Lunch

Here is what I eat for lunch on an average day, this meal fuels me through my afternoon workout so it tends to be my biggest meal of the day

3 cups of spring mix with light dressing

1roma tomato

1/2 cup rottisiere chicken

1 avocado

500 calories
36g carbs
28g fat
43g protien

Snacks

I still miss my donuts but I really can't complain about todays mid-morning meal...fresh peaches in from CO and a hard boiled egg

Calories:140
Fat: 5g
Carbs: 17g
Protein: 8g
Sugar:15g

Not too shabby

BOOYA

I am finally at the point where I am starting to see change and that is one of the most exciting and motivating things ever. Two years ago I decided to run a race with some friends and our moms, it was a nice and easy 5k. Just 3.2 miles but I remember training for it like it was the Boston Marathon, I didn't think I could run 3.2 miles. I struggled with a 12 minute mile and took a lot of breaks while I trained on the treadmill. I ran 1-2 miles at a time and I was genuinely scared to run in the race. I ran it in 33 minutes, averaging an 11 minute mile. Scott ran it in 27 minutes and that became my new goal, run as hard if not harder and faster than the boys (have I mentioned I am tiny bit competitive?). So as we all know I have been running... a lot. I have been running sprints, hills, sprints up hill, long runs, short runs, runs with burpees in between, even a rock run to make things interesting. Well folks it finally happened yesterday, I ran 3 miles in under 27 minutes. If you are asking yourself, I wonder if Lauren finished her run then got off the treadmill and kicked it while screaming BOOYA MOTHER F&%$#@#!! The answer is unfortunately (for me and the surrounding treadmillers) yes...yes I did. I made that treadmill my bitch and I am proud of it, I went home and told Scott what I did (while showing him my guns, of course).And because he is an amazingly loving  and supportive husband he congratulated me and even gave me a hug and a kiss, which was a big deal because I did not smell like a basket of roses. Of course today I can barely walk and I feel like I have been hit by a car. Every freaking inch of me is sore but I am not alone in my pain, Heather is feeling the same.

This last weekend we went camping, it was my first time camping and I was about ready to pee my pants with excitement. We bought a tent, excessive amounts of alcohol, bad food, and firewood, It was awesome. I had deliciously bad food, cold beer, and the time of my life. We did do one workout while we were up there and if you haven't run at a high altitude before I recommend it. It was just a short run but we made it count. We ran 1mile-ish to the Walmart down the road (not the most primitive camping trip ever) and did three rounds of 15 burpees, 15 push-ups, and 15 squat jumps. Then we ran back but to make it interesting we grabbed some nice looking boulders and ran with them. Then when that got old we decided to throw the rocks, run to the rock, throw the rock, run to the rock (you get the idea). That sucked big time and by the time we made it back to the campsite I was sucking wind. We also fished, swam in the lake, walked around, played horseshoes, corn hole and frisbee golf. I only gained two pounds but based on the way I ate and drank I will take it.

This weekend is our first weekend warrior trip up Camelback Mountain, I am really excited and I can
t wait to see everyone. Email me if you want to join!

Motivating

Lately I have had people start to ask me what I am eating and what exercises I am doing at the gym so I decided to start a weekend workout group. This is a group of girls that can get together every weekend and hike, run, workout, and just enjoy each others company. I know not everyone can afford a trainer or a boot camp but everyone needs to be active. So if you want to join us just shoot me and email or join the group on facebook.

I love trying to motivate people to live a healthier life, to try and make the changes that I am making. I have been trying to get a few people to run some races with me and Heather in the next couple of months and I have been able to sign up a few recruits. One of my friends told me that I was taking her out of her element, she said that she was never an athlete and didn't know if she could do it. I know she can, she is a mom, a wife, a employee, she is one strong lady and she can do anything she puts her mind to! But that got me thinking... We are never too old to make these changes but why not do it now before the serious consequences set it. I have never been a serious athlete, I was a cheerleader and a golfer in high school. Not exactly the most athletic sports in the world, but I have always had the athlete mindset. I love competition, I like pushing myself, and I like rewarding myself when I am done. I am in no way shape or form a obstacle course athlete but I am trying to shape myself into one. Change is a good thing and the more we push ourselves the better our outcome is going to be. I look at those girls who run the obstacle courses and win or the girls who compete in the crossfit games and that's what I want to be like. I want to push myself to that edge and find that athlete that has been hiding behind a layer of fat and a bag of potato chips. It takes a certain amount of courage to make the changes, it's easier to stay the way you are but for me it was harder to look in the mirror everyday and not like what I saw. I am not even close to being done but already I am happier, lighter (literally), and less stressed. Decide which voice you want to listen to... the one who tells you to get your ass to the gym and put down the donut or the one who thinks its ok to be unhappy.

So I guess the take away message for today is think about who you want to be, where you want to be and what is holding you back. The only person who can tell you you can't is you, and you don't have to listen.

Small Victories

You know those days when the last place you want to be is the gym? The days when you would much rather be cuddled up in bed watching a mind numbing reality show and eating pizza? Or out with friends drinking a few beers, eating whatever you want? That was me and Heather yesterday. We just didn’t want to be there but we were.

Heather ran before I got there and we started our Spartan workout as soon as I walked in the door, it started out kind of slow, lots of talking, and lots of whining. That’s when I realized that just because we are at the gym doesn’t mean we are going to get anything out of it if we keep acting like this. I thought to myself, suck it up! You got yourself in this position and you have to get yourself out! If you don’t want to go to the gym everyday then maybe you shouldn’t have spent so much time eating pizza and watching TV. So mid-whine I told Heather let’s put on our big girl panties and get this workout done! No more talking in between reps, no more whining! She agreed with me and we got to work. We all have bad days at the gym but I think yesterday helped bring the big picture into focus. We were starting to slip and we weren’t pushing ourselves to the limit like we have been. We made a pinky promise (don’t judge) while stretching after our workout to get back on this weight loss/healthy lifestyle train and plow through our workouts and eating habits. No more testing food we don’t need to eat, no more whining during workouts, or talking for 20 minutes between reps.

Some days are harder than others. Some days I am so motivated and excited to be doing what I am doing that I can barely stand it, I whip through a workout and finish sweaty and out of breath then go home and enjoy my salad. Other days I drag my feet, take breaks on my run, and eat my salad while grumbling under my breath. I know I have said it 100 times before but every day is a struggle and every day that I make it through a workout out or meal is a small victory for me. I have to constantly try to keep myself excited about things, excited for a new outfit, excited to finish an 8 mile run, excited to not be fat anymore. Today’s small victory is wearing a shirt that I have not worn comfortably since the day I bought it (Don’t ask me why I bought something that didn’t fit) I looked like a sausage that has been packed to tight but today I wore it with confidence and that felt goooood!

 On a side note… My office is slowly trying to kill me with donuts and swivel chairs. I feel like I spent most of my morning trying to avoid the delicious pink and orange box from Dunkin. Stupid frosted, fried, deliciousness.

Surviving the ups, the downs, and the crazy like a pro.

Once a month my uterus makes a serious attempt to get me killed. It has many different approaches but each one  has the possibility to land me in an early grave.

Top 3 Possible Causes of Death:

1. It tells me to eat anything and everything coated in grease, deep fried, or anything with sugar listed as the first ingredient  which as we all know leads to.... DIABETES!!! YAY! (delayed and prolonged death but still death)

2. It makes me so crazy and unstable that my husband considers hitting me over the head with a frying pan

3. The pain of cramps combined with absolute starvation 10 minutes after I finish eating causes me to run into  oncoming traffic.


So that's how my week has gone so far....

Eating has been ehhhh, workouts have been killer, and my mind has been a bowl full of crazy. I have spent all week arguing with myself which we all know is super healthy. Friday it really came to a peak, all I wanted was ice cream. Nothing crazy but I wanted it and I wanted it bad, I had already had a slip up and devoured a mini almond joy in a moment of raging hormone weakness and I wasn't going to allow myself to have anything else. My mind tried tricking myself into it, I asked Scott if I could have some (he said no), I thought about texting Heather to see if Fro Yo was on our list of approved foods (its not) and I even tried to figure out a way to sneak it. I haven't felt that out of control in a while or spent that much time trying to rationalize cheating. We went to blockbuster to pick out a movie and I grabbed every type of candy in the checkout lane just to read the calorie/sugar/carb contents of each one. I do this a lot when I am craving something and I think once I see how bad it is for me I actually am able to take a step back and say no. For some reason it becomes real once I see the 220 calories per serving. The craving goes out the window at that point because then I start to think of how long I would have to run in order to burn it off.

Today I got up at 4:30 and hiked Camelback mountain with Heather and my cousin Victoria. It was a good solid two hour hike followed by an egg white scramble and protein pancakes (not as healthy as it sounds but a great cheat meal). This week I hope to lose a couple extra pounds and get in some extra miles running, I think it is time to step it up again. I feel like I am starting to get into a comfort zone with my food and workouts and that's not a bad thing but I need to make myself uncomfortable and push myself to the limits. I have goals that I plan on giving my everything in order to attain them and I can't do that and I won't change anything by letting myself get comfortable. I have to keep reminding myself....

"If you're tired of starting over, STOP GIVING UP!!"