Goodbye 2013

The last day of the year . . . WOW DID TIME FLY!!! All day long I keep thinking about all the things that I did this last year!

My Favorite Memories of 2013: 

# Cruise with my husband to the Caribbean 

# Family trip to Yellow Stone Nation Park 

# Having my Family all together for one last Sunday Dinner 

# Not gaining any weight :) 

# Driving in a Car Show even though we were no suppose to, we never got caught ;) 

# Running a Half Marathon 

# Family Reunion 

# Lots of Hikes to the Wind Caves 

I have had some crappy things happen as well this year, but all of those have just made me a stronger person. I have a better outlook on life and I am grateful for the things that I do have. 

I am ready for a new year. I am ready for new goals and to become a better person! Happy New Years!!!! 

Strawberry Spinach Breakfast Drink!

Strawberry Spinach Breakfast Drink

You Need: 

1 Cup Spinach 

1 Cup Unsweetened Almond Milk 

1 Scoop Vanilla Whey Protein 

2 TBLS Vanilla Greek Yogurt 

1/2 Banana

1 Cup Strawberries 

Blend and ENJOY! 

Happy Holliday's!

Christmas came and went like it does every year. It comes to fast. This year I don't even want to take my Christmas decorations down yet! My family and I had a fantastic Christmas. We are truly blessed. I am so grateful for family this year. On Christmas Eve we had dinner at our house and even though it was Stressful to get ready for it, it was so much fun and I would do it all again next year. Being a parent is so much fun on Christmas. I love to see how excited my little guys got, over all the small stuff like socks and underwear!

This week Ive allowed myself to sleep in and get some much needed rest. I have still had some pretty good workouts and I am TRYING so hard to eat healthy, but I did not stick to perfect clean eating this week. And oh I can feel it today! I feel so sluggish and FAT! Good thing my husband got me a treadmill for Christmas! I am SUPER EXCITED!!! I love it so much! I have been able to burn off those added Calories from my living room and its so nice not waking up at 5 AM and head out into the freezing cold!

I will post my New Years resolutions later. This list may be long :) I hope you all had a great Christmas and you all have a Happy New Year!

Motivation Monday!

I can't believe Christmas is almost here! WOOHOO!!! This week I need some major motivation to keep me from eating Christmas treats, I can't be alone on the right??? So lets do this together!

This is for all my readers that are traveling this year . . . Watch out for those Abs of Steel! 

Sausage Tin Foil Dinner

Dinner was so Delish! It was not one of my normal dinners and my boys ate it up! Here is the recipe.
This recipe is to make 5 Tin foil dinners. I added some brown rice as a side and a Peach Tea drink, Yum!

You Need: 

5 Turkey Sausage 

2 Cups Chopped Celery

2 Cups Chopped Mushrooms

1 Cup Diced Onion

2 Cups Sliced Asparagus

2 Cups Baby Carrots

Sprinkle of Seasoning Salt for Each

5 12X12 Pieces of Heavy Duty Foil

Pre-heat Oven to 350 Degrees. Divide all ingredients up, onto the five tinfoil pieces. Roll up all the edges. Bake for 45 Minutes. Careful removing them, they are HOT! Enjoy!!! 

December Update

Its over . . . My gallbladder is gone! Best part, I survived the surgery with no complications. After being sick for over a month, I feel like a new person. I don't know what caused me to have Gallbladder disease, I don't fit into the "normal" of people who get it, but it makes me see that I have to take care of the body I have. I don't get another chance at this. 

I am very grateful for my sweet husband who put up with me while I was sick. He is amazing and I a so grateful for him helping me! I am blessed to have such and amazing family and friends who really cared and were so supportive! 

Now that I am gallbladder free, I feel like I am on a mission to eat healthy. I don't want to ruin my other body parts just because something sounds good. I am making each day a healthier one. Its been so hard to get back into my gym routine. Waking up at 5:30 AM and walking out into snow and -9 degree weather is not my idea of a good time. But, I will only accomplish my goals if I really want to, nobody else wakes me up and tells me to go to the gym. So I go, out into the cold . . . I go! 

If you don't follow my awesome instagram, these are some pictures from the last month! 

Last Day at the gym. . . Killed it! 

Surgery Time . . . Goodbye Gallbladder! 

A Selfie, Why not??? 

The boys and I made a ginger bread house! Merry Christmas! 

My first day back to teaching! Oh, it HURT! 

Whole Grain Bread

Maybe its because it is December and I love the baking season, but I have been eating some amazing carbs :) I have been making a couple of loafs of bread in my moms bread maker and I think I have come up with my favorite recipe! This recipe is for the softest Wheat Bread that I have ever made out of my bread maker! I love it because I can put what I want in it, its cheaper and healthier then store bought.

Wheat Bread Recipe:

You Need:

2 Cups White Flour 

1 Cup Warm Water

1 TBLS Yeast 

2 TBLS of White Sugar or Raw Honey 

1/4 Cup Vegetable Oil 

2 TBLS Butter

1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour

2 TBLS Flax Seed 

2 TBLS Oats 

1 TSP Salt 

Put the Water, Sugar, and Yeast into the pan of the bread machine. Let the yeast dissolve. Then add all other ingredients. I put my bread on the Light setting. ( I don't like a hard crust )

Thats it! Easy, 4 hours later yummy  bread! 

Motivation Monday!

This is my last week to workout before my surgery, so I am KILLING it in the gym and in the Kitchen! 

Well at least I am trying to . . . So how about some motivation??? 

NOVEMBER????

FIRST, I should say HAPPY (late) HALLOWEEN! 

Welcome NOVEMBER! How did this happen? November already! Its true the older you get the faster time goes. This last month has been a struggle for me. I have been very sick. I have been in and out of the ER and Doctors and had tests done, just to find out the my gallbladder has stopped functioning. I am just grateful that they were FINALLY able to tell me what was wrong! So out goes my gallbladder. I am not to concerned about my gallbladder being gone, I am mad that I can't exercise for 3 weeks. I think I have a gym addiction when this seems to be my biggest worry ;) 

I have been down on a very low calorie and very healthy diet, and have not lost a pound, but my body is responding VERY well to this super healthy life style. I have been able to create some new recipes, super healthy recipes! 

Also after being so sick, it makes me grateful for the days that I feel good. I took them for granted. So I guess out of every trial, something good can come out of it, we just have to look. ( I hope to keep this positive attitude ). 

I want to thank all of my awesome supporters! The nice comments that I have gotten make me feel like all of this is worth it. I never thought that I could inspire anybody, and knowing that I have helped others makes me love what I do even more! Again, THANK YOU!!! 

Some friday motivation! 

Happy Halloween from the BOYS! 

Some friday motivation! 

TGIF!!!!

YAY FOR FRIDAY!!!

Seriously, this week has been soooo long!

My sister and I are in the competition for $50.00. To see who can lower are body percentages the most. So far, she winning. She sends me these pictures of her AWESOME Abs and I think . . . I HATE YOU! Then it motivates me . . . so thank you SISTER! I can not let her have my $50. I am winning this thing.

I have set some new goals for October. These goals better help me drop pounds! Cutting is the HARDEST thing I have ever done. I love food. I love to eat. I did not see how much I love food until I started to cut. BUT . . . I have seen major changes in my body by just 1 or 2 days of eating "clean". Remember food is fuel, we don't need to be eating all the time, and eating anything we want, we need to eat enough to survive. I can train 2 hours a day in the gym and won't loose a pound, unless I eat healthier.

So my OCTOBER GOALS: (even though I am 10 days late)

• LOW CARBS 
• MORE CARDIO - Depending on the day 20-30 minutes of HIIT Cardio
• MORE REPS 
• DRINK MORE WATER - I SUCK AT THIS, who wants to be in the bathroom every 30 minutes? 
• SWEAT MORE 
• EAT LESS SUGAR ( Chocolate Mostly . . . mmmmm CHOCOLATE!) 
• HAVE A POSITIVE ATTITUDE 

So a couple things I need to work on, I may  not see the number on the scale dropping much any more but, I am seeing my abs a little more and that is motivation enough for me! 

ENJOY YOUR WEEKEND! 

MARISSA 

Cinnamon Apple Sauce

Its Fall and that means . . . APPLES! I have buckets of apples and have been making homemade apple sauce to try and use up as many as I can. I found a great recipe but it had TONS of sugar. So I came up with a healthier alternative. My family LOVES it. It does have a little sugar in it, so its not perfect Clean eating, but its better then buying it in the store and WAY cheaper!

YOU NEED:
16 Cups of Chopped / Peeled Apples
1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
1 TSP Allspice
2 TSP Cinnamon
1/2 TSP Cloves
1 Cup Water

I cooked mine in my Pressure Cooker, but you can cook it on the stove in a big pot. If you are using a pressure cooker, just throw all ingredients in pot, and set it to High Pressure and Cook 20 Minutes. When done, just stir it all up. The apples are soft, and its easy to mash everything together. I canned mine, this recipe makes 2 Pint Jars.

SUPER EASY. The only bad part is peeling and chopping apples, AHHH! But in the end its worth it!

Welcome Back ME!

It has been waaayyyy, to long!!! I took a little break, from my blog. I did not know if I even wanted to continue it, but I missed writing and I have had 26,000 views on this blog. I can't give up now!

So quick update:
I have not really changed in measurements. I have started a higher protein, lower calorie bulk. I am trying to gain a little more muscle. I am still planning on competing in the Spring. It is my goal and I am going to work my hardest to get there! I feel stronger, but feel like I still have fat to loose and it is NOT easy! I am really trying to stick with my clean eating diet, but lets face it . . . I have not! CONFESSION TIME! My husband and I took us to Yellowstone over the weekend, and what do you do in Yellowstone? Drive around and eat.

So I am back, it is Monday and new week and I am ready to make my body feel good again! I am ready to kill it in the gym and the kitchen! I post almost everyday on Instagram, follow me! BARBIEMARISSA is my username :) Yes, I still want to look like a barbie, just with muscle!

So this week I am going to post a couple AMAZING recipes that I have come up with that are healthy and good! Ice Cream is one of them, who know you could have healthy ice cream?

Thanks for reading!!!
MARISSA


And even though, NONE of these pictures are fitness or health related, they are just a couple of the most beautiful places we saw on our adventure to Yellowstone National Park!

Beets

So I found a site about beets, and the healthy benefits. The WEBSITE HERE. I planted beets in my garden, and have a TON of them. While I was looking up recipes I found tons of information on how healthy they are. Even though they taste like dirt, they are so good for you!


Just a couple healthy benefits. 

• Beets give you ENERGY! 
• No Fat and low in Calories 
• Beets can help guard cancer ( Thats good enough for me to eat them! ) 
• Beets are High in Vitamins and Minerals: Iron, Magnesium, Fiber, and Folic Acid are just a couple!

I found a couple things in "google search" and I had to share. 

My son is VERY low in iron and his body does not absorb vitamins. The doctors can not tell us why and its not been easy to deal with. Yesterday I made a smoothy with beets and I gave a tiny bit to my son who I thought would waste it. He drank it all up and wanted more! You can taste the beets in this smoothy but they are not strong and think about all the health benefits. 

Beet Smoothy Recipe:

1 Scoop Vanilla Protein 

1/2 Cup Strawberries 

1 Banan 

1 Small Cooked Beet 

8 oz Almond Milk 

1 Cup Ice 

Blend all ingredients very well and enjoy! 

This smoothy is PINK! 

Look at my instagram for pictures of our beet smoothy and my pink son! 

Username: barbiemarissa 

http://instagram.com/barbiemarissa/

Another Saturday

Today, I was not able to go to the gym this morning, so it looks like a run tonight is going to be my exercise. I have not been great about training for the half marathon that is coming up in just 2 months!   ( I seriously don't like to run. ) But, I need to add more cardio into my schedule. I have got to lower my body fat.

Yesterday was a big day for me! If you follow my instagram you will see that I went to our public pool.  No this is not anything new, but what was new is that I wore a bikini to the public pool for the first time in 9 years!!!! I did not feel fat, I did not feel self conscious. I love my swim suit and I have worked hard for the body that I have. So, after trying on about 9 different swim suits I finally just decided that I don't care what others think, I am wearing the one that I like. We had a great day, and I am so glad that I got our of my comfort zone just a little!

Me and my Son just playing at the pool! 

Its been to long!

It has been 3 weeks since I posted last! WAY TO LONG! My husband and I went on a cruise. Then I was without internet for a week and finally I am back!

Our vacation was a blast! Even though I gained . . . 8 POUNDS! I honestly did not even know that was possible in a week. I cried. All my hard work was taken away in a week! But, its been 2 weeks since I came home and have lost all but 2 pounds of it. Which makes me feel way better. The first day I ate really healthy. I even got fruit for dessert. Then after the first day it all went down hill. I figure I am never going to eat like this again and I ate whatever I wanted, obviously I went a little over the top ;) I exercised 4 times on our 6 day cruise, the gym on the cruise only had a small section of weights and every time I went it was packed with guys lifting no more then 15-20 pound weights. I wanted to tell them to move over and let me really lift! But, I decided to be nice and just show them up, with heavier weights and that made me feel better!

Here are a couple pictures of our vacation. It was great to just have the time alone with my husband and forget about all our other worries. I can't wait to go again!

\

So now, its time to get back to normal life. Its not been the easiest thing for me to get back to clean eating. I also had a couple days that I did not want to go workout. I know what I want, and that is not going to happen with being lazy and junk food. So I have quickly changed those habits. I am still struggling with food, but I am motivated and I can eat healthy if I chose too! 

End of the 6 week challenge!

Well Summer is here and so that means that my challenge to be fit by Summer is over! I really tried, not going lie, I had some hard days with my eating. But, I worked out 6 days a week, sometimes 2 times a day! I know that I did my best and I can't wait to see what changes I can make by the end of Summer!
I promised a picture so here it its. My 6 week challenge "Before and After"! Not a huge difference but enough that I dropped a pant size and 4 pounds. Also I think my legs gained some muscle for the first time ever ;) Thanks to my awesome sister for workout with me she is totally my motivation and she pushes me to do more then I thought I could! I love her for that! Thanks again SISTER!

Orange Sunshine Smoothie

Last night at the grocery store I found Honey Orange Greek Yogurt, and knew that I could build an AWESOME smoothie around yogurt alone! So here is the recipe.

Orange Sunshine Smoothie

8 oz Pineapple Juice 

1/2 Cup Orange Honey Greek Yogurt 

Vanilla Whey Protein 

1 Banana

1/2 Peeled Orange 

Blend until Smooth. SUPER EASY! 

Update!

I know that its been a while since my last post and I hate that!!! I have been crazy busy trying to get ready for Summer and my kids finishing school! I have been feeling great, and besides today falling during Box Jumps, I had a great Leg workout! (and luckily, only a couple people saw it happen)

Week 5 of my 6 week challenge was not the best for working out, but it was the best for eating. My gym was closed, so I did not get my hard workouts in 2 times a day that I wanted to, but I still worked out 6 times last week. I have made huge changes in my eating this last couple weeks. I have been eating  higher amounts of protein and lower amounts of carbs and sugar. Just from that I feel so much better, and I am able to workout harder and longer without all the junk food. I will post my final pictures soon. I hope that I can see a difference, I have worked so hard for it. But, if not then I won't be mad because I know that I have worked harder these last 6 weeks then I ever have. I love this new me and no matter what I don't want to change this lifestyle. I am a better happier person and these last 6 weeks have pushed me and made me see what my body can do!

Oatmeal

Oatmeal is so boring and I think its super gross plain. So I came up with a list of different ways to spice up your plain oatmeal, but still keep it healthy.

Add a Fruit or Vegetable:
Cranberries
Raisins
Strawberries
Flax Seed
Craisins
Banana
Pumpkin

Cherries
Applesauce
Blueberries
Rasberries
Peaches
Chopped Apples
Dates
Dried Fruit
Walnuts Or Almonds


Add a Flavor or Spice: 
Peanut butter
Chopped Nuts
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
Ginger
Honey
Maple Syrup
Cocoa Powder
Vanilla
Fruit Jam
Protein Powder
Almond or Coconut Butter

Add a Liquid thats not just water or skim milk: 

Almond Milk
Coconut Milk
Yogurt

Mix and match all of these! A couple ideas:

• Peanut butter and Cocoa, 
• Pumpkin, Nutmeg and Cinnamon  topped with Almond milk. 
• Strawberries, Vanilla, and Yogurt. 
• Flax Seed, Raisins, and Almond Milk, Sprinkled with Cinnamon. 

Because of all these new ways to eat oatmeal, it is my new favorite breakfast. Tell me how you like your oatmeal, I'd love to hear another new creation! Enjoy!

Calf Presses!

So I have to brag for a minute! Today I maxed out the calf press machine at 400 pounds! I did 3 sets of 10 reps at 400 pounds! I know that its just a calf press machine, but for me to say I can max out any machine is a good day!!! 

Quick Update: Yesterday I stuck to my 1200 calories. It was not that hard. I actually feel better today, not eating so much food and drinking more water! 

Another Great Monday!

Hello Monday!

This weekend, I ran my first 10K race. We finished and I only stopped running one time. I was proud of that! I can't wait to do another race. I loved the feeling that I get from crossing that finish line, and I won a water bottle! This is big for me, because I never win ANYTHING! ( I will post pictures of the race as soon as I can). The race was fun and I got to run with one of my best friends! I can't wait for the 15K thats coming up!

This 2 weeks I have stayed at the same weight. So I am changing things up a bit. This week, I am cutting all bread. I am going to 1200 calories a day. I have been at 1500-1800 but I am stuck and not loosing any more fat. So this week, I am changing it up! I have less then 3 weeks till Summer and I will not let myself down. I want to see a difference in my 6 week pictures! I think that this week is going to be the hardest week yet!!!

My New Goals on my Phone:

• Drink 80oz of water a day
• More Cardio
• No Bread / Sugar
• More Stretching / Yoga 
• Spend More Time with my Kids 
• More Abdominal Exercises 
• 1200 Calories a Day 

10K Race

Tomorrow morning, a friend and I are running my first 10K Race. I have ran further then 6 miles, but this is the first time I am actually racing 6 Miles. I am so excited for this! I can't wait!!! Crossing that finish line is going to be a great feeling.

I'll post pictures tomorrow!

I want this shirt! 

Yoga

So I have been to a Yoga class two times, both times I loved it. I felt calm and relaxed and had a great experience. I was asked to teach a the Tuesday Yoga class and the gym, I asked her if she was sure she was asking the right person! But, in the end I said, I would teach.

I was nervous and after the first 5 minutes of class felt like forever I started to panic that I would not know what to do the last 55 minutes! Maybe it was the calm relaxing music, and the stretching, but I just kept on going and before I knew it the class was OVER! Everyone said that I did a great job, and it felt really good to have a full hour of stretching. I actually was in the a better mood the rest of that day. I was relaxed and calm and felt like a new person!

I am now adding yoga into my regular workouts. Even just 20 minutes of stretching on my own, is better then nothing! I can't wait till it gets warmer and I can take my yoga mat out onto the lawn and stretch in the Sun.