Marvelous in My Monday {3}

Happy Monday! It’s time for another fun edition of MIMM. Hard to believe this is the last Monday of September, it seems like it was just labor day weekend and now my kids have almost been back to school for a month! Crazy.

My oldest turns 10(!!) tomorrow,

and we had his party on Saturday.

I also started hanging up some fall and halloween decorations

This morning the little side kick and I ran some errands and stopped at the library for movies and books. I really hope libraries don’t disappear because of ereaders. While we were there, I took this marvelous picture of my little man.

Next year at this time he’ll be in school with the other two 😦

I’m not sure what I ate today, but my stomach has been a complete disaster for most of the afternoon so I’m going to end this post. Have a great night!!!!

Why I Said Good Bye to Counting Calories

I’ve mentioned before  how I’m taking a different approach to weight loss. Since May I have lost a little over 3o pounds and I couldn’t be happier.

I’m starting to get questions now that others are noticing my weight loss and the number 1 question is

* What are you doing?  Are you counting calories? Weight Watchers? 

The honest truth is this. I have absolutely NO idea how many calories i eat in a day, only what I burn and that’s only because I like to try and “beat” the calorie burn from the last time I did a particular work out. Yesterday when I logged in to My Fitness Pal to track my weigh in and workout, I decided that I was going to track my calories and water for the day and see what I was doing on an average day.

Never again.

I had a horrible day. All I could think about was food and getting the most food with the lowest amount of calories. After I tracked my breakfast, the first thought I had was “crap, now i have to eat practically nothing for lunch and dinner.”  I was obsessed with measuring out everything and fell right back in to my old habits immediately.

It was then that I realized, I have dropped this weight by eating when I’m hungry, stopping when I’m full and not obsessing over how many calories are in a 1/2 cup of strawberries vs 1 cup. If I want a grilled cheese for lunch, I’m going to do it. I know this approach probably won’t work for everyone and if counting calories is working for you, go for it…I’m done with it!!!!

Now that I’ve rambled, let’s get on to the few pictures I took today.

Breakfast:

Egg white sandwich with cheese and strawberries on the side.

Hello delicious and creamy hot chocolate, I’m so excited you are back in my life!!! After breakfast I did a Turbo Fire workout, on the schedule today was Tone 30. 30 minutes of butt kicking using a resistance band and lower body band. My legs, bootie and arms were quivering by the time it was over and as the day goes on, the soreness gets deeper and deeper (that’s what she said.)

Have a great night!

Marvelous in My Monday {3}

Are you read for another edition of MIMM? Thanks to the awesome Katie for hosting!

1.  Weigh in Day!

Last Week: 188.4

Today: 187.8

Not a huge loss, but the scale is still going down and it makes me insanely happy!

2. Turbo Fire 

I started this on Saturday and so far, SO AWESOME! I’m doing the Prep Schedule which is 9 weeks long and then I’ll do the 12 week schedule and then order the advanced DVD’s.

3. Trader Joe’s

I typically don’t go during the summer because my two oldest despise grocery shopping with me, so we go to one store and as quick as possible. When it’s just me and the sidekick, he loves shopping with me! My new find today

If you haven’t tried these, just do it. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but they are gone. I took them to the soccer game and our whole family devoured this bag. I almost want to go back tomorrow for more.

I promised my husband I would only get a picture of his hand :0 He’s blog shy…

4. Halloween Costumes

I’m still working on the costumes for Tyler and Karlie, but Aiden has had his heart on Spiderman. Done.

Cutest spiderman ever. Right?

He loves his “giant man muscles.”

5. Marvelous Dinner

Bowtie noodles, alfredo sauce, roasted broccoli.

Hello, lover. Best idea I’ve had for dinner in a long time.

And, that’s it! I hope your Monday was marvelous!!

Rebootizer

 

I was given an opportunity to sample Rebootizer and after it sitting on the kitchen table, I decided this morning was the morning I would try one.

Powerful antioxidant instant drink = Sold! As a mom to 3 kids, busy schedule and school starting, I need something to keep my body running strong.

The directions are really easy: squeeze, shake, drink.

So I did just that!

After the package “popped,” I shook it until all the lumps were gone and then drank it all. Not bad, quite delicious actually. I have a few more packages I want to try before giving my final analysis. Their website suggests you do it 6 days in a row once a month, so that’s what I’ll be doing.

Normal antioxidant production is not enough to neutralize all free radicals, especially after excesses. 

In addition to long-term effects, temporary oxidative stress generated by junk food, alcohol, caffeine and smoking also has harmful short-term effects. The morning after price of this imbalance can include a pounding headache, fatigue, cotton mouth, queasy stomach and a weakened immune system.  

Rebootizer’s efficiency was proven by a scientific study, demonstrating its properties on oxidative stress. This study, based on the evaluation of the effect of the plant extract on the rate of oxidation of aldehyde and ethanol, validated the energy of the metabolism (degradation) process.

Maybe it’s a coincidence, but I’ve definitely had more “pep” in my step today!

Lunch:

I wanted a grilled cheese, but wanted something with a kick. I added Trader Joe’s Hot and Sweet Pepper Jelly to the cheddar cheese…best combo of all time.

It looks a little messy {and burned},but I assure you, it was awesome! The sweet, spicy, cheesy combo was delicious in every way. I also had a couple of pickles and a honeycrisp apple.

We were going to have chicken alfredo with broccoli for dinner tonight, but the kids came home with a flyer announcing a fundraiser at Little Caesar’s. Works for me!

A couple slices and I was good to go. I’m embarrassed to admit that not even 6 months ago, I could pack in 6+ slices at dinner. Yikes.

It’s nice having a night where no one has to be anywhere, I baked some muffins this evening and made a fresh batch of hard boiled eggs.

Marvelous in My Monday {2}

 

I missed this link up last week, but I’ve got a good one today! Thanks for hosting Katie!

As of this morning, I am at a 31.6 weight loss and I have hit my first goal for myself! When my Dad died, I was at 190 pounds and over the past 2 years, I put on 30 pounds. My first goal was to get back to 190.

This morning I weighed in at 188.4 pounds.

For the past 2, maybe even longer, I have watched a stack of jeans that no longer fit get higher and higher, this afternoon I picked up a pair and guess what?! THEY FIT! That is the first time I’ve worn jeans in 2+ years!! Here is a comparison picture, the picture on the left was taken in May. That black skirt I’m wearing is way too big on me, it just falls right off.

I still have a ways to go, but I now have the confidence that I CAN do this!!!!

Next on this marvelous Monday was my Tyler’s very first soccer game;

My Mom, brothers and families, my SIL and her kids were all there and Tyler loved it! We all had a blast cheering him on and enjoying an evening together.

Cute little cousins.

And that concludes this Marvelous in My Monday! Have a great rest of the day!!

 

First Day of School {2nd and 5th Grade}

I don’t know how it happened, but my kids grew up.

They are turning into little self-sufficient humans instead of the babies that needed me 24 hours a day.

Another year begins and for my oldest it’s his last year in elementary school.

And for the youngest one, it’s his last year at home.

Here’s to a fabulous year!

Scenes from the campground

Last night three little nuggets of mine stayed up way too late and then as soon as the sun came up this morning, they decided they wanted to be up as well. Needless to say, it’s been a long and grumpy day. We tried to have fun, but everyone was exhausted. We did a little pool time, some golf cart rides, but also did some laying around in the trailer and outside.

Breakfast this morning was quick and easy; honey nut cheerios.

After breakfast we went in to town and did a bit of grocery shopping and then stopped at the farmer’s market. I got the most delicious plums, peaches and pink lady apples. Then they told me that honeycrisp apples will be picked starting tomorrow and they will be sold starting on Saturday, YES! We came back and did a little playing and then had some lunch.

Ham and cheese, mustard and pickles. Bliss. I also had one of the apples picked fresh this morning.

Must get more tomorrow!

After lunch we went to the pool for awhile, but after spending the better part of the past 3 months in this same pool, we were all tired of it and only stayed for an hour.

Dinner tonight was actually really good. I had a chef’s salad that I picked up from the store this morning and spaghetti with 3 cheese sauce. So good!

I only had half of this salad, it was huge!

So much goodness in one bowl.

Topped with one of my favorite salad dressings.

After dinner and before showers, we went on a little golf cart ride to pass some time. I’m sad this is our last trip up here, but really excited for fall and everything to arrive.

Tonight is an early night, everyone is in bed and I’m going there shortly!!!

 

WIAW: Meet the Teacher Day

It’s another edition of What I Ate Wednesday, like I said on Monday, I love link up posts!!

Breakfast:

Egg sandwich on a sandwich thin

I found this jelly in the fridge, that I totally forgot about; Trader Joe’s Sweet and Hot Pepper Jelly. I absolutely LOVE this on egg sandwiches, the sweet and hot combo is a winner every.single.time.

 

And a delicious juicy and crisp Fiji apple

Lunch: 

The usual Shakeology (www.myshakeology.com/jenpabst)

Today the only fruit I add to mix in was frozen pineapple. It was ok, but don’t think I’m going to do it again.

At our school, there are two activities in August that the kids look forward to every year, the first is the ice cream social done a couple of weeks before school starts, and the second is meet the teacher day, done a few days before school starts. My two have a husband and wife one teaches fifth grade and one will be teaching my second grader, they are so excited! Now that they have met their teachers and they know where their classrooms are, they are even more excited for school to start on Tuesday! We went to that after lunch then came home to pack our bags and headed up to the dunes for one last camping trip.

After 3+ hours in the car, we got here and set the kiddies loose to ride bikes and play at the playground, everyone is snuggled in now and I’m headed to do a little blog and book reading. Have a great night!

 

One More Week

I know sometimes it can get confusing, but there are two of us that are blogging here, I try to remember to sign my name at the bottom, but sometimes I forget. At the top of each post, it says who is posting though; either myself or my sister Tara. Tara is the one training for the marathon.

While this summer vacation has gone by really fast and we have had a ton of fun, we are all more than ready for school to start and I’m so thankful that it’s only 1 week away. We have one more get away this weekend and then it’s back to the school routine, soccer games and practices, scouts and other after school activities. I was going to do a survey that Katie posted today, but I am going to save that for a day I don’t have much to post about.

Breakfast:

Peanut butter toast (crunch, finally!) and a juicy nectarine.

I told the kids that we were going to be cleaning the house from top to bottom today and it’s exactly what we did. I vacuumed, swept, mopped, cleaned toilets and deep cleaned every single room. Exhausting, but worth it. I can’t handle leaving on a vacation with the house dirty.

We took a break for lunch:

Chocolate Shakeology with a cup of frozen blueberries added in.

So good. So filling.

I didn’t go grocery shopping this week, so I just gathered what we had and made a dinner out of it.

Brown rice with roasted broccoli

One of the last nectarines in the house

And sliced chicken apple sausages. After Spencer came home, I took off for a bike ride. Wow. I went a different way today and it was full of hills. My quads are on fire tonight!!!

I only paused the watch, so this isn’t accurate. When I got back to the house it was at 40 minutes and 301 calories burned, but because I took the watch off and left the chest strap on, it just kept running.

I’m going to attempt to foam roll the quads and hips tonight and do a little stretching because I’m feeling a bit tight. Have a great night!

Marvelous In My Monday – #1

I have loved reading Healthy Diva Eats for about a year now, what’s not to love about her? I took a blogging break for a few months and when I came back I saw link ups for #MIMM, but didn’t really know what it was all about. Since I’m a total sucker and lover of link ups, I knew I wanted in on this one!

 

 

I don’t have a big list today, but here we go!

Weigh In:

Last Week: 193.4

Today: 191.2

Total Loss: 28.8 pounds

Breakfast: 

Over medium egg, toast and an apple made today one happy day!

Hope your Monday was marvelous as well 🙂

~Jen~