spring clean up.

hey guys! this one is gonna be a heavy post. consider yourself warned!

it seems like this post might be silly when i consider the serious life threatening events that have happened with my mom lately, but ultimately.. this stuff does matter and i can’t just pretend like the issue isn’t there, so i am going to address it—no matter how insignificant it may be in my life right now. yes, i see the bigger picture and know that all that really matters is that my mom is doing well and we are a happy, healthy family—but this post is about the smaller picture.

i haven’t talked seriously about my meals & moves in a long time. sure, i show you guys some of my meals and share lots of new recipes i create and clue you in on the random workouts i do.. but i haven’t sat down to write about what’s really going on in a long, long time.  the reason is because i haven’t even thought about what’s really going on in a long, long time.

i used to be a meal planner. a workout schedule follower. a goal setter. i had a lot of organization when it came to what i ate, how i exercised, the supplements & vitamins i would take, the amount of water i consumed each day.  i wasn’t EVER obsessive about things, i was just responsible. proactive. this all came naturally and it kept me in line.. and it also kept me at a happy spot with my weight and i always felt good about myself. on top of things. in control.

well, lately.. as in, the past 6 months or so, i think that i have fallen into a trap.  a trap of not paying much attention to when i eat, how much i am mindlessly eating, how many carbs i am OVEReating. i don’t have a set workout schedule, i just do what i feel like. i haven’t drank a gallon of water a day once this whole year. my vitamin and supplement habits are sporadic. basically, i am all over the place.

i blame this on the combination of two things: “married life” and “busy life”.  i have totally lost all structure in both my meals and my moves.  i have become a little TOO “go with the flow”.

now, before you think i am being ridiculous and over the top, let me point out the good things.

foodwise: i eat healthy. dang healthy. i have been focusing a LOT on eating all natural and organic foods.  i would say that 90% of the food choices i make are healthy ones. i do eat out, but i limit dining out to an average of twice per week.  i make the majority of my food from scratch and the only calories i drink are in the form of a splash almond milk in my coffee and an occasional kombucha (when i can afford it!) otherwise it is always water. i don’t remember the last time i drank alcohol. i have had a total of three sodas in the past 15 months. i know a lot about eating healthy and i apply my knowledge to my diet each and every day.

exercisewise: i work out regularly. i would say i work out an average of 5 days a week. i have been doing 2 or 3 bodyrock.tv workouts each week and 2 or 3 cardio sessions at the gym each week. i can run 10 MPH on the treadmill for two minutes—i am damn proud of that. i am able to do the intense bodyrock.tv workouts with ease. yes, they are challenging, but not so challenging that i can’t do them. i can run five miles without stopping and it’s no big deal. i am in shape.

see? i am not too hard on myself. i realize all the good i am doing. i have healthy habits!

but i can’t keep ignoring something: i am not exactly comfortable with myself right now.

i don’t weigh myself, i haven’t in over a year. and i wouldn’t say that the main problem is my weight. it is just how i feel.  sure, certain clothes (read: jeans) don’t fit me as well as i would like them to.. but that’s not the biggest problem. the biggest problem is i just don’t feel good.

i am eating too much at meal times.

i am eating too many random handfuls of snacks here and there.

i am not drinking nearly enough water.

i am not lifting weights.

i am not getting enough sleep at night.

i am eating too much sugar.

i am kind of out letting everything get of control, while i keep trying to tell myself i am  in control.

and guess what? i am kind of turning into a bitch because of it. i am cranky sometimes and i KNOW it is 100% because i am not giving my body the attention and respect it deserves. and, consequently, i have a bad attitude about things.. and that’s just not right. and it isn’t fair to myself or to the people i am grumpy towards.

my go with the flow, unmotivated attitude has spilled over into other aspects of my life. my car is a mess. i have a to-do list a MILE long. there are 14 people i need to mail things to. i am just getting way, way, WAY too unorganized. it’s lame.

it’s time for a wake up call. a spring clean up.  no, i am not talking about cleaning up my house (although we did a lot of that today). i am talking about cleaning up my act. time to set some goals. plan some meals. have some structure. regain control of my habits and in turn regain control of my happiness.

i usually keep this blog light-hearted, but sometimes when i need to buckle down, i become an over-sharer and tell you guys a bunch of stuff you could have very well gone without knowing. i feel like one benefit to blogging is it helps with accountability and responsibility. so, i am putting it out there. i am going to be better from now on.  i am going to revert back to my old habits.

pretty sure i haven’t set a single goal since before my wedding. yikes! so, without further procrastination, here are a few of my goals when it comes to meals & moves:

• drink a gallon of water daily
• eat at least 125 grams of protein daily—spacing it out at each meal
• take all my vitamins & supplements regularly
• stick to a workout schedule
• stop grabbing handful after handful of random stuff when i am at home just because it is there and i am bored (peanut butter filled pretzels, cereal, mary’s crackers, dark chocolate)
• don’t eat while driving (i swear this is my downfall—when i eat my snack in the car i feel like i didn’t eat a snack at all)

those are just a few things i am going to be focusing on.

how is this going to affect you, my reader? well, you might be seeing some calorie counts. and you will probably see more of my meals. and you will definitely see more goal setting and checking in. these are all things i used to do often but kind of let drop by the wayside.

OKAY! so, how about i show you day one of spring clean up?

breakfast @ 11 AM: egglewich + big mug of coffee.

i ate breakfast at 11 AM today because i didn’t wake up until 10. i LOVE sleeping in.

i fried an egg in a cast iron skillet and sandwiched it between a toasted thomas bagel thin.

i was sent these bagel thins for review* and i am not gonna lie, i really do like them. i think the key to enjoying them is to not think you are eating a bagel, because they don’t taste like a bagel. if you want a bagel then eat a bagel. if you want a delicious option for sandwiches, use a bagel thin.  they really do taste good and the nutritional statistics can’t be beat:

6 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber—plus they are whole wheat. i could see myself buying these and using them in regular breakfast rotation in the future.

i spread a wedge of laughing cow cheese on the toasted bagel thin before placing the egg on top.

215 calories, 15g protein, 26g carbs, 7g fat

i kept it pretty light because i was heading to the gym and didn’t want to barf all over the treadmill. what? it could happen.

marshall and i headed to the gym together around noon. i headed to the treadmill for the following HIIT routine:

minute #	speed (MPH)	intensity (RPE)
1	6	5
2	6	5
3	6.5	6
4	7	7
5	7.5	8
6	8	9
7	6.5	6
8	7	7
9	7.5	8
10	8	9
11	6.5	6
12	7	7
13	7.5	8
14	8	9
15	6.5	6
16	7	7
17	7.5	8
18	8	9
19	10	10
20	3	5

i finished up with 20 minutes of walking at 15% incline and 3 MPH while reading my new issue of oxygen magazine.

marshall was still working out, so i did about 10 minutes of various ab work and 10 minutes of stretching.

lunch @ 2 PM: green monster.

in the mix:

• 1 cup almond milk
• 10 ice cubes
• 1 serving vanilla whey protein powder
• 1 small banana
• 5 strawberries
• 4-5 leaves of kale
• 1 tsp chia seeds
• 1/8 tsp each xanthan & guar gums

350 calories, 30g protein, 40g carbs, 8g fat

notice the new message on our table jar???

never thought i would say it.. but i am so over winter!

after my liquid lunch, it was productivity time. not only am i spring cleaning my habits—i am spring cleaning my house.

marshall and i got to work and after a few hours of solid cleaning, the whole house is spotless. AND all the laundry is done. AND folded. i figure i have to have a clean house if i want to clean up my habits.

i snagged my snack at about 4:45, right before heading to costco & target. it was a perfect foods fruit & nut bar (no photo) which is 280 calories, 18g protein, 26g carbs and 15g fat.

i am pretty proud that i successfully hit up costco, the pet store, khol’s AND target all in under 90 minutes. um, wow.

i got home and fixed dinner.

dinner @ 7 PM: lemon basil chicken pasta + broccoli.

this dinner was marshall’s special request. it’s one of my favorite meals so i was totally OK with it.

i started out by sautéing an onion and a pound of diced chicken breast in a skillet.

i added the chicken to the sauce that i had prepared while the chicken cooked. for the sauce, i combined the juice of 2 lemons, 1/4 cup of hummus, 5 small diced tomatoes, one bunch of chopped basil, salt and pepper.

i tossed the sauce with whole wheat spaghetti noodles for marshall and steamed spaghetti squash for me. i steamed some broccoli, broiled some garlic bread and finished it off with a sprinkle of asiago cheese.

this was a tasty, quick dinner that came together in no time. my portion, with the garlic bread, clocked in at 400 calories, 35g protein, 37g carbs and 11g fat.

i am going to have some greek yogurt & a vitatop as soon as i hit publish, which will end my day at 1400 calories, 113g protein, 161g carbs and 41g fat.. a protein/carb/fat ratio of 43/31/26—not bad.

okay, NO, you will not be seeing calorie counts like this every day. and NO you won’t see every meal i eat. i have never been a serious calorie counter (way too much effort!) and i really don’t have an amount of calories i am aiming for.. i just tracked today’s stats to see where i was and to make sure the ol’ eyeball method was still on point with the calories and macros i thought i was taking in.  i really prefer using the fist/palm eyeball portion method. turns out, i was right.. and my eyeball method was still spot on. i guess it’s just like riding a bike. i just needed to pull the bike out of the garage and put some air in the tires, eh?

well.. that’s enough out of me. thanks for listening. have a great monday!

Qs~

1. what is one goal you are working on in your life right now?

2. are you mindful of calories or do you have zero idea about how many you eat?

xo. janetha g.

*see my FTC disclosure here.