Pure Exhaustion

Good morning/afternoon all! I thought I would drop in to update since it has been a while. I've been completely exhausted with school work, kids, house work, and trying to keep up with some kind of fitness routine! I'm a horrible blogger, and I know this. Haha!
This week ends two of my classes, so things should slow down for a bit. I will only have two until December, with a week or two break at the end of October. I took 19 credits this last semester! It's looking like next semester is also 19. Spring classes will be about 27 credits. 6 classes, but the majority are worth 4 credits a piece. After that, I will have my A.A.S. in Health Sciences and can start looking at nursing schools! I'm pretty excited over this, but I am also pretty tired. I spend a lot of my free time studying. My exercise routine has suffered quite a bit.
Yesterday, I woke up and decided that I would start a round of Insanity. Unlike my rigorous 2 hour sessions in the gym that work around their kids room schedule, I can fit Insanity in early in the morning before school work. I DO NOT SELL BEACH BODY! Nor do I use their shakes. I just really like the intenseness of the Insanity program. IT gives me a really good burn and works many areas of the body. I took new "start" photos yesterday, so I will share the before and after photos, as well as measurements, when I have finished this time around.
Another thing I have started doing is forcing myself to drink more water. I downloaded an app called Water Habit that alerts me every hour. It reminds me to stop and get a drink. I was really good about drinking about a gallon a day for a while, but for some reason I stopped. Not sure where my mind has gone, but it just hasn't been on health here lately. So, I'm making it harder to forget about health goals!
One of my classes right now is actually a nutrition class. I thought it would help me to stay on track if one of my classes focuses on nutrition. I'm signed up for Sports Nutrition for next semester, so I will have another one constantly reminding me as well.
As far as weight loss goes, I haven't lost any in a while. I've sadly been a bit lazy and traded in about 4% of muscle. My body fat percentage was at 26%. Right now it is at 30%. I'm hoping I can quickly correct this issue, as I am very irritated that I lost sight of my goals for a bit.

Well, that is what I have been up to lately for anyone interested!

~Cheree

School and Fit life

I haven't been keeping up with my blog (as you can probably see). I am a horrible blogger. Haha! I went on vacation, broke my foot and then started up full time in college on top of being a mommy, so at least I kind of have an excuse! lol 
This morning I woke up to a transformation feature on a website from one of my favorite protein companies (Quest Nutrition). I've lost even more weight since they asked for my story, and I am proud to say that I did it without any of the quick loss pills, shakes and wraps that people are always trying to sell me. I just eat healthier and exercise. 
Since starting college in July, I have found it a bit more difficult to work in my daily exercise. Actually, writing this right now, I am checking the time every two seconds as I have a ton of work that needs done. However, I felt I should update my blog since I haven't in a while. Haha!
Anyways, since starting school, it has been a bit more difficult to get in exercise and I have had a rough time wanting to eat healthy. It's so easy to just grab something packaged and heat it up than it is to prep ingredients and cook healthier. I need to get back into meal prep, something I haven't done in a little while now. If it's already prepared, it'll get eaten. Haha!
Most days I am in the 150/160 range now, but I bounce into the 140's and 170's from time to time. I guess it depends on what time of the month it is, how much water and how much sodium I take in. I did gain about 30lbs for a bit without a clue as to why. I have been at the doctor a lot lately trying to figure out what is going on. My blood work looks great, minus my fasting glucose, so I am not sure what is going on. I'm not sure that my doctor is either. I was having some major pains for a bit that still hit off and on that we will be checking out next week with an ultrasound. I'm hoping they locate the problem so we can just fix it and get it over with. 
That's what I have been up to lately! If you want to keep up with me daily, I post on Instagram and on my Fitness page on Facebook often! Links to them both should be on the left hand side of my blog! 
Hope everybody has a fantastic week! 

Break Away

     Sometimes life gets in the way of goals. My kids kept getting sick over the last couple of months, I kept getting sick and then I just got lazy. I didn't take a 100% break, but it was pretty close. I think in the last two months I made it to the gym a total of maybe 8 times. It seemed like I would just get back into the gym when another virus would strike my house down. I got bored with my Zumba, Insanity and yoga routines here at home, bored with walking in place and bored with food. I didn't gain weight, luckily, but I did lose a lot of my hard earned muscle mass. What does that mean? I gained fat while losing muscle and maintained my weight. Not what I want to do. I don't mind a maintained weight, or even a weight gain, so long as my muscle mass goes up. Unfortunately, it's the price paid when excuses are made and illness strikes!
     All that aside, I started back at it last week! I hurt myself right away by injuring my quads. Luckily, they are better this week and I hit leg day like there was no tomorrow yesterday! Haha!! So glad to be back and heading straight towards a goal! Mentally, I think the last few months off have actually been good for me. While it sucked not being in the gym and all I could think about was how much I was going to really hate the scale and tape measure, it helped me to gather myself and set my focus on new goals. I haven't weighed since the beginning of last week and I have no intentions of weighing again any time soon. I don't want my goals to be number focused anymore. I want to look in the mirror and say "that is one hell of a hot mama right there!" My mind set is in a better place.
 
     

   During my break was my 28th birthday. For my birthday, my husband got me a new running buddy! I wont be able to run with her for another year or so, but I can't wait to do so! Since I can't find a human running buddy, I now have a puppy! Haha! Her name is Chipsy and she is a 4 1/2 month old Australian Shepherd puppy! The kids adore her and I love to just snuggle with her! She has added an extra spark to our lives!
   
     I guess that is about it for my update! Keep watch for more updates in the future! I post often on my Instagram and my facebook page! There is a link to both on this blog if you want to look me up! Hope you all have a great day! 

New Beginnings

     I am discovering that the life of a mom with kids in school equals a lot of sick time. I have caught another virus of some sort, which is keeping my youngest and I at home instead of tearing up the gym. At least I can work out here at home and know I wont be set back TOO much. I really enjoy my time with the weights there though. I love picking up a weight and knowing that I am getting stronger. I absolutely love the support system I have built up in my gym. I walk in and the regulars all know who I am and celebrate my progress right along with me! It's my other home!
     This last week in particular has been pretty exciting for me! I am down to 154 and holding pretty steady. Only variation is from my new water intake. I have been making sure to get a gallon a day because of how active I have become. I am down to 27.6% body fat now, which is within a healthy range and no longer puts me in the overweight category. Because I lift weights, I rely on that number more than what the scale says. I could be 120 and in an unhealthy body fat percentage, so that number tells me a whole lot more about my weight. Because of this percentage, I have decided to go from focusing solely on losing fat to focusing more on building muscle. While losing fat is still up there on my list of things "to do," It is no longer my number one priority. I have been doing a lot of research on women body builders and their routines as well as their diets, so I can have a better idea of where to start heading. I don't want to get "body builder" big, but without testosterone I don't have much to worry about there. I just want to have a nice physique and have something more than a skinnier body to show for all of my hard work. I am now following a different form of lifting that focuses on building muscle rather than cardio lifts. So I am lifting heavier and slower now. The definition I lost in my calves over vacation time has already returned doing this, which made me giddy with excitement since it took months to appear in the first place! My new goal is to get down to 15-20% body fat within the next year. Honestly, I am not sure if that is a super high goal or not, I am sure it is, but I am going to do it! Why? Because I like a challenge. If I have a goal set, I tend to work my hardest to hit it. Whether I actually hit it or not, I am still proud of wherever I happen to end up!
     Sometime last week I sent a transformation photo in to Quest Nutrition telling them about how they have helped me along my journey. They are my absolute favorite protein bar as they don't put a ton of crap in their bars. The carbs aren't too bad, the bars don't taste like cardboard and the company has amazing customer service. A few nights ago, they sent me an e-mail asking if they could put my story in their Blog! I am beyond excited that they find ME worthy of their blog! Some little nobody from a place people have never heard of is going to be featured on a companies website! I know there are a lot of people that follow their Instagram and Facebook pages, so getting to be put out there to inspire even more people looking to do just what I am doing is Exciting! Especially since I am being recognized by a company I really love!
   
     When I started this blog, I promised some healthy recipes. So, here is one for you that I have found I really enjoy! I like to make this one in the morning and then snack on it throughout the day. It's a way to get some fiber and protein that I need without going overboard on the carbs. It is delicious!

         -Protein Pancakes-
2/3c oatmeal-blend until powdered
2 egg whites (I sometimes use the whole eggs)
2 scoops whey protein
1c Almond Milk

Blend the powdered oats and eggs together. Add in the whey and Almond milk. May need to blend in touch more Almond Milk if just using the whites. Cook in 1/4c scoops over medium heat. Eat and enjoy!

I don't use syrup or anything on them. They taste that good! Depending on what brands you use, the nutrition facts can vary. For one entire batch, it's roughly 510-634 calories, 50-62g of protein (depending on if you use whole eggs) and roughly 26g carbs. It seems like a lot of calories, but if you spread out how many of them you eat throughout the day, it really isn't much. For me, it was a great substitute recipe for one of my favorite breakfasts!

Return From the Holidays

     I disappeared over the holidays! Sorry about that! Spent some time visiting my in-laws! Left with a stomach virus, came back with a bad cold and then had my sons birthday and am now trying to play catch up and get back on track health and fitness wise. Here is what I have been up to!
     Over the holidays I managed to gain 4 pounds. Not bad considering I normally gain much more! It didn't take me long to lose the 4, and then some. I am now down 85lbs to 155! Very happy camper! On January 5th, I decided to start a 60 day juice fast. I had already discussed this with a doctor and a nutritionist and got the ok so long as I watched the fruits. I gave myself different points. 10 days, 30 days and then 60 days for reviews. I made it 6 days before I felt I absolutely HAD to have a meal. Then another week after that. My conclusion? A few days to do a cleanse is ok. This is one fad diet that I think I will pass on. While I am still juicing a couple of times a day, I wont be going to the extremes again. I literally felt like I was starving! I like to try all of the fads and give a review over them though. That's my review. It feel it is too extreme to go more than a week at the most doing that.
     Yesterday I got Max 30 in the mail! I am excited to try it! I hope I love it as much as I loved Insanity! I still have my P90X that I have yet to try. For some reason I feel a tad intimidated by that one. Why, I don't know, but I do. I DO NOT SELL BEACH BODY! I am not a "coach" and I don't do the meal replacement shakes. However, I do like their videos. They have excellent programs that help people to get on track fitness wise! If you just stumbled across my blog and are looking for somewhere to start, their T-25 program is perfect!
     Other programs I use include the Zumba Exhilarate disk set (I absolutely LOVE their sculpting programs), Jillian Michaels programs and Youtube videos. I have a lot of videos saved that I will most likely share in the future, but my favorite youtube channel is BEFit! They have a nice variety of videos on there, including Jillian Michaels and Denise Austin. If you have Amazon Prime streaming, check out their selections of fitness DVD's. They have them up there for free. Ok selections.
      I will be updating this again soon with how I like Max 30 and other programs I try. I will also share favorite recipes as I discover them. I post on Instagram often and I have a facebook page that everyone is more than welcome to follow. I can be found on Instagram as @mommy_cheree and  https://facebook.com/mommygetsfit2000 is my facebook page. Anything you want to see from me in the future? Shoot me a message.