Lunch Date

Cole and I looooove Costco. There is nothing better than walking around, holding hands, trying all the yummy samples, and being facinated by the enormous packaged items. And ya can't beat the price of a $1.50 hot dog and drink for lunch. Cole and I have gone there many a time for a little lunch date. Ohh how romantic it is. :)

i can't wait...

...for the next season of GLEE!!!

I just finished watching the season finale and just can't believe everything. I loved it!!

Oh GLEE-- from the song lines of the last episode--"My life would suck with out you." Not really, but I get really excited to watch it on my laptop every Thursday night.

holidays without junk in the trunk

I read a really good article from my SHAPE magazine that included tips on how to get through the holidays without gaining weight. The reason why I like this so much is because they don't say to deprive yourself of your favorite holiday treats, but they give you some really good ideas on how to eat what you want without packing on the poundage. (These tips were taken from the December issue of SHAPE and the article was written by Sharon Liao):)

1. Spoil your supper: You may think it a good idea to skip lunch or breakfast to save on those extra calories, but this could backfire on you. Make sure you eat throughout the day and most importantly, when you're headed to a party, eat a snack before (like an apple and string cheese) you go so that you are not ravenous when you get there.

2. Chew while you chop: When you are preparing food for your parties it is easy to rack up the calories just by tasting as you cook. So pop in a piece of mint gum to chew on so you are not tempted to graze as you cook.

3. Be a picky eater: When your faced with a decadent buffet, survey your options. Instead of tasting everything only choose what you really want - the holiday dishes that you love, that you only get once a year for example. And because it takes 20 minutes to get full wait that long to go back for seconds.

4. Take dainty bites: People who take big bites usually eat more, so take small bites. Also try to go with a small plate.

5. Think before you eat: People think that they have to get as much holiday food in them as possible because it comes once a year. But before you reach for a treat stop and ask yourself how hungry you really are. Also remind yourself that you can take that yummy chocolate fudge home to eat later. You could even freeze it and have it a month after the holidays.

6. Stay on the move: Gym attendance goes down in November and December. But working up a sweat is especially important in these months. Exercise burns extra calories and also helps boost the mood to help maintain stress.

7. Start skinny sipping: Juices and sodas carry alot of excess calories and sugar so why not just sip on a glass of water unless you are dying to have some hot cocoa or cider.

8. Keep your focus: When you are meeting up with old family and friends, it is easy to get caught up in your conversations which can distract you into not paying attention to what and how much you're eating so keep your focus and know what you are putting in your mouth.

9. Seize some ZZZ's: The holiday season is a busy time, but skimping on sleep is not a good idea. Not getting enough sleep lowers your leptin levels which are harmones that control how full you feel. When your exhausted, you feel hungrier, so get at least 8 hours of sleep this season.

And that is it! I am really going to try to implement these tips this holiday season. I don't want to deprive myself of holiday goodness, but I am going to try to really be smart about what I'm eating. And most importantly, I'm going to exercise!!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!!

Tree Hugger

We got our tree last night. $22.99 at our friendly neighborhood Fred Meyers. The branches had not fallen out yet so it was perfect hugging width. I love Christmas trees! For some reason it just doesn't feel like Christmas until we get our tree put up.

BEFORE

AFTER

I'm so excited for Christmas break! I have exactly 9 days of school left and then I am done with ISU classes forever!!! Yay! On to my student teaching at Century.

Body For Life Challenge 3

Well Thanksgiving break has begun and I am ready for a little R and R.

I got home from class and this is what I saw on my dry erase board.

BFL Challenge number 3 is under my belt. I got up this morning excited for Cole to take my after pictures. After Cole took my pictures I must say that I was a little disappointed. They don't look nearly as good as my first challenge especially since I didn't go tanning so I am very white. I worked really hard so I feel really frustrated, but looking back I know a could've done better. I took a whole week off when I got a little stressed with school and that probably didn't help. I also had a "free day" once a week and my first challenge I only allowed myself a "free meal" and a "free dessert" once a week. Overall, I think I am moving in the right direction which is very important. Here are some things that I learned:

1. If I don't eat enough throughout the day, then I am more likely to over indulge later during dinner or before I got to bed.

2. If I don't keep the shelves stocked wit healthy food then I'm more likely to eat unhealthy.

3. If I fail to plan then I plan to fail (I know...so cliche, but its true!)

4. When its that time of the month, harmones are released that make you crave food so it is ESPECIALLY important to exercise because exercise releases endorphins that helps sustain those cravings. I learned this the hard way.

5. Not everyone's body types are the same so we SHOULD not compare ourselves to others.

6. I learned an awesome way to make oatmeal...now I'm going to make it everyday.

7. Don't have food in the house that will tempt you. This is very hard since Cole loves to have sweets. Cookies kill me!!

8. THROW AWAY THE SCALE. It shouldn't matter how much you weigh as long as you feel good and you like the way you look in the mirror and your clothes fit. I don't know how many times I stepped on the scale and been depressed! But your weight can change so much from day to day depending on your water weight or if its that time of the month.

9. Don't give up. Even though one tire has a hole in it doesn't mean you should drive around making holes in all the other tires. If you cheat don't throw it all away by just giving up for the rest of the day.

10. There's always a healthier choice. If there are cookies sitting out and you want one sooo bad try a healthier alternative like apples dipped in peanut butter.

Those are just some of the things that I learned. Now to the AFTER MATH:

My Stats - Beginning / End

Body fat - lowered 3%

Weight - lost 11 lbs.

Size - lost 2 sizes

So as you can see I did have results. They weren't the results that I set out for, but at least I did improve! I wanted to get down to 140 and to a size 6, but hey... I'm moving in the right direction!! And that is what is most important. I am not going backward, I am moving forward.

I don't feel comfortable posting my pics online. So Molly, I'll e-mail them to you!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!

P.S. Happy Birthday Lee!!

last but not least

Today is my last day of my Body-for-Life challenge numero tres!!

I can't believe it! Time has just flown. Even though my challenge will be over, I've tried to have the mentality that being healthy isn't over. Healthy 4 life is my motto! It will be especially hard to be healthy since the holidays are creeping up on us. I am going to take a few weeks off of heavy lifting, but still do exercise like running and yoga. There is a 5k on Thanksgiving Day called the Turkey Trot that I think I'm going to do. I gotta burn some MAJOR calories that day so I may run like a 5 miler instead. ANywho... I will be posting my stats, thoughts, ways I can improve next challenge, and maybe pictures. I dunno I feel really weird posting my before and after pics up for the world to see. eh. I will give you a link to my BFL tracker page so that you may see it there.... How bout that Molly?

Can ya'll guess what I'm having for din din tonight? Malaysian Pizza!! Ohh yeah baby. Gotta keep it small portioned for my after pictures tomorrow though.

I'm off for my last workout of CHALLENGE 3 - its a nice day for a little run.

See ya tomorrow!!

I've gone over to the...

dark side.

I decided to dye my hair dark for the winter. It's pretty dark. Sometimes I forget and then look in the mirror and go "whoa! who's dat?". I know I have been really MIA when it comes to BFL. But don't worry I've been eating healthy and working out. I just got done with an UBWO and my biceps are like jell-o. I've just been super busy with school. THIS IS MY LAST WEEK OF BFL!!! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? I CAN'T...

Have a good week!

Cicily :0

This is why.....

I LOVE THE PRIMARY!!

I came home after a busy day and I found this cute, giant, homemade kiss on my doorstep that said "Thank you for teaching us - Tyson" Ohhhh.... Thanks Tyson! You made my day!!

Hi yaw!

Hi yaw! That is what I was saying today in my self defense class. We learned how to block punches and give punches. My favorite punch is the open-fist punch where you punch that sucker with the palm of your hand right up in their nose so their eyes water. Yeeeah. ha. Well remember yesterday when I said I was frustrated about buying pants? Well I went to the mall again today and I tried on a ton of jeans and I found a really great pair that I love!! Best part...they came with a price tag of 29 buckaroos. I was also happy because my size has gone down since I first started BFL. Yay yay!

UBWO - 8:00am

DB Chest Flies 12, 10, 8, 6, 12

Push-ups 12

DB Back Flies 12, 10, 8, 6, 12

DB Rows 12

Shoulder Press 12, 10, 8, 6, 12

Shoulder Raises 12

Cable Bicep Curls 12, 10, 8, 12

DB Decline Bicep Curls 12

Cable Tricep pulldowns 12, 10, 8, 6, 12

Tricep Dips 12

Abs 6 x 20

MEAL ONE - 9:30 am

Whole Wheat Protein Pancakes topped with strawberries. Tasty tasty.

I used this whole wheat pancake mix, but added protein powder to the mix

I heated some frozen strawberries on the stove and got this finished product.

MEAL TWO - 12:15 pm

Chicken Salad on toasted sandwich thins topped with spinach. mmm

MEAL THREE - 2:30 pm

Left over protein pancake at work and light raspberry yogurt. I'm glad no one saw me chomping on a cold pancake at 2:30 in the afternoon. But it was pretty tasty.

MEAL FOUR - 5:15 pm

Rice cake and a spoon full of PB to tide me over til din din was ready.

MEAL FIVE - 6:30 pm

Tacos topped with lettuce, avocado, salsa, and fat free sour cream wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla. pure mexican goodness. you also get a good view of my mail in the background.

MEAL SIX - 9:15 pm

Chocolate Banana Protein Smoothie

And we're headed on a downslope to the weekend. Can't wait. I finished up a paper tonight which brings me one step closer to being done with this semester. Feels good.

So long, farewell, alf vedersein, goodnight!

Cicily :)

busy bee

Hey all. Today has been great, busy, but great. I promised myself that I would blog everyday this week because it really helps me stay on track. So here it goes.

HIIT - 8:30 am

I went to Alameda Park and ran. Decided to switch up my run from the usual - Reed's Gym and back. Its getting cold outside.

Stats:

Time - 21:16

Distance - 2.08

Calories - 252

Best Pace - 7:49

Average Pace - 10:13

Ouch! My legs are so sore from leg day yesterday. I guess that is what I get for taking a week off.

MEAL ONE - 9:15 am

Protein Oats - Oatmeal, water, protein powder, bananas, cranberries, cinnamon, and a dollup of Peanut Butter

MEAL TWO - 12:15 pm

Left over Malaysian Pizza in between classes.

MEAL THREE - 5:15 pm

Left over Malaysian Pizza. Overload... i know, but its even better left over.

Slice of Life - We decided to go to the temple tonight with our friends. It was really nice. We went to the mall because I really need pants, but I ended up buying two shirts instead. ugh. I hate shopping for pants. I can never find a perfect fit. Then we went to Red Robin. It was not very good. Disappointed....

There was a beautiful sunset on the way there. I can't believe how dark it gets now! It was only like 5:45 pm in this pic

Some handsome guy outside the I.F. Temple

RED ROBIN

MEAL FOUR - 8:00 pm

Red Robin - Harvest Apple Chicken Salad. The goat cheese was delicious, but the chicken was a little to processed. eh. I will confess I did eat a few of their steak fries and those were tasty.

MEAL FIVE - 10:15 pm

Pumpkin Protein Shake - Water, ice, canned pumpkin, cinnamon, protein powder, and a little honey to sweeten it up.

Today was very busy, but it felt really good to get a lot of stuff done and go to the temple. It was a TERRIFIC TUESDAY!

Chow!

Cicily :)

Back To Normal

Hey! Hope your weekend was spooktactular! We had alot of fun. We didn't do too much, but we spent it with family and friends so it was great. Here's some fun things that we've done lately and things that have been on my mind:

1. Cole's parents got a blu-ray player and we watched Australia on blu-ray on Friday and it was amazing! I love that movie. The next day we rented The Proposal. That was hilarious. I love Sanrda Bullock.

2. I have 5 1/2 weeks of school left! YAY!

3. I hesitate to tell you this (because I don't want to bore you), but last week I had a little stress-fest (and that is what threw me off the BFL wagon and made me really stressed!) because of a stupid teacher. First of all, he gave me and this girl I was working with a ZERO on an assignment that is worth 25% of our grade because we didn't do it in the right "format". So if I get a 100% on everything else, then I can only get a C in the class. UGH. He's totally gonna throw my GPA off. Also this same teacher happened to be the teacher that teaches a class I need to do "independent study" with for one class I have left that I was going to take during my student teaching. Long story short ....he refused to work with me. This meant that I wouldn't be able to do my student teaching next semester because of one stinking class!! I spoke with the chair of the department and my counselor and we were able to get things straightened out. I'm going to take a BYU internet course that is equvilant to the class I need. So in the long run, its better because now I don't have to work with that teacher.

4. I am doing my student teaching out at Century High School starting January 4, 2010! I'm nervous and excited. Its gonna be weird teaching at the school that I went to. I'm also happy because my brother, Dane, is doing his student teaching out there too!

5. Cole's sister was in town and we always have fun going shopping. I didn't buy anything. Although i do need some pants desperately, but I'm going to wait until I'm done with BFL in 3 weeks.

6. We have to set up soccer nets every Saturday for 8 weeks and last Saturday was our last week! Yippee! Now we can enjoy our Saturdays!

7. We spent alot of the weekend cooking and eating with Cole's family - Tortellini, Carrot Cake, and Enchiladas were a few items on the menu.

8. My little niece, Suzanne, had her baby blessing. It is so fun to see my own brothers and sister start their own little families and to see how their looks and personalities are just like their's.

9.Church was crazy because I'm in the primary and we are doing primary program practice. We had all the kids (probably 60) in a small room together for 2 hours. I don't know how the kids do it, cuz I can't even hardly sit there for 2 hours. Those little sunbeams were so awesome. They really sing their little hearts out. I just hope that they don't get shy when we actually have to do it in sacrament meeting.

10. Cole and I visited Grandma and Grandpa Jorgensen for about 3 hours Sunday. I just love my grandparents! They make me laugh so hard. They tell the best stories. They have the best relationship and they are just amazing people.

11. We then went up to my parent's to eat some casadillas and watch the world series. Cole was so mad that the Yankees won again, but hey the Phillies came back and won tonight. Go Phillies! Before we left, my mom stocked me up with some nutritious goodies from their food storage.

********

Last week was very rough when it comes to BFL. Lets just say it was a "free" week instead of my "free day". But I am back to normal now. I have 3 weeks left. Wow I can't believe it! I'm gonna push it hard to the end. I'm also going to try to blog everyday because that reallllllly helps me stay on track. So I'm going to post even if I am really boring...Sorry.

Today:

Lower Body Workout - 8:00 am

DB squats 12, 10, (youch! my legs started cramping. I could hardly walk. So I thought I'd better warm up a little better on the treadmill)

5 minutes warm-up on treadmill

DB Squats cont... 8, 6, 12

DB Step-ups 12 on ea. leg

DB One-legged Deadlift 12, 10, 8, 6, 12

Stability Ball Leg Curls 12

Calf Raises 12, 10, 8, 6, 12

One-legged Calf Raises 12

Abs 12, 10, 8, 6, 12

MEAL ONE - 9:30 am @ BUTTERBURRS

Wellllllll... Cole and I wanted to make it a tradition to go Butterburrs every Monday for breakfast just to kick off the week. THAT tradition was short lived. We had horrible food! No cheese in my omelet, they put gravy on my potatoes so I couldn't eat those, Cole's eggs were not cooked, and worst of all he found a hair in his food! BLEH! That tradition was shot down. The waitress felt bad and she gave us 3 free rasberry twists so that was good. Even though I can't eat them.

MEAL TWO - 12:15 pm

Chicken Salad Sandwich on Whole Wheat Sandwich Thin - canned chicken, lf miracle whip, dijon mustard, sunflower seeds, onions, and cranberries. And I cut up some pear. MMMm! This was good. I love these new Sandwich Thins. They are great for making sandwiches. They are only a hundred calories, they are whole wheat, and you can used them as hamburger buns too.

MEAL THREE - 2:45 pm

Strawberry Protien Shake and a little pumkin and flaxseed granola.

MEAL FOUR - 5:15 pm

Two Rice Cakes

MEAL FIVE - 7:00 pm

Malaysian Pizza and Spinach Salad. This is my favorite meal ever! I made a spinach salad to go with it. It had spinach, feta, cranberries, sunflower seeds, and homemade balsamic vinaigrette. We made extra so we could have left overs tomorrow.

Chef Cole whipping up the pizza crust

I'm too full to have a sixth meal tonight. I feel so good getting back on BFL. ahhh. I will definitely see you tomorrow. GOOD NIGHT!

Cicily :)

Why is eating healthy so hard??

Today...well the last few days have been quite an up an down ride for me. School has just been so frustrating which explains my MIA for over a week from the blog world. I have really tried to hard to stay on track with BFL, but sometimes life just throws you curve balls and you need to take a break for a few days. So I've tried to eat healthy most of the time, but I haven't worked out at all this week. Ask me how I feel?...guilty and sick. Blah. Eating healthy and working out makes me fill so good, but I just have been too occupied and tired. My nutrition professor once told our class that "being aware of your health and what is good for you will haunt you for the rest of your life. Because now that you have the knowledge of what is good and bad for your body, you will always feel guilty because you know all the bad things you are putting into your body." So true. I will get back on the wagon tomorrow and going at it full force I just really needed a break. After this week I have 3 weeks left of BFL and then I am going to do a program that I am super excited about and will explain it when the time comes.

Last week I started a class that I am really excited for. Let me give you a hint of what it is:

Any takers?....

Any takers?....

No it is not how to be in the Miss America Pageant, and no it is not how to play water filled glasses, and no its not how to be an undercover FBI agent. It is a self defense class! I've had two classes so far and every moment I'm there, I'm thinking about Sandra Bullock in Miss Congeniality and her self defense talent. I'm really excited for our final. We have to do a simulation with an actual man dressed up in pads. He pretends to come at us and we get to kick, knee, and punch him as hard as we can. Ha! I can't wait.

This week has sure been a rough one, but I'm back on it tomorrow and that is the most important thing -- that I don't give up. Just keep a truckin'! Nighty Night!

Cicily :)

Famous for Chomping Like a Cow

Well today is Tuesday and I could blog about the events of today, but I don't want to bore you so I'm going to blog about yesterday! Because yesterday was more exciting and I acutally took pictures. Cole started some new classes Monday that start at 8:00 am and luckily those classes take place in the same building I workout sooooo I have been getting up at 7:45 am and working out this week. I am finally going to break out of this habit of sleeping in and being lazy in the mornings. I don't know what I did, but my leggies are soooo sore. My calves are killing me!Well this is how Monday went:

LBWO - 8:00 am <------- (haven't been up this early in weeks...)

Squats 12, 10, 8, 6, 12

Leg Extensions 12

One-legged DB Dead Lifts 12, 10, 8, 6, 12

One-legged DB Lunges 12

Machine Calf Raises 12, 10, 8, 6, 12 (I went extra heavy on these and that is why I think they are sore.)

One-legged DB Calf Raises 12

Abs - Hanging Leg Raises 12, 10, 8,....uhh some kid just took over on the Hanging leg Raise thing so I couldn't finish on that...I hate that.

V-ups 12

Medicine Ball Side-to-sides 24

MEAL ONE - 9:15 am

Protein Oats -Yummy!! I found I great way to make oatmeal. Check it out here. Oats, water, vanilla protein powder, cinnamon, and a dollup of peanut butter on top. The key is to do it on the stove top...not in the microwave. Soooo delicious on a cold autumn morning.

All mixed together. mmmm.

MEAL TWO - 12:15 pm

Turkey Sandwich on Black Bread. I love black bread. Two pickles were involved.

MEAL THREE - 3:00 pm

Oiko's Vanilla Organic Greek Yogurt with pears, rasberries, and flaxseed granola. Yes yes very good. I love this yogurt! It has 23 grams of protein too.

All mixed together

MEAL FOUR - 5:15 pm

Nutz Over Chocolate Luna Bar. I was in my 2 1/2 hour class and decided to eat one of these babies on our break. Very tasty. It also has an even amount of carbs and proteins. It is whole grain. And it is only 180 calories. Pretty yummy meal.

MEAL FIVE - 7:00 pm

Hamburgers with red onion, lettuce, and ketcup. No bun. I cut up some oranges too for a little extra vitamin C to boost the ol' immune system in this time of sickness (swine flu freaks me out).

Slice of Life - After dinner we headed over to ISU to see my brother, Kyle's, awesome senior art show. I am so proud of him. He has worked really hard and will graduate in December. He had a gallery at ISU all set up with his art and it was great. Really creative! He was in the newspaper for it and even on the news. I really wish I would have taken my camera so that I could have taken some pictures.

After the art show we went with our friends Nicole and Jeremy to play a friendly game of raquetball. Raquetball is fun. Even though I stink at it. Despite Cole pelting Jeremy in the face with the ball, I think that we all had a great time and we'll definitely be doing it again soon. Again...I wish that I would've had my camera with me for this.

Now to the explanation of my title. Ha. I can't tell this story without laughing out LOUD. We then went up to Cole's parents to watch the local news because we knew my brother, Kyle, would be on it for his art show. We were watching and it showed some of the art and some of the people looking at the art. Can you guess who the people were that were looking at the art?? YES...ME and COLE! But we weren't just looking at the art we were both CHOMPING and I mean CHOMPING on some watermelon bubble gum that we had recently popped in our mouths. We recorded it and replayed it over and over again. We were laughing so hard we were crying. Oh gees. We get on the news for 10 seconds and it was us chewing gum like a stinking cow. ha ha.

MEAL SIX - 10:30 pm

Strawberry Peach Protein Shake.

Yesterday was as great Monday. Full of funny things and tasty food. Hope you guys all had a great Monday and that you continue to have a great week. CHOW!

Cicily :)

Real Texas Deer

Happy Friday to ya'll. Hope you all have fun things planned for this weekend. I know I do...not. Cole is hunting for Bambi once again. But I guess I am looking forward to sleeping in, watching GLEE, and fixing myself a free day breakfast. I have been doing really good at the goals that I made earlier this week. I've gotten all of my workouts in. The one thing that I'm still struggling with is working out in the morning. BUT I did wake up and run this morning. This is just the perfect weather for running. Breathing in that crisp cool air brings a smile to my face.

I went to Real Deals this afternoon. For those of you who don't know what Real Deals is, its a home decor warehouse with really cheap and cute decorating stuff. I HATE THIS STORE! Well actually I love it so much I hate it...Its a love-hate relationship. I want to buy everything in there. I look around and look around because I want to buy something because its all cute and then I end up buying something that I didn't even need and don't know where to put it when I get home. Like this fruit bowl. Ha. We hardly have room on our counters and I bought a fruit bowl. But I guess it can also pose as a serving bowl for some yunmy pasta or salad.

I also bought a really yummy smelling fall candle titled "grandma's kitchen"... need I say anymore about how good it smells?

Lets get down to business.

HIIT - 9:00 am

I was a little slower today. I'm having some major DOMS. I did p90x Leg workout last night and it kills my legs. Ouch!

Stats:

2.06 miles

254 calories

9:58 average pace

7:26 best pace

MEAL ONE - 9:45 am

Peanut Butter and Banana Protein Smoothie - 1/2 banana, 2 tablespoons of PB, ice, vanilla protein powder, and I used milk today. I don't know why. I don't like it with milk anymore. It makes it too rich like I'm drinking melted ice cream or something. Melted ice cream? I guess that can't be too bad.

MEAL TWO - 1:00 pm

Tuna fish on Black bread. Oh how I love Black bread. it is so delicious!! Yummers!

MEAL THREE - 3:30 pm

One Leftover Chicken Enchilada (I meant to blog about these Chicken Enchiladas a few days ago. They were really good and totally BFL friendly. I got the recipe out of my Eating For Life cookbook.)

MEAL FOUR - 5:30 pm

One Rice Cake...pathetic.

MEAL FIVE - 8:30 pm

Texas Road House Baby...yeehaw! I got their Grilled Chicken Salad and it was fabulous!! Everyone ordered a cactus blossom so I will confess I had a few pieces of that fried onion delight.

Slice of Life - We went to dinner with Cole's cousin Brett and his wife. The two boys went hunting this morning and told us a really sad and but kinda funny story. Here is my pathetic attempt to reiterate it. They came onto some deer just up a mountain. So they started sneaking up on them so that Brett could get his first shot at a deer. They were being really quiet as they crept towards the deer and all of a sudden a white trash car comes driving past them through the sage brush (there wasn't even a road!) trying to get the deer before them. Cole and Brett were soooo mad. A few seconds later they heard a gun shot so they ran up to the top to see if they shot the deer and they had, but it didn't quite kill the deer. So the guy in the car got out and started wrestling with the deer! Yeah wrestling with it...rolling around and everything. Stupid people! Isn't that ridiculous?

Well I better get to sleep. I have a big day tomorrow...not. Sleep tight.

Cicily :)

Goals

"Life's up and downs provide windows of opportunity to determine your values and goals. Think of using all obstacles as stepping stones to build the life you want."

--Marsha Sinetar

"Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goals."

--Sydney Smith

"Whoever wants to reach a distant goal must take small steps."

--Helmut Schmidt

"Without goals, and plans to reach them, you are like a ship that has set sail with no destination."

--Fitzhugh Dodson

Sorry for the cheese ball quotes. I just really needed to find some ways to motivate myself today. I think that it is very important when you are trying to achieve something to constantly be setting goals. It is not important only to set goals at the very beginning, but throughout the entire challenge whatever it may be. I set some goals at the beginning of my challenge and although they are good and realistic goals, I feel like I need to set some new mini goals for myself to help me trudge through to the end not only to finish, but to finish victoriously, knowing that I gave it my all. I need these goals especially since I have been struggling this week.

WEEK SEVEN GOALS:

1. Go to bed by 11:00 pm (Lately I've been going to bed at like midnight which makes it harder to wake up and workout).

2. Drink 3 water bottles a day. (Only been getting about 1 1/2)

3. 6 meals (Only been getting 5 on average because I wake up too late.)

4. Do workouts in the morning.

5. Get ALL workouts in.

MEAL ONE - 8:45 am

Cracklin' Oat Bran with Light n' fit yogurt. Cracklin Oat Bran is definitely not BFL approved. Ehhh... Bad choice. See I'm making bad choices. I didn't even get up in time to workout. BUT I've made my new goals and I'm going to follow through with them.

MEAL TWO - 12:30 pm

Taco Salad - Romaine Lettuce, diced onions, taco meat, fat free sour cream.

MEAL THREE - 2:45 pm

Orange Creme Protein Shake - Freshly squeeze

d orange juice, little bit of orange zest, water, ice, vanilla protein powder. MMm...dreamy. ha.

HIIT/UBWO - 6:00 pm

HIIT on treadmill

minute 0 - speed 4

minute 1- speed 5

minute 2 - speed 6

minute 3 - speed 7

minute 4 - speed 8

minute 5 - speed 4

minute 6- speed 5

minute 7 - speed 6

minute 8 - speed 7

minute 9 - speed 8

minute 10 - speed 4

minute 11- speed 5

minute 12 - speed 6

minute 13 - speed 7

minute 14 - speed 8

minute 15 - speed 4

minute 16- speed 5

minute 17 - speed 6

minute 18 - speed 7

minute 19 - speed 8.5

minute 20 - speed 4

Stats:

2.16 miles

264 calories

21 minutes

UBWO

DB Chest Flies 12, 10, 8, 6, 12

Pushups 12

DB Back Flies 12, 10, 8, 6, 12

DB One-arm Rows 12

Shoulder Raises 12, 10, 8, 6, 12

Shoulder Press 12

Tricep Extensions 12, 10, 8, 6, 12

Bodyweight Dips 12

Decline DB Curls 12, 10, 8, 6, 12

Preacher Curls 12

MEAL FOUR - 8:00 pm

Grilled hamburger w/mushrooms and melted LF italian cheese. Ketchup. Sliced pears with blueberries. Yummy.

MEAL FIVE - 10:00 pm

Banana Bread Protein Smoothie - Banana, ice, water, nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla protein powder. mmm. nice and thick.

After I went to the gym and had a good sweat it made me realize how much I love the way working out makes me feel. Why do I ever loose motivation to go? I've set my goals and I'm ready to get to them tomorrow mornin'. I'm going to get to bed early so that I can actually get myself out of bed in the morning. Night ya'll!

Cicily :)

Adventures of Autumn and Walmart

As much as I hate cold weather and snow, I just love the fall. I love the crispness in the air. I love the yummy pumpkins spice smells, and I love to see the beautiful colors of the leaves changing and crunching under my feet. So when Cole asked me if I wanted to go for a ride to see the leaves, I was excited because I have been begging him for the last two week if we could go. Well when he pulled up, he had the 4-wheeler hitched in the back of his truck and he came in and grabbed his gun and hunting pack. ah ha! So this is what this "looking at the leaves is all about isn't it?!" He tricked me into going with him just so he would have some company on another hunting adventure. Well, turns out it really was a beautiful ride. We did get to see some beautiful trees turning, but no trace of Bambi in sight. The road was a little rough, but it did turn out to be a nice little adventure/date with my hubby.

I must admit that BFL has been hard for me today and for the last couple of days. That time of the month (if ya know what I mean) just makes me get in a slump of feeling crummy and wanting to graze on everything I see. But I think I did okay considering the circumstances. I tried to eat clean, but I just get so "cravy" if that is a word. Here goes:

MEAL ONE - 9:30 am

Two eggs and 1 piece of WW toast.

MEAL TWO - 12:15 pm

Left over Taco on corn tortilla and an orange.

MEAL THREE - 1:45 pm

Banana Bread Protein Shake - 1/2 banana, ice, water, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla protein powder. mmm pretty close to the real thing.

Spoon full of Peanut Butter, Peanut Butter and 1/2 sliced banana on 1 piece of WW bread. Ha ha. This is where I started having the cravings if you can't tell. I don't know why, but the one thing I really crave a lot is Peanut Butter. Anybody know why? Maybe cuz its kinda salty and its also kinda sweet. ??

MEAL FOUR - 6:00 pm

Teriyaki Beef Jerkey. Cole says its a must when you're hunting. I checked out the nutritional info and it is actually very BFL friendly and it was tasty. I scarfed it down.

Slice of Life - Here are some pictures from our little ride. It started getting dark so the pictures don't do the area justice.

MEAL FIVE - 7:30 pm

Old Fashioned Oats, Light n' Fit Yogurt, and vanilla protein powder. Another left over taco was my only other choice and I've eaten that like that last 4 days. We need to go shopping which leads me to my next point...

Slice of Life -Remember those chicken wings that we found feathers in that totally grossed us out? Well we took them back to Win-co and the customer service lady was sooo rude to us. Anyways we thought we'd give Walmart a chance for a place to shop since we're holding a mini grudge (lol) against Winco right now. Let me tell you that I HATE WALMART! Win-co we miss you with your highly stocked shelves and variety of choices. We miss your bulk sections and your small container of cottage cheese. Walmart didn't have garbanzo beans. They didn't have small containers of cottage cheese. Just these ginormous ones. Their shelves were wiped clean. (Although we did get some Cracklin' Oat Bran which I know is your favorite Molly. Its Cole's too) Ugh. We forgive you Win-co and we will be back shortly.

MEAL SIX - 10:00 pm

2 Rice Cakes. Turkey dipped in Dijon Mustard. weird combo huh? I told you I was "cravy". I can't imagine what I'll be like when I'm preggo some day.

NO UBWO today. I stink! I'm in the slumps. Bad start to the second six weeks on BFL. BAD BAD! I'm going to double it up tomorrow. Well what a day of adventures! It was a fun Monday. I know that I can get through this challenge I just gotta keep my eyes on what I really want. I need to remember my goals! Tomorrow is a new day! Goodnight!

Cicily :)

F-F-F-Friday!

Hey all! I am super happy that it is Friday although I'm a little sad because my hubby is going hunting tomorrow so I have to spend my whole Saturday with out him while he goes to try and hunt Bambi's dad down. But on the bright side, I think I will be able to get a lot of stuff done because he won't be distracting me or tempting me all day to go do something. Him and his friend are crackin' me up as I type. ha ha. We only live about a mile apart so they got out their walky talkys and are talking to eachother all truck-driver like on their walky talkys. They are nerds! ha. Today was nice. I had to force myself to go work out this morning. But Hey!... I woke up in time to work out. This is how my BFL day shook out:

LBWO - 8:30 am

One-legged DB Dead Lift 12, 10, 8, 6, 12

Machine Kick Backs 12

Lunges 12, 10, 8, 6, 12

Step-ups 12

Calf Lunges 12, 10, 8, 6, 12

One-legged Calf Raises 12

MEAL ONE - 9:45 am

WW Toast with Two Eggs. Yum yum.

MEAL TWO - 1:00 pm

Guess what? We got to go to my fave place for lunch. Ruby Tuesday's! I could seriously eat like 5 plates of their salad cuz I luv it so much. We went with out friends Dean and Carrie. I even snapped some picture. Romaine and Spinach lettuce, red onion, boiled eggs, peas, garbanzo beans, cottage cheese, carrots, cukes, sunflower seeds and honey mustard times 2! Went back for seconds. Those little brown things on my plate are not brownie bites although they do look the part. They are these delicious crutons. YUMMO!

Ruby Tuesday's Salad Bar

Me and Cole

Dean and Carrie

MEAL THREE - 5:00 pm

Taco with WW tortilla and an orange.

MEAL FOUR - 10:00 pm

Pina Colada Protein Shake. MMm, And two rice cakes. I did not do so good on getting six meals in today did I? That seconds on the salad bar filled me up.

Well I wanted to get my Body Fat tested today, but the guy that usually does them on Fridays wasn't there. Next week. I am really looking forward to tomorrow's free day. I think I'm going to wake up and make some french toast. Good night!!

Cicily :)

Breakfast fail <---------

Wow. Its been like a whole week since I last blogged. I was really on a role there for a while. I just got busy with school and everything. I have been eating good and working out despite my MIA from the blogging world. My friend Carrie and I went on a 5 miles run on Saturday! I thought I would die cuz I've only been doing interval training with short distances, but it felt pretty good and I made it through.

Last weekend was awesome! We went down to SLC for Cole's missionary reunion and despite hitting very heavy BYU Football Game/General Conference traffic, we made it to the reunion. It took us like 1 1/2 hours to go 20 miles. Ugh. I'm sorry but I could never live down there. By the time we got there, we could only stay for like 15 minutes cuz we had to meet some friends for dinner back in Salt Lake. It was actually not as awkward as I thought it was going to be. All of his companions gave me huge hugs and I got the meet his missionary president and wife. They were so nice and fun. I must say that I just love General Conference. The examples and talks of all the church leaders just strengthen my testimony of the gospel sooooo much! Elder Holland's talk about the Book of Mormon just amazed me.

Well the meaning of my title explains how my morning went today. I got up all ambitious thinking I was going to make Cole and I each a killer omlet ---->FAIL! Cole's was soggy and mine just looked gross cuz I tried to mix salsa in with it and it just looked like...sorry if I gross you out... bloody eggs. yuck. If any of you have tips on how to make a good omlet, please inform me.

So to plan B - I know I can always rely on my trusty magic bullet. So because I was now running late due to the failed attempt at omlets, I had cole whip me up a horchatta protein shake to drink on my way to class. I made it out the door and was driving to class and my protein drink dumped all over my backpack, smearing it with cinnamon and filling in all the little creases of it. So I had to haul all of my books and binder and writing utensils to class without my backpack. Oh gees.

MEAL ONE - 10:45 am

Part of a horchatta protein shake

MEAL TWO - 12:15 pmGerman Oat Mess - Old fashioned oats, Light 'n fit vanilla yogurt, cottage cheese, and almonds. I thought I would try cottage cheese instead of protein powder cuz I figure its better to eat more "natural" foods. But I just don't like cottage cheese. It was good unless I got a big gulp of cottage cheese in it.

MEAL THREE - 3:15 pm

Turkey roll up with honey mustard dressing.

MEAL FOUR - 7:00 pm

Malaysian Pizza with WW crust. Mmm. I definitely think this is my favorite meal ever. Thank you Lee and Molly for introducing it into my life. I know I can't thank you enough. I took a healthy cooking class at ISU and we had to make a healthy dish for our final. I made this and I WON! No big prizes, just some random spices. If you would like the recipe to Malaysian Pizza, just go here.

UBWO - 8:30 pm

I will confess I did not do my HIIT yesterday so I threw a little cardio into my UBWO

10 minutes of HIIT - I was going to do 20 mins, but my legs are so tired from leg day still.

DB Chest press 12, 10, 8, 6, 12

Push-ups 12

DB Bent Over Rows 12, 10, 8, 6, 12

Machine Rows 12

Shoulder Press 12, 10, 8, 6, 12

Shoulder Raises 12

DB Bicep Curls 12, 10, 8, 6, 12

Hammer Curls 12

Tricep Extensions 12, 10, 8, 6, 12

Tricep Kick-backs 12

5 Minute cool down on treadmill.

MEAL FIVE - 9:00 pmTis the season for a Pumpkin Protein Shake - Canned pumpkin, water, ice, vanilla protein powder. Mmmm. Tasted like pumkin pie.

Well this is my sixth week of BFL! That means after this week, I will be HALF WAY DONE!! I wouldn't say done, but done with this challenge. I have really tried to have the mindset throughout this challenge that its not going to be over in 12 weeks. I am going to be healthy for the rest of my life, thus, the Title of my Blog: Healthy 4 Life.

I just wanted to recap some of my beginning goals and compare them with what I've achieved so far:

BEFORE GOALS:

1. 17% Body fat

2. Size 6 pants (ha ha, I went and looked at my first post with my goals on it and I had a typo and wrote that my goal was to fit into a size 63! Whoa, big gulps eh?)

3. 140 pounds

HALF WAY POINT ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

1. Body fat will be tested on Friday (I will let you know)

2. I do not have a pair of size 6 pants, but all my pants are getting loose. I know that when Cole starts calling me Poopy Pants -- when my jeans are sagging too much and it looks like I've pooped my pants -- then my pants are getting a little baggy. ha.

3. 150 pounds whoo! I've lost about 8 pounds so far. 10 more to go! yippee!

I also want to set a new goal: To get my lazy self out of bed in the morning to workout. I don't have class until 11, I dunno what my problem is. I end up having to workout at night now which I hate. Well better do some HW! Goodnight, Sleep tight!

Cicily :)