think it had something to do with the training in the gym and the release I get from being active.  My lovely, naturally thin friend recently asked me what I'm training for.  I don't think of myself as an athlete and there is nothing that I am really training for, but I love the feeling of endorphins, lifting a little heavier, and hitting a new distance or speed on the treadmill.  I often ask myself what my motivation is now that I'm not trying to fit into a silly white dress or a bathing suit.  I think I train for my weekends (I was the only girl and kept up with all the boys!) and to be able to be active and feel good about myself.
Why do you train?

A Note About My Recent Absence
Without saying too much, the recession has hit my workplace and I'm streeeetttttcccchhhhheeeeed (stretched) to my limits these days.  Don't worry, I still read and care and get excited for your fabulous ladies, but my long hours and all that good stuff only allow a little bit of commenting and posting time, mostly after hours when I get home from school/work!  I've never been a 'here's what I eat' blogger, but my posts may become a little more sporadic but I hope you'll stick around.
Here's hoping for a productive and positive day (my new mantra)!
XOXO