Saga of a terrible mother? Or tales of ultimate momming?

Tonight my dinner choice was sloppy Joe nachos and green beans. Was I clever and managed to work in veggies, whole grains, and lean protein --- or was it feeding my child carnival food because I'm lazy? 

Week 2 of Farrell's Extreme Body Shaping.

First of all, I'm loving it. I get pushed to work harder than I've ever worked.

Cardio/Kickboxing in week 2 was much the same as week one, just that I knew the lingo better. I felt like the exercises moved pretty quickly so that you were tired and working hard, but not drilling away at the same thing all the time. Being on the mat (when your partner is doing the kickboxing bag) is the real killer. I've never before worked like that before. My planking (the real kind not the YouTube kind) is getting WAY better. And I even did real full sit ups the other day. My day 1 testing, I only managed 4 full sit ups with someone holding my feet. Now I can knock out two sets of 16  pretty decently.

So I am seeing improvement. I haven't lost any weight, but I certainly feel stronger and I can see a little change in my muscles.

The strength training is also GREAT. I was worried it would be tedious and dull. How could anything compare to kickboxing, right? Well, dull it is not. It's a challenge every time and I work up the same sweat I do on cardio days. It's not easy and it's up to you to really push yourself to level 10. There bands we use are color coded yellow to purple... Well in week 2 I've started uping my bands to green (one above yellow)!

The nutrition is still my weak spot. I'm improving.... Aren't we all though? Seriously though, I'm trying to balance a moderately vegetarian diet (with NO success) and a breast feeding diet- toss in trying to get 14-17g Protein and 30g Carbs per meal-- 6 times a day! Lets just say, I'm improving and striving for more protein and fewer carbs.

I apologize for not having pictures--Vegan Monkey Bread

Let me just start by saying I did something naughty in my pants after my first bite... It was that fucking good....

I stole this recipe from a very wonder blog, featuring some sweet recipes. I veganized it with soy butter and tofu cream cheese- but that was all.. I am going to forward you to FoodThoughtsOfaChefWannabe's recipe for Monkey Bread.

When you've made it yourself you can thank me. I took some into work today, let desk neighbor try it- I think she died a little and went to cream cheese frosting heaven.

But like I said, it's basically vegan except for the butter and cream cheese. And those are very easy switches.. My husband made me swear to not let him eat anymore (this was at 10:30 last night). His will power for my kitchen prowess was weakened by the ewwwwy goooey goodness.

Week 1 of Farrell's

Week one was many things- none of them were disappointing.
The format is Cardio/kickboxing MWF and resistance strength training TTHS. A lot of this week was establishing a working vocab and understanding of the exercises. Although, that doesn't mean we took tons of time with form. Saturday there was an extra "techniques" class- that my daughter's soccer game prevented me from attending.

I am in the 5am class, which I really dig. There early but then the rest of the day is ahead of me and there's no big dreaded workout looming over me all day. I like the cardio kick boxing a little better than the strength days, not because they are any easier but because I like learning new 'moves'. Their big thing is working out at your level 10, which is as hard as you an go for each exercise. I definitely felt level 10 on my strength days, felt is like a slap in the face.... I didn't know I was so weak, well I did know I just didn't have to feel it for a very long time. The intensity level of the instructors was perfect for me. Intense but fun loving. They want to be there and like what they're doing, but they aren't super buzzed or in your face yelling.

Now, where I did struggle was nutrition. Don't we all? Yes, I struggled but didn't fail. This week I really focused on increasing the protein and decreasing the carbs. I tried to eat 6 times a day with mostly success. I did pretty well about logging everything I ate, it was just recording the carbs and protein that I slacked on. But, I plan on improving in this area too. It's all about awareness and improvement for me.

I'm really looking forward to week 2. I am looking to improve the quality and quantity of my crunches and sit ups, as 3 c-sections have left me flabby and with no muscles in my abdomen. I'm going to do more green bands on the strength days (that's the next harder band in the world of resistance bands). And I can't wait to have more of the moves incorporated into the work outs.

My only complaint- The classes are supposed to be 45 minutes. And each one has gone a little over. Throwing off my 'home by 6' plan of getting 2 girls ready each morning and out the door by 7:30. I'm sure it's the first week explanations that are making us go over. Hopefully that will change.

Fluff again!

On my way to the most exciting diaper consignment sale of the year. Fluff Again is on the UNO campus, check it out!  Today we are looking for medium sized fluff of all types

Tip for keeping large amounts of rice

My love for Indian food, and my vegan husband means we go through a lot of rice. Buying from the bulk bins helps manage that cost. I got tired of those flimsy produce bags breaking, and my rice spilling all over the floor.  
My solution: a big juice pitcher from Walmart. The cereal saver things were too big to fit in my cupboard, the juice pitcher was a bit stouter and therefore perfect. Plus it means I can buy LOTS more than I could before.