mimm~

3/18/2013

1 Comment

 

Happy Monday! I am writing this on Sunday and am sure I will NOT be having a happy Monday after celebrating St. Patty's day tonight...Oh well. I did have a fairly marvelous weekend up to this point though! 
After work on Saturday I took my lovely grandma (who is in town visiting) out for lunch. I know she likes beer so I took her to a local restaurant that has a brewery. Sadly they were out of many of the beers we wanted to try but she ended up liking hers anyway and I still got to try their "Special Bitter" which was tasty. Yummy salads too. 


Not so marvelous is my realization that I need to rest my knee and should cut down on the running. My knee had felt really good throughout much of my training for the half but this last week it has been aching like crazy. Any tips to help a girl out? For now I guess I will stick with low impact and strength workouts...ugh
Morning add on! Last night was fun and I am going to go die at work now...Happy Monday

mimm~

2/18/2013

1 Comment

 

Isn't the new MIMM tag super cute?? I wish I was creative.... Anyway how was your weekend? Mine is not quite over yet because I have President's Day off!! Woohooo to not dreading a Monday for once.
As you can tell from the photo above my Friday nights are SUPER crazy. It was a bike day since I ran 6 miles the night before but I still managed to get a good mileage and calorie burn out of it. The bottom picture is just how empty the gym is on a Friday night...There was like 10 cars.
For Valentine's Day my mom got me super bright running socks...she knows me too well. I also have hot pink and neon orange so beware of the glow when I take off my shoes. She didn't get me candy because everyone knows I scour the stores on the day after and by enough to send a small country into a sugar coma....
Try this X3. Now time to practice some self control and not eat it all in a day. 
I am finally on the ACV train! I have only had it for 3 days now so I don't notice any difference but I hope it works the wonders that people say it does. 


Hope your Monday is marvelous as well!


Has taking Apple Cider Vinegar done anything for you?
Anyone else stocking up on clearance Valentine's Day candy?
 
Look-ey Look-ey at the new theme!!! If only Jenn knew that I basically pound Halloween candy like it's water and there is nothing "healthy" about the season for me...oh well I guess there is no time like the present to start growing up!

Another Wednesday and another week I have forgotten to take pictures throughout the day. Today I started off pretty solid with a breakfast photo:
(I didn't say it was exciting but it was breakfast so it counts). Chobani with Love Grown granola and the usual coffee.

So I had mung bean cakes for lunch. I have no idea what they are except that they are sold at the Korean grocery across the street from where I live and they are so good. I drench those puppies (I hope not!...sorry bad joke....) in Sriracha and I am good to go. I was going to take a picture but I was at work and the lunch room was oddly busy at 2pm. I was already eating semi-stinky food, I didn't want to then take a picture of it...


So instead I will show you something I am so proud of:
LOOK AT THAT FRIDGE!!! Veggies galore up in that .....female dog....

I am so excited to jam pack my lunches this week and weekend with every single bit of this (or as much as my mom will allow without getting mad that I stole all the broccoli again).

Finally, a little cute snack that I had today (so count 'em folks, thats 1 meal and 1 snack I have photos of, I am the C student of the WIAW world).
My mom's note with the plums I ate for snack today. 
How is everyone's week going?? How do you plan to implement the new theme?
 
Is this really my 5th already!?? WOW time sure flies! Thanks to Jenn for hosting and coming up with this great idea!

This week has been slllooowwww...but crazy at the same time. The weekend cannot come soon enough! Here are the eats:
Not the prettiest eat for sure but it's a kale and veggie chicken salad with tzatziki as the dressing. So.Freaking.Good. 
Snacky of carrots and more tzatziki...When I like something I kind of go on a bender...oops.
One of the many caffeinated loves of my life keeping me awake while I work.
I wanted to do a whole post just about these babies but held myself back. Corn Bread crackers though??! It's like the food gods heard by pleas and created this. I ate the whole box in 2 days and 2 sittings. So So good.
So we are missing dinner and to be honest I have no idea what it was. I think it was spaghetti but it could have been avocado pesto pasta. Either way it was delicious (as if I wouldn't eat it if it wasn't... ;))

Sorry this one feels a little lackluster...this week has put me in a funk so far...


How do you get outta a weird funk? Do you ever feel off and not know why?
 
Yay for my first time! ;) Now I apologize in advance for the lackluster photos, but I promise they will get better with practice! Onto the eats...

As always, thanks to the lovely Jenn for creating this great blogger meet up!
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Attempting to eat breakfast was a challenge for me. I rarely eat more than candy and a few crackers but this is the new Caitlin right?? Right. So yummy blueberry yogurt and granola it was and voila my stomach wasn't grumbling through morning meeting and phone calls like usual.

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I make some damn good lunches. It is just a fact. This was my idea of a thai-esque salad and had kale,bean sprouts, edamame and peanuts with a light honey mustard dressing. I know, I know, the dressing hardly fit the theme but it was what I had in the work fridge and it still tasted delicious.

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This is what I "should have had for dinner" instead of what I actually had. After work and the gym I met up with some friends at a local dive bar to hang out and instead of a veggie stir fry like what is chilling the the left I had cocktails and mexican food once I got home. Oh well, can't win 'em all.

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On the up side (of my total diet  failure that was "life after 6pm" I managed to only eat two of these delicious little morsels! Yay for keeping my sugar tooth under control! 

Well today has been crazy long at work and then with a spinning workout so it's time for a little quiet time and then Teen Mom - yeah I'm obsessed, I'll admit it. 

How do you keep the healthy eating going when out with friends? 
 
So since getting back from vacation I have been trying to get back in the habit of feeding my body QUALITY instead of whatever I may be craving that second.  In doing this I have also been trying not to spend all my precious paychecks. I was heading to the gym today and of course dragging from a long previous day at school and totally spaced on eating breakfast. I knew the trainer was going to kick my butt so I stopped into Walgreen's to see what they may have.  Did I mention I didn't have my wallet? Yeah, no wallet means I had the change from my cup holder ($2) with which to find a suitable breakfast that both tasted good and gave me some energy with which to survive my hour long workout.  Guess how surprised I was to find I could afford not just one, but TWO healthy snacks with my limited funds??


My finds:
For 99 cents each I got granola bites for before my workout and nice and salty pumpkin seeds for a evening snack at work!  Walgreen's has had their own brand for a few years but in August of 2011 launched their Nice! brand which features over 400 inexpensive snack and meal options for customers to choose from. I have seen their stuff before but the Granola Bites really made me take a closer look (and almost be late for my appointment!).  

Flax is super healthy and contains fiber as well as Omega-3 fatty acids (the kind of fats you are supposed to have).  Oatmeal is a whole grain that is packed with even more fiber (thus helping to keep you fuller for longer) and raisins are just plain tasty. 

This was such an unexpected and great find and not only kept me powering through my workout but helped to open my eyes to the unexpected places that cheap and healthy treats might be hiding.

Where have you found healthy food unexpectedly?  How much would you pay for a healthy snack?
 
Now I didn't procrastinate on this post because of the post itself but because I really couldn't bring myself to start the workout on my own.  I know I mentioned my distaste for solo toning workouts so this isn't much of a surprise.  But alas I finally did it and completed my first NTC workout on my own and without any major failures.  I chose a 20 minute toning workout and set it at beginner level (never want to push myself to hard right?....sarcasm).  


The verdict????


AMAZING!

No, really it was great.  I was doing lunges and I was doing crunches and the best part? I wasn't getting bored!  I love how you never really know what is coming next (I wonder whether it would get boring if I was doing it consistently and learning its routines though...) and you only had to do a move or one set and then it was onto the next.  My attention span rivals that of a 4 year old and this kept me working hard and tuned into my workout. I knew I coulda done a longer workout but I was so excited and accomplished feeling that I just reveled in the feeling once I was done.

Overall I must recommend this to anyone who can get their hand (err phones?) on it.  I have already done it again and can't wait to try the other workouts they have.


Happy toning!

Have you ever used a fitness app for your phone?  Did it help?
 
Contrary to what most of us want to believe working out is more than just putting in 30 minutes on the elliptical every other day.  Through the gym I attend by home I am fortunate enough to have access to trainers for when I have questions or want to get my butt (forcibly) kicked into shape.  One of the trainers has been telling me about the fitness application from Nike called Nike Training Club and while I typically shy away from doing any sort of strength work on my own (doing 3 sets of squats without anyone making me? nah) I decided to give it a try.  For my first time my trainer Esther went through it with me and we started with the beginner level.  I should have known I was in for a tough time when the trainer says she did this same workout two days ago and was still sore from it!  The workout switches from one exercise to another every 30-60 seconds and thus gives you no time to get bored or think about how much your legs and arms hurt and after it was over I was literally dripping with sweat.  I am already feeling sore but I have yet to achieve my goal of strength training ALONE so tomorrow I plan to download the app and put it to the test.  


Have you ever used a fitness app? Did it work for you?