Since moving to Ft. Campbell, I have been on and off with my commitment to working out. I am suffering from NOtivation.

 I could line up the excuses:

• Work from 8-4:30
• Desire to hang out with hubster
• Getting up at 5 am to exercise worked for 2 weeks and slowly went down hill. Not happening. My workouts just suffered, and I got cranky.
• Need to clean up/set up house
• Still recouping from moving and figuring out my life
• No gym membership so I wasn’t feeling guilty about not using that access that I had paid for

I started feeling gross and sluggish. Is there such a thing as couch sores? If so, I was getting them. So last week I did a workout with Tom since he was cleared from con-leave after surgery. I thought I was going to throw up afterwards. Looking at my running history, this hill routine should have been easier than it was for me. I put on my running shoes again last night for my first official run since moving to KY. Let’s be honest, you could barely call it a run. No actually you can’t. Grace and I walked half of the 3 miles that I logged. I only ran when I saw a car coming because I was embarrassed/ashamed that I was walking along the barracks route. I kept making excuses for myself that it was hot, too much hill, and trying to keep Grace from running after a deer. Um that huffing and puffing means that you are out of shape dear and need to start small again. At least I got off the couch for once though right?

So I have made a new plan and have it displayed on our fridge. This way I can cross each day off once complete. The achiever in me likes to cross things off lists! Yes accomplishment!

Also to spark that motivation, I decided to do this link up today. It is a fitness survey thanks to Mallory here. I am hoping that it gets my head in the game and will get me jazzed again about being fit.

1. What did you eat for breakfast? greek yogurt and granola

2. How much water do you drink a day? 3-5 bottles of water

3. What is your current favorite workout? walking Grace. She has gotten really good on the leash, and she accompanies me on most of my runs.

We love having family walks exploring outside.

I mean seriously who wouldn’t want to hang out with this sweet gal?

 4. How many calories do you eat a day? I have no clue. I am not really keen on keeping track of this stuff. It stresses me out.

5. What are your favorite healthy snacks? fruit (apples, peaches and strawberries are my favs)

6. What do you usually eat for lunch? Since I pack my lunch every day, I rotate between a deli turkey sandwich or a salad to stave off any food boredom. For sides, I usually have  cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, and a peach. Really it is a grab bag of whatever fruits and veggies we have in the fridge that week. Then, I typically have a funsize treat like a snickers bar or a Ferrer Roche.

7. What is your favorite body part to strength train? Arms. These workouts make me feel powerful, even though I have chicken arms, and in reality absolutely no strength.

8. What is your least favorite body part to strength train? Back. I inadvertently ignore it. It’s behind me…haha (not funny?)

9. What are your “bad” food cravings? Thin mints, french onion dip and chips, peach-o rings, pretty much anything chocolate that has nuts in it

10. Do you take vitamins or supplements? I take a women’s multi vitamin daily.

11. How often do you eat out? We eat out once a week for our date night.

12. Do you eat fast food? Occasionally, and it usually coincides with date night. Or it is that day before we grocery shop. I guess McDonald’s french fries can be added to a bad craving. Sometimes I just need that salty potato goodness.

13. Who is your biggest supporter? Tom. He keeps me in check and in touch with reality when I am having a down on myself kind of day. He is also really committed to his own fitness which helps boil over to me as we create a healthy family lifestyle.

14. Do you have a gym membership? Not right now. We are trying to cut back on some spending, and that was something that was cut from the budget. I am going to really try to do this workout from home thing for the next few months to see if I can just motivate myself and save some cash along the way. If anyone has some helpful hints here, I would love to hear them. Like I said, I printed out a workout schedule with goals and what not. I have also been scouring Pinterest for at-home workouts to spice things up. I just brought home some newly purchased resistance bands to get me excited about strength training again without having to worry about the bulkiness of weights and bars. It is also forcing me to be creative with my time, such as doing my strength training while watching TV with Tom. Double whammy.

15. How many hours of sleep do you get a night? 6-8 depending on the day

16. Do you have a “cheat” day? I don’t know if I would call it a cheat day, or if it is just a day to relax and indulge a bit. This usually will coincide with date night. This way I can focus on Tom and I’s relationship and strengthening that instead of feeling like I am ignoring a needed workout. And we all need a day to rejuvenate and rest our mind and body.

17. Do you drink alcohol? Occasionally. Wine and apple beer are my weaknesses.

18. Do you have a workout buddy? As of right now, no. I have considered joining a running club here in town, but we’ll see how that goes. I am a little intimidated by the idea of it to be honest. Maybe once I become more consistent with my running again. Tom occasionally is my buddy, but that’s only if I really need to be pushed, or don’t want to walk the next day. He doesn’t give me any slack, even when I remind him that I am not in the Army. Then he usually tells me that my body can do more than I think it can, and he’s right. Grrrr.

19. What is the best thing that has changed about your life since committing to a healthy lifestyle? My first 5k I ran/yogged at a 15minute pace. I never dreamed that I would be able to run a half marathon let alone three of them. I always thought I didn’t have the strength mentally or physically to run that far. Crossing that finish line after my first half was one of the most exhilarating experiences. It showed me that I can do more than I thought possible if I just put enough oomph and will power into it. That feeling was addicting and is what keeps me lacing up the running shoes and hitting the pavement again and again. It’s given me a reason to push myself to be healthy and try new things. Exercising has also become an outlet to help me in some really stressful times with Tom being gone for various Army things.

Half Marathon #1 (St. Louis, 10/2011)

Half Marathon # 2 (Kansas City, 4/2012)

Half Marathon #3 (Orlando, 2/2013)

20. What was the last healthy thing you did? My run/walk last night and renewing my commitment to being fit

I think everyone can make little changes in their life to finding a healthier you. You just have to figure out what works best for you and not worry about what the next person is doing. It’s your body not mine. I have to tell myself this a lot to not get discouraged. And then Tom has to tell me that to not get discouraged, because I usually do not listen to my own pep talks. I have really tried focusing on just doing better than I did yesterday and jumping that next hurdle to a PR or fitness challenge. I am working on my exercise baggage and this honestly helped perk up a little competitiveness inside me to show myself what I can do.

And hey maybe half marathon #4 will show those results…

I have a recipe to share today for the crafty side.

I am not able to eat large portions otherwise I get sick from over-eating. So very rarely do I eat a dish that is bigger than the size of my hand. Sounds great right? Well in theory yes, except I get hungry every couple of hours and that can make me light-headed and very sick. So in order to ward off dizziness and nauseousness  from not eating and the bloated feeling and nauseousness from over eating, I am always prepared with snacks. I have a snack drawer at work, and I have snacks in my bag at all times. I am the snack lady.

But I want to make sure that these snacks are healthy and easy.

So I searched for a an easy recipe for a muffin, bar, cookie that I could have for a mid morning snack using bananas that Tom and I can’t seem to eat fast enough. (Tom and I both like bananas with a hint of green in them. So inevitably, they go bad before we can eat them all. I do love making banana bread with these left overs, but that can get time-consuming to do each week.)

I wasn’t able to find anything that I particularly liked or thought was easy. I wanted a recipe that had things that we would always have stocked in our panty. We do not always have almond milk, agave, and cashews. So I made up a recipe that can be flexible depending on what you have. It’s all about trial and error.

• bananas
• about a cup of oats-These are to thicken the batter up, so you can use more or less depending on how much pb and bananas you put in there.
• several spoonfuls of peanut butter-I used chocolate peanut butter to test it out, I have a weakness for chocolate and the nutritional value was pretty similar when I looked at both labels if not better in some areas. So I imagine you could use regular peanut butter, or Nutella instead. I also just kept throwing in spoonfuls until it looked like everything was held together nicely. Really, there was no science to this recipe.
• half a cup of dark chocolate chips-this step could be skipped or adjusted to nuts, raisins, or other mix-ins you so choose. Did I mention that I love chocolate though?

Mix this all up and add whatever you feel necessary to make the consistency like a pasty dough. Like I said it is not really a science, you just want it to be thick enough that you can make balls out of them without it being all over your hands.

Once you have it all mixed, make a spoonful worth into a ball and put it onto a baking sheet. They don’t need to be neat by any means. Heat the oven to 350 and then bake for 15 minutes.

I will admit the chocolate makes them seem like treats, but they are much healthier than other things I could be eating. Next time I will try the plain peanut butter to see how that goes over. They are a good source of protein and a perfect little pick-me up mid-morning or mid afternoon. Two or three of them have been perfect to hold me over to the next real meal.

They look like no bake cookies, and are very similar. They are a bit spongy, so if you are texture person, just be aware of this. I think it is a good thing myself.

I believe they are delicious and will be definitely something I make again! Tom isn’t the biggest fan, so they may not be everyone’s cup of tea. I wonder if he is just saying that though so I will turn back to making banana bread with the left over bananas. I do make a mean loaf of banana bread…

Thanks for joining me on my link-up today!