Happy Friday!

Busy day for me, but a great one!!! Lots to do in prep for an exciting weekend with just us three. Yard work, organizing, and finally printing out tons of pictures to hang of our trips together! Fun stuff to do as a family.

I am going to do my best to organize through the Paris pics as well as this last trip to do a big before and after collage to post. That excites me!!!!!

I will also post my day 3 blog and the big one, the blog regarding my races coming up! Exciting times for me for sure.

In the mean time, here was my breakfast......

HealthForce Nutritionals Spirulina Manna and Vitamineral Green, Banana, Mango, soy milk, flaxseeds, chia seeds and Life Basics Vegan protein powder. To sweeten I used Stevia with a dash of agave with vanilla. Yum!




Here's to another successful day!!! Reach HIGH!!!

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Dr. Jameth Sheridan interview! Very informative....

Here is a fantastic interview with Dr.Jameth Sheridan, the man behind HealthForce Nutritionals. I am consistently impressed with his products and I agree with his whole foods and vegan message. He is VERY well respected in the health community and has a wealth of knowledge. Take a look at this video packed full of very valuable information! Vegans and Vegetarians should watch this! Everyone should.....ENJOY!!!

Day 2 Results.....

Another great day! All goals reached. Had a wonderful TRX and core workout along with a good 15 mile ride on the LeMond. AMPH, 20 and ARPM 91.

Below are my foods for the day....


Ezekiel bread with cashew butter, simply fruit and berries with LACV drink.




Avocado with Tuna salad and broccoli salad with apple and pear vinegar along with Ezekiel bread and watermelon.



Protein shake. Warrior Food Vegan protein powder from HealthForce Nutritionals, Soy milk, coconut water and frozen berries.

Getting ready to have my greens...Vitamineral Green and Spirulina Mana along with HFN Earth with hot water. Here's to another fantastic day tomorrow!

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The Grid

My ITB and knees new best friend, The Grid foam roller.

Every time I see that word, the grid, it makes me think of Tron. My husband would be so proud. :) This grid is amazing! It is from Trigger Point and is by far the best foam roller for sport recovery and therapies.

Check out all their products as they are the best on the market.

Trigger Point PerformanceTherapy 

Happy Rolling!

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The shake....

Dinner is served! Green goodness....Let's see what my husband thinks :)




Life's Basics Protein Powder, Garden of Life Raw Fiber, and my trio from HealthForce. This is serious stuff!! It is not for the faint of heart. Very strong but effective!!! No fillers or anything. Just pure, raw green goodness!


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Day 1 Results....

It was a good day. Still trying to get settled back into a routine after being gone on vacation but I think I am making progress. :) Only a few more loads of laundry to go! We packed a ton of stuff.

Here my foods from today.....





Berries, peach over raw oats and Rips blend from Whole Foods with added Chia seeds. Ezekiel bread with guacamole and mrs dash fiesta lime seasoning. LACV drink first thing in the AM along with Peach Oolong tea.




Tuna salad with Vegan mayo and Dijon mustard with raw veggies mixed it. Over lettuce and sprouts.





Watermelon, blueberries and peach




Vegan protein powder with GOL raw fiber blend and 3 products from HealthForce Nutritionals. Spirulina Mana, Vitamineral Green and Earth. Mixed with Almond milk and frozen berries and mango.

Post dinner....more tea with LACV drink. Will see if I am still hungry later, if so, will eat more fruit along with some tea.

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The next 30 days....

Above is a recent picture of me in Washington a few weeks ago. We were traveling up to Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic National Park and it was COLD!! I was happy to see just how much my weight loss has changed so many things for me. I was able to fit into smaller sizes of jackets, coats and sweaters on this trip that I would have never been able to wear. It hit me time and time again on this trip just how much I am shrinking....but I am not done yet!! It is encouraging to see these changes as it propels me forward to my next challenge, which for me, begins today!!

Over the next 30 days, I am going to be setting out yet again on another mission to further my fitness and continue on this amazing journey I started 5 years ago. I am SO very close to what I feel is my ultimate goal and I really do feel if I continue to stay on track I can reach this goal by December.

I have VERY big goals and races ahead of me for this year and even more so into 2012. I will discuss these at length later on but for now I want to focus on the month at hand.  This past vacation was a great one in that we stayed on track and did not consume any meat....except for fish. I guess you could say we are Pescatarian, if you want to be technical. We consumed massive amounts of Salmon, Crab, Sea Bass....everything you can imagine, even lobster! YUM!! Back to what I was saying, I am getting off  track, imagine that :) Anyways, as I was saying, I want to reach for new goals this month to make July the BEST MONTH by far!!! Several of my FB friends are doing a similar challenge and I feel with the incredible support they give me along with my determination, I can do this!

Fitness Goals for July -  

You will notice my running is tapered as I am trying to allow my knee to fully heal, my next HM is in August and I really need to be ready for this one.

Cycling/Spinning - 5 days a week for 60 mins using either the Specialized (road bike) or LeMond Rev Pro

Swimming - 3 days a week aim for 1/2 mile or longer

Walking - 5 days a week 3 miles, nice and easy pace

Strength Training - 3 days a week either TRX, Cathe or one of the classes at the gym. ie Bodypump....

Yoga/Pilates - 3 days a week for at least 30 mins focus on core work along with running poses to help in my ITB and knee injury. Either at gym via reformer classes or dvd at home

Running - until injections are finished running will be limited - must discuss with doctor

Physical Therapy - Twice a day take time out to do my exercises and use my foam roller

Nutrtional/Wellness Goals for July  - 

Continue daily routine of LACV in the mornings, Oolong and water during the day and juicing daily as well.

Maintain a Vegan/Vegetarian diet.....still consuming fish - this just works for us.

Make the majority of my meals raw, at least 75% good whole, clean raw foods.

Start and finish Dr. McKieth's Cleanse and Detox program along with HealthForce Daily Cleanse routine. Will discuss in further detail as the days progress.

Resume my Day 1...Day 2 results blogs for increased accountability including photos of my foods each day.

Weight loss goals for the month of July -

I am aiming for a 4 lbs loss this month. As I get closer to my goal I am finding it harder to lose more each month, so this will be a big goal for me!

Pics from the phone

Here are a few pics from my phone which we took while on vacation these past few days. We started off in Olympic National Park which was a highlight, then we drove back to Seattle for the race. As some of you know I decided to pull out of the race due to my knee injury flaring up while hiking in the Hoh rainforest up in Washington just prior to the race. It was such a pleasure getting to meet so many of my good friends from Sparkpeople and FB. It was a hard decision not to race but I truly feel it was a smart one.

After Seattle we traveled to a few places around the area and then ventured off to British Columbia. Vancouver I have to say was my favorite city we visited on this trip by far, other than Carmel of course. :) We then flew to San Francisco for a week as my husband was there on business. Once he was finished working we drove down the pacific coast highway to Monterey, Carmel and Pebble Beach. We stayed overnight and drove along the coast down to Big Sur which was truly amazing! Very beautiful.

This was the short version of my vacation blog I will be posting on our family site sometime this week. We have over 2,000 photo to go through and we are not even finished going through all the Paris pics from last month. So we are running a bit behind but will do our best to update the family gallery and site soon.

By the way, if there are any crazy typos in this blog please excuse them as I am using this new app from Blogpress so I can blog faster and post pics directing from my phone. It saves me time!!

Here are a few iPhone pics from our trip. The "good" ones are to follow soon.

 


















































































































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A Spirulina 4th...

Tonight we are celebrating this wonderful holiday with a big glass of green juice!!!! This is my newest treat from HealthForce Nutritionals.





Michaela is sound asleep and we are watching the fireworks special on TV from Washington. It was a perfect day in every way. We are still getting used to being back as we flew in late Saturday night. We got home after midnight and we are still feeling the effects. So it has been a lazy, wonderful, relaxing holiday for us.

I am using a new blogging app trying to see if there is a way I can blog from my phone when out or on vacation. Just a fast way to load photos and updates. Think FB updates but for my fitness blog and for our family blog as well.

Anyways, I hope this works as it will save me a ton of time! :)

Enjoy this special holiday!!! Happy 4th to Everyone!


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June 2Oth, a day I will always remember!!

Yesterday was simply perfect. I spent the day shopping with my sweet baby girl. As you all know I have been on this weight loss journey since 2006. There have been highs and lows and yesterday was without a doubt, a major HIGH! It ended with a fashion show I was able to give my husband with all my new things, he was in shock! He said he has never seen me look this way, and in his words,  I have made it! I did it, reached a goal I never knew I could and man, does it feel amazing. I want to say this before I write another word. If it was not for God, I never would have had the strength to make it on what has been a very long but rewarding journey. He is my everything, and I want nothing more than to glorify Him in every single way I choose to live this life.

A few of my new outfits I bought for our upcoming trip

It all started this weekend as we were shopping for clothes for our upcoming trip to Seattle and San Francisco. We went to the Gap and I tried on a pair of shorts in a size 4. I noticed that they fit really well but knowing how much I was losing, I tried on a size 2 to see if I could get away with a smaller size. MUCH to my surprise....THEY FIT!! They were a little tight around my belly button, which is still my problem area unfortunately.

 I went back to the Gap and bought another pair of shorts, in a different style in a size 4, along with an adorable pair of jeans in a size 4 as well. I was so very happy!!! After this I ventured off to White House  /Black Market, which is my favorite store on earth!!! I ended up finding the cutest top, size small and two pair of jeans. A black pair of capris in a size 4 and another pair in a size 2!!!! This is where I nearly lost it in the store.  I tried on the 4 and again, they fit really well but I could tell there was room in the hips, thighs and butt area....room enough to go down a size. So I held my breath and tried on the size 2....THEY FIT!! I have bought 2 other size 2 skirts from here before but jeans are different. You have to fit them in the thighs, calves and so on. So this was a BIG first for me!

Here was the moment captured......it is a terrible photo and I have Texas 102 degree frizzy hair but I do not care. It was a moment in time that I NEVER want to forget. I love Michaela's expression..."Mommy what on earth are you doing?"

Along with these items I bought 5 size small tops, and an extra small top as well all from different designers. It was a GOOD day to say the least. I also was able to get a super cute Lucky Jeans t-shirt and shorts in the juniors section at Macys. Juniors?? Who knew! For these shorts I ended up getting a size 7/8. They fit lower on the waist and with it being a juniors size, I am HAPPY! To be able to buy so many smaller clothes from so many different brands was a huge deal for me. I never imagined shopping would feel this way again. I feel as if I am a teenager, back in high school. Its so much fun now and all the tears are ones of joy not embarrassment, disappointment and hate for the way I look.

Now, I will tell you this. I am NOT a small person. I have a long way to go....at least another 10 lbs....maybe 12. So I do not know if there was a little fairy going in front of me changing the sizes for me or if the clothes were rejects and sized wrong...LOL...either way, it made my day and I will never forget the feeling of the button closing, and the zipper going up on something I thought I would never in my wildest dreams get to wear.

I feel as if I am dreaming, maybe I am? If so, what a dream this life of mine has become!