My Father-in-Law

On Sunday, we went to Saro's church for mass. I always like going. We get to see some of the family and it's just nice. I was raised Catholic but we didn't attend church weekly. Only on major holidays.

We would probably go more often if Saro didn't have to work on Sunday mornings. We went because it was the 13th anniversary of his Dad's passing and he was being mentioned during mass. Saro wore his Dad's favorite suit colors - black with a red tie.

The mass is pretty long and I only understand a few words so Saro would translate here and there.

Afterwards, we stopped by the cemetery, drove through Saro's old neighborhood and then went out to lunch.

I obviously never met my father-in-law and I don't know much about him except that he was a photographer. He actually photographed one of my old manager's weddings. 

Small world!

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This last year has been quite challenging, as I know life can sometimes be. 

Sunday was a really nice day and a reminder once again how short life can be and how we shouldn't take anything or anyone for granted. 

21 Day Fix Extreme Round 1 Recap

Good Morning!

I'm eager to share our first round results. Between Saro and I, we dropped 22 lbs. in 21 days! I lost 9 and he lost 13! I also lost some inches in my waist, hips and chest. We're feeling great and today, we're starting round 2.

I'm dropping to the lower calorie range this time around.

There were a few cheats in those 3 weeks - a couple drinks this past weekend for my friend's birthday, 3 girl scout cookies, a few bites of ice cream.

This weekend we're celebrating my Mom's birthday and next weekend is Easter so I'm sure there will be a couple cheats in there as well but for 95% of the time, I plan to stick to it.

What I try to do is if I want a treat, I'll sub out a yellow (carb) container. It seems to work.

I'm amazed that I've been able to hop out of bed before the run rises to get my workouts done. It feels good to get home after work and not have to rush to get my workout in, cook dinner, etc. Now, I can actually sit down around 7:00 versus 8:30 or 9:00.

I definitely recommend this program if you've been working out and are looking to jump start your metabolism and break that plateau. I'm not an expert but I wouldn't recommend the Extreme for an exercise newbie (maybe try the regular 21 DF first). I mainly use 8 lb. dumbbells and 5 lb. as my light weights. It's a lot of jumping (with the weights) - low and high impact. I often stick to lower impact (just not jumping as high or slamming my feet as hard when landing) due to my low back issue.

After the next 3 weeks, it'll put us right on schedule to start our 8 week training for our 10k race in June. By then, I'll up the calories again because it's 3-4 days of running per week on top of cross training and I'll need those extra carbs.

Have you tried the 21 DF and/or Extreme? If so, what were your results and thoughts on the program?

A Dry St. Patrick's Day // 21 DF Update: Week 3

Talk about willpower for this Irish girl. I'm sticking to the 21 DF plan and NOT having beer today for probably the first St. Patrick's Day in 12 years.

I do plan on having corned beef for lunch - minus the rye bread (my favorite bread!) and potatoes. I'll stick to the beef, mustard and cabbage.

I've mentioned before that it's so hard to stay on track in my office. It's someone's birthday every week, people randomly bring in bagels, cookies, muffins and lunch is catered usually twice/week. However, when you see the results and programs working, it's so much easier to avoid these foods.

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As of today, I'm down 6.5 lbs. Over the last 16 days, I've admitted to myself that sugar (real OR artificial), most dairy (I believe it's OK in moderation - 21 DF recommends one tbsp. of lowfat milk per cup of coffee, 1/2 cup Greek yogurt or subbing a yellow container for a glass of milk 3x/week), white bread, pasta, rice (UGH I LOVE Jasmine and Basmati), and alcohol are the culprits to ill health and lack of weight loss. The devil! But why oh WHY do all foods that contain these items taste DELICIOUS?!

Let me tell you a REAL brownie with flour and sugar is NOT the same as using coconut flour, honey and applesauce. Hmph.

Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of very healthy foods that taste good. Especially when you're starving. A salad tastes like a juicy steak!

We plan to continue the 21 DF eating plan but not stressing if there's a birthday, holiday or other special occasion. A bunch of birthdays are coming up, Easter, and vacation next month.

Another thing I really noticed is that since I started the 21 DF and have been drinking Shakeology about every other day, my hot flashes are gone. From going off of the pill in November, they started again in December through February. Not often but often enough. I haven't had one in the last 2.5 weeks!

So if this is another huge plus to the plan, I'll definitely take it.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

21 Day Fix Extreme Update & Beachbody On Demand

Hey guys! 

Today is our tenth day of the 21 Day Fix Extreme and I'm feeling great this morning. 

I lost a solid 3-4 lbs. during the first week.

I'm still not feeling 100% after having a sinus infection and slight bronchitis last week but I'm better than I was a couple days ago and the warmer weather definitely helps! I still pushed through the workouts and kept my eating on point.

It hasn't been easy but definitely doable. For two whole days last week, I had a hungry/hollow feeling in my stomach (despite eating plenty) that didn't go away until I ate a big dinner on Sunday night - two chicken breasts, salad and brown rice. I can't tell if it was from the antibiotics I was on or from my stomach adjusting to the eating plan. However, that pain subsided on Monday afternoon.

I honestly can't tell you the last time I went a weekend without having dessert and/or multiple glasses of wine or skipped half and half in my coffee. I really needed this body reset and I really don't even miss it!

The workouts are really good although I feel like I'm cheating on PiYo/Chalene Johnson. I like that weights are incorporated. I'm using 5 lb. and 8 lb. as well as a 15 lb. resistance band. I don't burn too many calories during Upper Fix or Pilates Fix but they're still a great workout. I'm hoping to go for a quick run after work today since it's supposed to be in the mid 50s (gasp!) here today.

Saro and I both had major cabin fever this winter. I seriously felt depressed and he's itching to get out in the yard. He can spend hours out there and loves it.

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I know I am not a Beachbody coach but I also wanted to share that Beachbody programs are now available on demand! This is perfect for our upcoming vacation next month or if we feel so inclined to workout outside! I'm looking forward to utilizing the hotel gyms and hopefully getting a few quick runs in while we're in Seattle and California.

One concern I have is that we are gone for 9 days and won't have access to a washing machine and I sure as heck am not spending $5 or more per article to have the hotel(s) wash our clothes. I am thinking about bringing a small Tide and just washing some of our workout clothes in the bathtub so avoid smelliness.. LOL. Sounds like a plan.

Coffee with Coconut Oil

Hey All! 

I'm on day #4 of the 21 Day Fix Extreme and it's going great so far. Yesterday, I was down 2.5 lbs. since Sunday and my husband was down 5. I'd be happy with losing 5 all together within the next 2-3 weeks. I have to say I've been feeling more hungry however I feel like I've been eating MORE... which is weird. 

I've seen the idea of using coconut oil in coffee instead of cream but I shrugged it off because I've tried coconut milk and coconut creamer and didn't like either one.

The key is to use a blender and it's amazing how it works.

Blend your warm coffee with 1 tsp. coconut oil, dash cinnamon and 1 tsp vanilla extract. I was shocked by how light it turned and how creamy and frothy it was - similar to a latte! This will be my go-to each morning. Let me know if you try it. You can obviously use other flavored extracts or spices - almond, mint, pumpkin spice or nutmeg would be yummy too.

Flywheel Class & Day One: 21 Day Fix Extreme

Yesterday, I went to Flywheel with Angela and two other friends. According to my Polar, I burned 610 calories in 48 minutes! It was a great sweat as spin class typically is. I would go more often if the studio was closer and it was a little less pricey. 

This morning, my husband and I started the 21 DF extreme by Beachbody. We did the workout before work which always feels great after it's over. Now we're done for the day! Today's workout was Plyo (jumping) with weights. It was tough! I burned 281 calories in 30 minutes.

I never did the regular 21 Day Fix but I read that the extreme is intermediate to advanced.

I have to get used to using the color coded containers for my food or at least use them to measure. Thankfully, there's an iPhone app for it :)

I think the hardest part of this will be no cream in my coffee but truthfully, the black coffee wasn't terrible this morning. It's definitely doable. The second hardest will be no sweets and the third hardest will be that glass of wine on Friday nights after a long week.

I took before pictures this morning @ 6 a.m. before the sun even came up. They're pretty terrible looking, ha!

Have a great week!