Day 113 - Feeling So Blessed

I thought I would include a picture of me and Emily.  This was taken last week in Breckenridge as we were coming out of the Gold Mine.  Fun, Fun!  Living the dream!

Today has been one of the greatest days on this journey of mine.  I trained with Joe at 10am today (I usually train at 7) and I was so excited about having a little bit of me time this morning to just meditate about my life and the life that I am creating.  My mom took Emily & Tyler to Northwestern for me this morning and she took Grace to the zoo so I had a few hours to just soak it all in and really think about my vision and where I want to lead my life.  So before I went to the gym I sat down in my daughter's room and just thought and reflected on my journey of weightloss so far and was overwhelmed with gratitude.  Words cannot describe the gratitude I feel for every person that is supporting me on this journey.  I FEEL your love and I FEEL your support and I hope you know how much I love you and appreciate you and all that you are doing for me.  I FEEL pure JOY and pure LOVE in my life.  I have such a passion about getting healthy and living a healthy lifestyle and I am making that vision a reality.  I love myself and I love who I am becoming.  I am strong and I am filled with gratitude.  Thank you for reading my blog and reading about my life and the life of my family.  We are being blessed for it.


I watched this video about the rise in obesity in not only America, but the world and I am amazed that I am a part of that statistic, but thanks to the Fresh Diet and my trainer Joe and everyone who is supporting me and cheering me on, I won't be a part of that statistic for too much longer.  HOORAY for that!


Training with Joe

• I remembered my gel seat today so I of course warmed up on the SPIN bike. :):):)  HAPPY DAYS!!!
• Today Joe did a Wave Loaded Workout for me.  Which means we did 5 sets of each rotation and went up in weight for the 1st 3 sets and then back down in weight for the last two, as you will see.
• 1st rotation - Dead Lifts - 135 lbs, 155 lbs, 160 lbs, 155 lbs, 135 lbs. - 8 reps each set rotating with:
• Good Mornings - 45 lbs - 12 reps each set
• 2nd rotation - Leg Press (olympic weights) 320 lbs, 370 lbs, 390 lbs, 370lbs, 320 lbs.  Um YES, I pressed 390 lbs.  How crazy is that!  Honestly, I could have pressed more.  I have strong legs.  8 reps rotating with:
• Leg Curls - 40 lbs. each side for 8 reps each side.  My left leg is definitely stronger than the right.  These were hard, but I did it!
• 1 hr. of SPIN - I had an incredible experience while I was Spinning today.  I really don't want to go into details about what happened at this moment, but it was life changing for me.  I came to some incredible realizations about what my mission is on this earth and for that I am grateful.  I love who I am becoming.  It is a process.  I am filled with joy and gratitude for the realization of what I need to accomplish in my lifetime.  

Food

Breakfast

Hawaiian Pineapple Stuffed Whole Wheat French Toast with Strawberries and Blueberry Cottage Cheese.

Lunch

Chicken Caesar Salad with Grape Tomato, Romaine Lettuce, Whole Wheat Croutons & Sun Dried Tomato with Caesar Dressing.

Dinner - ONE OF MY FAVORITES!!!

Lean Turkey Meatballs with Fresh Marinara Sauce with Sun-Dried Tomato Couscous and Sun-Dried Tomato Couscous

Snack

Chicken Skewer with Tequila Lime Glaze

Dessert - 1st time I tried this and it was crazy good!!!

Sugar-Free Chocolate Cupcake with Mocha-Hazelnut Cream Cheese Frosting

Day 112

These two pictures are of my mom and Gracie having a tea party today and also of Gracie and our precious dog Luffy who brings great joy into our life.  Luffy is pronounced loo-fee.  My kids named him after their favorite anime character from One Piece.

I am so blessed.  Sorry about posting a day late, but my mind has just been racing these last few days.  I have so many hopes and dreams running through my soul right now and I just feel blessed!  I am truly living my dream.  I am making it happen!  I am grateful to eat such FRESH healthy food in my life.  I am grateful for the incredible amount of energy I feel.  I FEEL healthy, I FEEL strong, I have so much PASSION about the life that I am leading right at this moment.  So much love and gratitude running through my veins.  I love it!


I'm so proud and excited for my kids and all that they are accomplishing in their lives.  Emily & Tyler are just THRIVING at Northwestern.  Gracie is just LOVING being home with me and my mom.  My mom lives with us and she has every Tuesday and Wednesday off and so Gracie knows this is her time with grandma.  She loves it!  My mom took her shopping yesterday and got her a makeover at this little girls store named GLAMOROUS and then they came home and we had a lovely tea party.  I love summer!  What a perfect time to just enjoy our kids and create life-long memories.  I'm so filled with gratitude!


Training with Joe

• So today I forgot my comfy gel seat for the SPIN bike at home so I ended up warming up on the Arc Trainer today for 15 mins.
• Easy, but INTENSE rotation today.  We did 3 things for 5 sets.
• 100 jump ropes
• 20 push ups
• 20 Stability Ball crunches and throws.  For this Joe had me sit on the SB and then with straight arms hold a 10 lb. ball and lay back and as I came up I would throw him the ball.  This is GREAT movement for the abs.  I do this at home with my kids and their bouncy ball.  I typically will just lay flat on the ground and play catch with them.  As I come up I leave my legs straight on the ground and then I throw the ball to them as I sit up straight while keeping my legs on the ground and then they toss me ball and I slowly lay down and then do it again.  I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this for my abs.  It makes me feel skinny.  Abs are the biggest thing I do that just makes me FEEL skinny.  I love it!
• Since I didn't have my gel seat for SPIN I went on the Arc trainer for an hour and did interval training.  I also had a LOVELY talk with my friend Lee who is on her own journey to transform her life.  I loved the talk!

Food

Breakfast

Ricotta Cheese Crepes with Caramelized Bananas & Chocolate Sauce

Lunch

Hearty Lentil, Turkey Sausage, and Brown Rice Soup.

Dinner

Roasted Pork Loin with Pineapple Mango Chutney with Whole Wheat Linguine Pasta and Honey Glazed Beets

Snack

Apple Pistachio Muffin

Dessert

Apple Cinnamon Cheese Cake

Day 111 - 50 lbs. down

I had to put this picture on my blog.  This is me and my family with our River Guide Ryan overlooking the craziest rapid that we went down.  Literally, two minutes before this pic was taken we witnessed this rapid completely overturn a raft and throw the 3 people in the raft overboard.  It was extreme and by far the most fun I have ever had!  We were fine going through that rapid.  We had the best guide ever!  I would highly recommend white water rafting to everyone!  LOVED IT!!!!!!!!!

I DID IT!!!  50 lbs. down in 111 days on The Fresh Diet.  Can you believe it!!!  I'm so excited.  I couldn't believe my eyes this morning.  50 lbs!  I have to admit, I was giving myself a high five for that one.  I LOVE those 10 lb markers.  When I was in the gym this morning I picked up a 50 lb dumbbell and was shocked at how much it weighed.  I'm so humbled and blessed for this weightloss.  I feel like I'm just getting started.  I'm making it happen.  Living the dream.  I am The Fresh Diet WARRIOR!!!!!!!!!  I am conquering all my fears and winning this battle!  I feel so alive and so grateful for The Fresh Diet and all that it is doing for me!  

I'm so grateful to have the SPIN bike back in my life.  It was a HARD ride this morning.  9 days off the bike makes a difference.  I still lasted an hour, but it was a LONG hour.  My muscles just need to remember what they need to do.  I should be fine by Wednesday I'm thinking.  I have so much love and respect for my body and  what it is doing for me.  I felt so much pure JOY in my heart this morning when I stepped on the scale.  My body is just doing what I'm wanting it to do.  I'm eating FRESH, I'm exercising, I'm drinking tons of water and my body is graciously responding to it all.  My pain decreases daily, which I am grateful for.  My favorite quote ever is "ENERGY FLOWS WHERE ATTENTION GOES"  Believe me, this is true!  I am giving so much attention to my body and myself and my energy is endless.  My joy is pure!  My life is so fantastic right now.  Not only in my weight loss, but every aspect of my life.  

It is vital that when you go into anything that you have a positive attitude about what you are doing.  In my house we really focus on the positive in everything we do.  I believe you will succeed at anything you can envision and set your positive mind to.  As my daughter reminds me, NO NEGATIVITY!!!  Bring positive things into your life.  For me, with this weight loss battle, I constantly surround myself with positive magazines and books.  I get all the Fitness Mags and surround myself with these amazing bodies in these magazines and it helps me with the vision I have for myself.  If you can imagine it, you will become it.  I know this!  It is happening for me.  I also read a lot of New Age books about being positive and having the right mindset about everything that I am doing.  It has helped tremendously.  There are a lot of great teachers in this world that I pull from like, Esther & Jerry Hicks, Michael Beckwith, Eckhart Tolle, James Ray, Wayne Dyer, Deepak Chopra, Louise Hay, these are just a few of my FAVORITE authors.  There books are amazing.  I don't typically spend my time watching TV.  I enjoy learning from the masters.  It has made such a difference in my life and the life of my family to create such a positive atmosphere in which we dwell.  We also play a lot of music in our house.  Music fills the soul.  How true that is!  We play a lot of upbeat music like The Black Eyed Peas & Gwen Stefani.  Two of my favorites!  I'm always happy now.  I can't say that about my past, but the past is the past, I live in the now.  I live in the present.  I am just enjoying my time on this earth and I am creating such a wonderful and joyous life for me and my family to live in.  Everyone of us has big dreams.  I always tell me kids to dream big.  They have their own goals and I have mine and as a mother I want them to succeed and have the opportunities in their life to succeed.  

Emily & Tyler both started Northwestern University today.  I am SO PROUD of them and all that they are accomplishing academically.  Emily is only 12, starting 7th grade and for the next 3 weeks she is taking Pre-Calculus.  I never even made it to Pre-Calculus.  I am amazed by her and so blessed to have her in my life.  Tyler, who is 11, is taking Pre-Algebra this summer.  They do an entire years worth of school in 3 weeks. So on July 16th, they will have that high school credit under their belt.  AMAZING!!!   I love my kids and am constantly amazed and blessed by them.  I have my little Gracie with me for the next 3 weeks.  It's my goal to read with her for at least 2 hrs. a day.  She struggles with reading, but is as gifted in math as my other kids.  Next week she is starting dance camp, so that should be FUN for her to do.  I'm taking her to the pool this afternoon to enjoy the beautiful sunshine we are having today.

I am just blessed in my life and I am so grateful for the amazing support of everyone.  Thank you for taking the time to read about my life and all that is happening in it.  We are constantly being blessed by you and I thank you for that!  I am so grateful for The Fresh Diet and how it is transforming my life.  I think their theme song should be "Transform You" by Chris Brown because that is just what they are doing for me, transforming everything about me.  I am humbled and blessed to have The Fresh Diet in my life.  Thank you Fresh Diet for giving me my life back and making me really realize what life is about.  For me, it's about becoming healthy and living an active lifestyle, no matter what!  I'm grateful for that realization in my life.  I am filled with Joy and I am thankful for that!  Have a great day everyone!

Training with Joe

• 1st of all, let me say how grateful I am that Joe is in my life and that he pushes me to extremes.  He knows I am a lot stronger that I think I am and he pushes me to be strong and I love that!
• I of course warmed up on the SPIN bike today for about 15 mins.
• Today we started off by warming up my shoulders.  For this he had me pull down and rotate the shoulder with the cables, I think it was around 60 lbs. that I was pulling down - 30x's each shoulder.  It was a very short movement.  For those of you who don't know, I've had 18 shoulder surgeries and so Joe is very aware of my shoulders and always likes to warm them up before I lift anything heavy.
• Today we did 5 continuous sets of each exercise.  No rotation.  It's called a Wave Loaded workout.
• Flat Dumbbell Press - 30lbs, 35 lbs, 40 lbs, 35 lbs, 30 lbs. - 8 reps at each weight
• Seated Row - 40 lbs, 50 lbs, 60 lbs, 50 lbs, 40 lbs - 8 reps each weight
• Incline Press - 30 lbs, 35 lbs, 40 lbs, 35 lbs, 30 lbs - 8 reps each weight
• Lat Pull Down - 50 lbs, 60 lbs, 70 lbs, 60 lbs, 50 lbs - 8 reps each weight
• Roll Out Legs with the Blue Roller - I have issues with spasms in my thighs from SPINNING, but today was better, probably because I haven't been on the SPIN bike for 9 days.
• 1 hr. SPIN

Food

Breakfast

Creamy Banana Nut Oatmeal

Lunch

Asian Style Chicken Salad with Baby Bok Choy, Watercress, Alfalfa Sprouts, Water Chestnuts & Sesame Soy Dressing

Dinner

Citrus Marinated Beef Stir-Fry with Grilled Asparagus and Exotic Mushroom Ragout

Snack

Blueberry Muffin

Dessert

Chocolate Dipped Strawberries with Creamy Vanilla Ricotta Cheese

Country Boy Mine - Panning for Gold

This morning we went to the Country Boy Mine in Breckenridge and took a tour of the mine, which was amazing!  We had the BEST tour guide.  He had the coolest voice ever and even sang for us down in the mine.  Amazing history here in Breckenridge.  After the tour he taught us how to pan for gold.  Well let me tell you, we panned for gold for over 5 hours.  Yep, I said 5 hours.  It was SO MUCH FUN!!!  Did we find gold?  YES, WE DID!!!  I'll be curious to find out just how much gold we have.  They said there is over $50,000,000 in gold they estimate left in the mine.  Then weird enough, we ran into a girl that my girls dance with.  How crazy is that. What a small world we live in.  The kids want to go back tomorrow and pan again.  I'm not sure what we are doing tomorrow.  After panning for gold we came home and ate lunch and then went into Breckenridge with the kids and they all got a few tshirts.  It was fun!  Honestly, this has been the best vacation of my life.  So relaxing, so inspiring, so memorable.  I'm so blessed.

White Water Rafting down the Arkansas River - Brown's Canyon Sizzler

It's Wednesday morning and I finally have a few minutes to update my blog.  On Monday I was able to fulfill one of my lifelong dreams.  We went white water rafting down the Arkansas River at Brown's Canyon.  What an amazing experience!!!

I told Jeremy we would be broke if we lived here because I would want to go every week.  I loved every second of it.  We arrived at AVA Rafting about an hour before we left and I thought Tyler was going to pee his pants.  That boy just was bursting with excitement.  They had all the gear hanging there and another group had gotten ready and left before we did and Tyler was just pacing up and down asking every few minutes if it was our turn to put the wetsuits on.  So cute!  So the kids played horseshoes and frisbee golf and then finally our bus pulled up with the rafts and instructors.  

I have to admit, I was a little worried I wasn't going to fit in the gear, but I did.  I felt amazing.  I had so much energy running through me throughout the entire trip.  I really feel the energy from my surroundings.  Everything in this world is comprised of energy, as we are and I could just FEEL the energy from the river, from the trees, from every living thing around me.  I felt so ALIVE!!!  It was very humbling to see the POWER of the river and the respect our guide Ryan gives the river.  It really was amazing to watch as he guided our raft around the rocks.  

After we got dressed we took a bus ride with all the other families to the drop off location and we were blessed to have Ryan as our guide.  He's been a guide for many, many years and he knows that river.  He was so good with Grace.  She didn't like wearing the life jacket, but Ryan took time with her and adjusted it and just really talked to her about why we wear it.  It was awesome.  When we first started off he had Grace and Tyler in the front and then me and Jeremy in the middle and Emily in the back with him.  Before we hit the major rapids he had Grace and Emily switch.  I was so amazed and proud of my kids and the way they could row.  All day long we heard Forward one, forward two, all forward, back one, back two.  Which meant if he said forward one, we would all row for one stroke, etc.  Half way down we all stopped for lunch on the edge of the river.  The water temperature was about 39 degrees.  They served us apples and oranges and had peanut butter and jelly and bread out on a table for everyone while 3 guides cooked chicken fajitas.  I had an apple slice and an orange and then had a fajita which I could only eat half of.  It was SO GOOD!!!!!  It was a nice break.  Then literally right after lunch we hit the MAJOR rapids.  It was so FUN!!!  I can't even describe the rush of energy and the feeling as we went through the rapids.  My kids the entire time just wanted to get splashed.  Well let me tell you, every rapid we all got soaked.  It was awesome!  When you go through a rapid you have to row full forward with tons of force to have control of the river and not let the river have control of you.  Well, we had control the entire time.  Not once did I feel unsafe.  We just had such an amazing guide.  There was a point in the river that we all got out and hiked up a trail so the guides could check out the rapids before we went through them.  As we were watching these rafts go through the first one through totally flipped the raft and the people inside went sailing through the air.  It was CRAZY to see!  It was intense to even look at the power of the rapids from where we were.  Just crazy!  So when we got back in the raft we all made sure our feet were secure and we just did it.  What a thrill ride!  It was just amazing!  We rafted for a total of 14 miles.  Around mile 11 Tyler had to pee.  The poor boy was just dying.  So finally at mile 12 Ryan pulled off on the side of the river and let Tyler out to pee.  I kid you not, that boy pee'd for like 10 minutes.  It was crazy and funny!  So after that we rowed at full forward for the last 2 miles.  We never stopped.  It was amazing.  I probably could have rowed for another few mile without stopping.  I never got tired.  I felt so strong and had so much energy.  After the trip, Jeremy & the kids were sore and tired, but not me, I felt so alive.  I have to give credit to my trainer Joe for having me life weights and build my muscles.

Yesterday was our rest day.  We went out to breakfast with Jeremy's family and then they left to go back to Utah right after that.  Grace and I went and spent around 5 hours walking around Breckenridge.  It was amazing!  We had so much fun going into all the different shops.  Of course I bought some ornaments.  My favorite thing EVER!!!!!!  Then last night we spent the night playing family games.  It was again, a perfect day.  I feel so blessed that we have been able to come on vacation and really enjoy each other.  I love my family so much and being able to be here, out in nature and witness the beautiful creations of this earth with my family had been so amazing.  We have created memories that we will take with us for the rest of our life.  That's what life is about.  Creating the most amazing memories with your family and just loving each other and having fun!  

Today we are going out to the Country Boy Mine and we are going to take a tour of the mine and then pan for gold in the creek.  Grace keeps telling me she is going to find gold.  I won't be surprised if she does.  Breckenridge has one of the largest gold deposits in the world.  They were saying people make a living my mining and panning for gold.  It will be a fun experience for sure.

I will update again later.  Have a beautiful day!

Glenwood Springs, Colorado

I woke up at 5:45am this morning and went and worked out.  Hooray for me!  Here's what I did:

Training in Colorado

• I warmed up on the bike for 10 mins.  They don't have a SPIN bike so I could only last 10 mins.  BORING!!!
• I did upper body today.  A rotation of 4 things for 6 rotations.  Each exercise I did 10 reps, so all in all I ended up doing 60 of each exercise.  Here's the rotation
• Chest Press - 40 lbs
• Fixed Pulldown - 70 lbs.
• Tricep Extension - 50 lbs.
• Bicep Curl - 40 lbs.   These were all done on Lifetime Machines
• Next I did an ab rotation which I am still feeling and I will probably feel for the next few days.  LOVE IT!  For this rotation I did 3 sets of 20
• Stability Ball sit ups while holding an 8 lb ball.  These I did while holding my arms straight out in front of me and as I came back I would bring the ball back and forth with me.
• Choppers - each side.  8 lb ball.
• Lastly I did Romanian Deadlifts with a 40 lb dumbbell

We are on our way to Glenwood Springs today to go to the strawberry fest and then head on over to the adventure camp for the alpine slide and a variety of other activities.  So excited for today.  Jeremy's family is going to meet up with us there.  I will update this post tonight.

OK!  So it's 11:02pm and I'm sitting in the hotel room waiting for my clothes to dry so I thought I would update this entry.

Today by far has been my favorite day.  We took a 1 1/2 drive out west to Glenwood Springs.  The drive was just breathtaking.  I think I must have say "WOW, THAT IS JUST BEAUTIFUL" a few hundred times today.  I get so much energy from here.  I can't even describe it.  I get emotional looking at this incredibly beautiful world Heavenly Father has created for us.  Just amazing!  The trees out here are stunning!  There is running water everywhere.  And the rock formations and canyons, amazing!  I love it!

The first thing we did at Glenwood Springs was attend the strawberry festival that was going on in the center of town.  I know, 2 festival in 2 days and they both revolve around food.  LOL!  Although we only went to the craft show at this fest.  For those of you who know me, you know I cannot pass up a craft show.  It was OK, I only bought a few little things.  We ate NO FOOD AT ALL!!!  In fact, we forgot to eat lunch and so by the time we came down the mountain it was after 6 and all us had eaten breakfast around 7am and that's it.  The weird thing is that none of us were hungry.  I can see why everyone in Colorado is in shape.  It's easy to do.  You never think about food or your next meal.  It's great!

After the fest we went to the Canyon Adventure and we got a day pass and so we were able to do everything as much as we wanted to do.    Talk about BREATHTAKING!!!  WOW!!!  We first did a 70 min tour through 2 caves.  That was incredible.  Then the kids did the bungee trampolines and the spelunking maze which simulated having to scoot your way through small opening and tight curves.  Then we watched 3 different 4D movies.  Then we did the Alpine Slide around 5 x's. This was by far my MOST FAVORITE thing I have EVER DONE!!!  You sit in a single person coaster and the slide goes all the way down the mountain.  I bought the pics that they take while we were doing it and I will post them next week when I get home.  I was screaming most of the way down.  It takes you ALL THE WAY DOWN the mountain and then it takes about 10 mins to slowly go back up the mountain.  PURE JOY on that slide.  The scenery was god like.  Just amazing!  Then the kids rode a bull and then we went through a HUGE MAZE and then they did lazer tag and then Jeremy, Emily & Grace went on the GIGANTIC SWING that swings you over the canyon.  They say you get up to 3 G's on it.  It's scary just watching, I could never imagine doing it.  Grace had the look of pure terror as she rode it.  HILARIOUS!!!  Finally the kids all panned for gems.  It was such a FUN memory building day.

Tomorrow we go white water rafting down the Arkansas River.  We are doing the Brown's Canyon Sizzler.  8 full hours of rafting.  I'm so excited for this.  Although our tour guide that took us through the caves said these were the worst rapids she has seen in years because they had so much snow over the winter.  We drove past the Colorado and we saw some insane rapids.  So we shall see how it is tomorrow!

Have a great night everyone!

The Adventures of Breckenridge, Colorado

I thought I would use my blog this next week as a journal.  I hope you don't mind.  We arrived in Breckenridge, Colorado last night.  The trip to get here was pretty uneventful.  It took us about 4 hours to drive here only because of bumper to bumper traffic in Denver.  I immediately felt both the altitude and the dryness.  Last night I drank 4 liters of water throughout the night.  It was crazy.  I took my melatonin and it didn't help.  I would say last night was one of worst nights of sleep I've had in a long time.  I was awake every 10 minutes.  I don't know why.  Probably the dryness and altitude.  I had a pressure headache from the altitude last night but today I'm all adjusted. 

Today we fulfilled a dream of mine.  We went to a BBQ Challenge Festival in Frisco, CO.  I love to watch the Food Network and I've always seen these BBQ challenges and I've always thought it would be SO MUCH FUN to attend one.  Well, Frisco, which is about 15 mins away happened to have one this weekend, so we went and let me tell you, it was as fun as it looks on tv.  Frisco closed down mainstreet and it went on for about  blocks.  It was awesome.  The smell in the air was insane!!!  Honestly, if I wasn't trying to lose weight so bad I would have had a field day trying all the BBQ.  But I was good.  I had a sample of pulled pork from one person, which is a small dixie cup filled with pork.  Let me tell you, HEAVEN!!!  Then I had a few bites of corn on the cob.  That was great too!  Jeremy & the kids all got to ride a mechanical bull and we even watched Pig Races.  It was hilarious!  I think we ended up staying for around 4 hours.  I went into a few of the little stores along the street.  So much fun!!!  VIKING was one of their sponsors and that is my dream, to have a VIKING kitchen.  I LOVE to cook!  So I was able to show Jeremy a VIKING oven up close and he was impressed.  One Day!!!  That's on my vision board too.

Then we decided to go over the mountain to go to Costco for some essential.  Well we ended up going to Costco, Best Buy, REI, Apple & Walgreens.  We didn't get home until 8:30 tonight.  It was a long day, but we had fun and got all our errands done.  Grace has a cold so I hope she is feeling better by tomorrow.  We bought hydration packs for me & the kids, Jeremy already has one.  We plan on taking them with us everyday.  The kids think they are SO COOL!!!  We are staying at a Marriott timeshare, so we have a full kitchen which is now stocked with groceries.  I always cook when we vacation.  We typically only eat out a few of our meals.  It's so expensive for 5 people to eat at a restaurant.  We went last night and all I had was a side salad and soup and the kids got burgers and our bill was $80.  Hence, the reason I cook!  My kids like homecooked meals better anyways.  Healthier too!  I would say they eat 95% FRESH along with me.  It's been so good for them.  Now if I can just cut out their soda and juice intake, I'll be happy.  I only bought bottled water and juice for them for this trip. 

I feel REALLY GOOD about the food I've eaten so far.  The only downer has been my water intake today.  I always know that if my pee is clear, then I'm good to go, let's just say it's not clear.  I should get rehydrated tonight. :):):)

They have a FANTASTIC gym here at the hotel and so tomorrow I am going to do a FULL workout.  I will post that tomorrow.  Paintball is on the schedule for tomorrow.  Tyler is the most excited about this activity.  Grace isn't old enough so her & I are going to walk down Main St. in Breckenridge tomorrow and do some window shopping.  We also might go swimming.  We shall see.  Jeremy's dad, step mom, and 15 yr. old brother are driving in from Utah tomorrow.  They will visiting with us until Tuesday.  The kids are excited to see their Grandpa.  Grace doesn't even remember him.  She was 2 the last time we saw them. 

Colorado is such a BEAUTIFUL, HEAVENLY place.  I totally would live here.  It's the best place to be active and healthy in the outdoors.  I love, love, love the mountains.  I cannot tell you how many times I said "LOOK, IT"S SO BEAUTIFUL".  I am awed and amazed at the beauty of the country we live in.  America is just amazing!  So picturesque. 

That's it for tonight.  Talk with you tomorrow!

The Fresh Diet Girl - Donna Manley - Family Exercise

Day 110

  Me with Tyler, Grace & EmilyMe with my trainer Joe Ghanem

We leave tomorrow for Breckenridge Colorado.  I am so excited!  This has been a dream vacation that I have had in my head for years and years and years.  Literally, on my Vision Board, one of the 1st pictures I put up was a picture of white water rafting and on Monday that dream is going to come true!  I'm so blessed.


I will update my blog as much as I can while I am in Colorado.


This morning was SO MUCH FUN!!!  The kids came with me to Lifetime and Joe trained us all together on the soccer field.  How fun is that!  LOVE IT!!!  We took some pictures and video of this morning that I am currently uploading to YouTube and will post a little later.  Can I just tell you how much I love my kids.  They just make me smile every single day.  It's such an honor and a privilege to be their mother.  I have been so blessed to have such wonderful kids.


I'm taking the girls this afternoon to get their hair trimmed from Salon Coccole.  Emily is actually going to be with my hair stylist Donna, whom I have been seeing for almost 25 years.  She has known me since I was 15.  How crazy is that!  I believe in loyalty and once I find something I LOVE, I will be loyal for life.  I don't think hair stylist get the credit they deserve.  When I get my hair done, which is about every 8 weeks now (I used to go once every 4-6 months, again the self-loathing aspect, the fact that I didn't feel worthy of even getting my hair done, boy has that thinking changed completely, I am worth it and I love it.), I come out of there feeling so beautiful and happy.  I'm so grateful to Donna and her team at Salon Coccole.  They have such a loving people there.  Love you Donna!  Thank you!


Training with Joe

• Today was FUN with my kids.  Joe had us run around the soccer field 5x's to warm up.  Initially he said to take 10 laps and I was just laughing to myself KNOWING he was going to drop that number down.  I am NOT a fast runner/jogger by any means.  I think about seeing myself run/jog and I just start laughing.  I'm just not a runner.  At least not yet.
• So Joe had us doing all kinds of sprints, bear walks, crab walks, cart wheels, push ups, jumping jacks, the kids had so much fun!  
• On the video you will see the part where Joe had me pulling a 90lb sled.  It wasn't easy at all, but I did it!  Then I had to do the lateral jumps, again funny as all get out to watch.  I'm just not a jumper, but I did it!  So I hope you all enjoy the video.  

Food

Breakfast

Coconut Cream & Walnut Oatmeal

Lunch

Chicken Caesar Wrap with Romaine Lettuce & Cucumber on a Sun-Dried Tomato Tortilla Wrap.

Dinner

Roasted Pork Meatballs with Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto with Pesto Pearl Barley and Steamed Sugar Snaps

Snack

Whole Wheat Chicken Tortellini with Fresh Basil Pesto

Dessert

Coconut Chocolate Pudding

Day 109

So I woke up yesterday feeling completely exhausted.  I had only gotten 2 1/2 hrs. of sleep the night before. 


I'm not sure if I have ever talked about my past medical history before.  I have had 39 operations in my life, 18 of which were shoulder surgeries (hence the MAJOR scars in all my pics) and I also suffered a stroke about 3 years ago and was partially paralyzed on my right side.  So for me to get up and workout everyday and push my self to extremes is such a BIG thing for me personally.  I feel so strong and so capable of the exercise that I am doing.  Literally 3 years ago, I was learning to walk normal again and now I am able to jog.  How crazy is that!  Who would have ever thought I would become what I am becoming.  I always knew I had this in me, and I am SO GRATEFUL to The Fresh Diet and my trainer, Joe Ghanem and EVERYONE who is supporting me and cheering me on this journey of mine.  So why did I only get 2 1/2 hrs. of sleep you ask.  Well let me tell you.  I have issues with pain.  Some doctors told me I have fibromialgia (SP???).  Who knows though.  I don't EVER take anything for the pain, I don't like meds, I don't think I need them.  I can endure SO MUCH PAIN.  It's always been with me and I just deal with it.  Well, I have some night where the pain doesn't allow me to rest.  I started taking Melanomin (sp?) a few weeks ago because that is a natural supplement and it really puts me to sleep.  I have never been one to get that deep REM sleep (where your body recovers) (I've gone through so many sleep studies and they all came out the same, no REM, ever), but these last few weeks after I discovered the melanomin, I have been going to sleep and not waking up until my alarm goes off.  In fact on Monday night I got 7 hrs. straight of sleep.  I cannot remember EVER getting that much sleep.  So Wednesday night came about, I took the melanomin, but the pain WON out that night.  It was extreme and I just kept repeating in my head how grateful I am that the sleep I get will be restful and I will wake up with tons of energy.  Guess what, even though I only had 2 1/2 hrs, they were restful and I had energy all day long!  I'm so grateful for that!  I love my body and the fact that even though I have pain, it is NOT STOPPING ME.  I have a vision of how I want to look and feel and I am making that happen.  I'm grateful for all that my body is doing for me.  Yeah, I might have pain, but so what, it's not stopping me ever again.  I am strong and I am living my dream.


Training with Joe

• 20 mins SPIN - warmup
• So of course Joe asked me how much sleep I got and when I told him I only had 2 1/2 hrs but I felt great he said ok, get your things.  I did and he said we were going outside.  So I thought great, we'll train outside, how fun.  Well we ended up taking an hour long nature walk.  There is a forest preserve right across the street from the gym and we just walked and talked the whole time.  It was just what I needed.  I'm so grateful that Joe is very keen on what my needs are.  He knew I didn't get much sleep and being out in nature just renewed me and gave me the energy I needed to get me through the day yesterday.  I ended up taking the kids to WI for a fun day at Action Territory and I was on my feet my 7hrs straight.  But no problem.  I came home and still had energy.  I love that!
• Of course I did my 1 hr. of SPIN also.

Food

Breakfast

Fresh Fruit Salad with Pineapple, Strawberry, Orange, Watermelon, Blueberry & Blueberry Vanilla Ricotta Cheese

Lunch

California Style Wrap with Avocado, Baby Lettuce, Roasted Turkey, Monterey-Jack Cheese and Fresh Chunky Salsa.

Dinner

Tender Beef Fillet with BBQ Bourbon Sauce with Sweet Baby Peas and Roasted Shallots

Snack

Sweet Potato Chips with Fresh Guacamole Dip

Dessert

Peach Cheese Cake

Day 108

Um, Hello, I am 3 days behind.  Say it isn't so!  Sorry about that.  It's been such a busy week for me.  So here we go.  It's a good thing I write ALL my workouts in a journal.


Training with Joe

• I got a great night of sleep the night before, which rarely ever happens, but I was SO SORE from Mondays workout.  So 1st thing every morning Joe asks me how I slept and then he basis my workout on that factor.
• 20 mins warmup on SPIN
• Today we did a rotation of 3 things.  10 x's.  Um yes, I did say 10 x's
• 1 minute SPRINTS on SPIN
• 20 Push Ups
• 25 AB Throws on the Stability Ball.  So for this Joe throws me a 6 lb ball that I catch with my arms straight out in front of me and then I lay all the way back on the ball and as I am coming up I throw the ball back at Joe - straight arms.  Let me tell you, I am STILL feeling these 3 days later.
• 1 hr SPIN

Food

Breakfast

Honey Roasted Granola with Fresh Diced Pineapple & Passion Fruit Yogurt

Lunch

Whole Wheat Pizza Topped with Tri-Color Bell Pepper, Mozzarella Cheese & Marinara Sauce

Dinner

Szechuan Style Chicken Stir-Fry With Bamboo Shoots & Shredded Carrots with Fall Vegetable Saute and Sauteed Button Mushrooms

Snack

Tropical Dried Fruit with Pina Colada Yogurt

Dessert

Buffalo Style Chicken Strips with Roasted Pearl Onion

SORRY - I TOTALLY SPACED OFF TAKING PICS TODAY!  You can go back in my blog and see pictures of these foods.  I've had them all before!  They are ALL delicious!