Sweets and Treats: The Right Motives

Decision making can be tough for people. Being an indecisive person myself, I know how crippling it can be to not know which way to turn, or which path to take. One way that I have found that helps me make decisions is to reflect upon my motives for these decisions.

I tend to struggle with emotional eating. I mean, who doesn't? This doesn't excuse my struggle, it just makes easier to admit to. At times when I am having a hard day, an emotional time, or am just feeling off, I try to not have too many treats or snacks, because I know myself and I know that one treat can turn into a day-long carbapalooza! Anyone else?? Anyoneeeee?

Don't get me wrong; I see nothing wrong with treats. I love sweets, I love chocolate, I love anything sugary, salty, snacky, and delicious. However, I have to be careful about when I have these certain treats. I have to ask myself why I want the treat right now. Is it because I'm at a Christmas party, I only have these cookies once a year, or I just want a sweet treat? Or is it because I've had a hard day and sugar would make me feel so much better(temporarily), so I might as well just give in to all of my temptations and drown my sorrows in a tub of ice cream and a pan of gingerbread? No. For me, the latter reason is the wrong motive. The latter reason is not one that constitutes having a treat for me.

This may be overthinking things for some of you. But for me, if I indulge because I am feeling empty emotionally and need to be filled, that is a red flag. That means that I am looking to other things for fulfillment. For some, it may be alcohol, drugs, inordinate amounts of spending money, a destructive habit, etc. But for me, it happens to be food. It is what I struggle with, and I have learned what works best for me. #dietitiansstruggletoo

God is our ultimate comfort in times of emotional distress. He wants us to turn to Him when we are stressed, lonely, overwhelmed, or any other emotions that drive us to use unhealthy behaviors to cope. This Christmas season, as we are surrounded by treats and temptations, let's all be more mindful about when we give in and what we give in to. No food is off limits, it is our motives behind our compulsive eating or overindulgence that can cause destruction in not only our physical wellbeing, but our spiritual one as well. I want to rely on God for everything because, as my fiancé reminded me this week, all I need is Jesus. ALL I NEED. I need Jesus more than food, clothing, shelter, and even the people in my life. I want to fill myself up with HIM this season, and every season of my life, so that I do not turn to destructive behaviors in order to fill up my emotional voids and struggles.

First Week of 10K training! Food & Fitness Plan 12/8-12/14

Hello all! I am sooooo excited about this coming week! Not only are we getting closer to Christmas, I am officially starting my 10K training this week! I posted a couple of days ago about my training plan, and this week will be week 1. I'm excited to see how actually following a plan that not only includes running, but also strength and endurance training, will effect my training and proneness to injury. I am so excited about meal prepping this week because my friend Hanna and I are planning to go grocery shopping Wednesday! I LOVE GROCERY SHOPPING! And especially going with someone else and taking your time and discovering all these new foods. I'm a nerd and I know it, but I love it!

Here are my meal options for the week:

Pre workout: * gingerbread bars * hard boiled eggs w/nuts * banana w/nuts or nut butter * gluten free toast w/nut butter

Breakfast: * sausage and taters * scrambles/hard boiled eggs * waffle/pancake Wednesday! * quest bar (if in a hurry!)

Lunch/Dinner: * turkey or beef patties * turkey/mahi mahi burgers * sausage and taters * healthy Parmesan chicken (I want to experiment with a recipe I've been concocting!)

Snacks: * hummus with carrots or GF crackers * Larabars or quest bars * fruits/veggies * nuts * banana chocolate chip cookies (recipe coming soon!)

Fitness Plan:

**F means fast/short run, M means moderately paced, and L means long endurance run. See 10K training plan post for more details!**

M: 3 mile M run, abs, personal training session T: 4 mile M run, plyometrics, circuits with Hanna W: Circuits with Hanna, abs Th: 2 miles F (intervals), personal training session F: Log book workout from trainer, lateral elliptical, plyometrics S: 5 mile L run Sun: rest?

I'll share my progress with my training and let you all know how it goes! I'm looking forward to getting started and seeing how my runs improve with this plan!!

Lastly, this is my inspirational quote for the week:

Humbleness is something I pray for, as well as the worth ethic to work hard and do it all for God's glory! I also want to enjoy my work and be kind to everyone I come into contact with. These things are only possible through God and His work on my heart.

Well, I'm off to an early start this Monday morning and headed to the gym! I hope you all have a great Monday and a good start to the week!

10 Week 10K Injury-Proof Training Plan!

Good morning everyone!! I can't believe it is already Friday. This week flew by for me. But I'm not complaining, because it's almost the weekend! I'm hoping to get some good rest and relaxation in, and of course, get some wedding stuff done! As many of you know, I signed up for a 10K that is on February 15, 2015! I'm so excited for this race. I've done numerous 10Ks and half marathons, but since injuring my knee/hip a year ago, I've been dialing back my running BIG TIME. And, it's been hard. I'm one of those crazy running-lovers that would run every day if my body could take it. And that's exactly how I hurt myself. Before my injuries, would run 6-8 miles daily, no stretching, and no strength training. I would run all day every day (practically). Over-training hurt my joints, and my injuries were directly related to my lack of stretching, lack of strength, and running too long and too frequently, with NO REST. SO, this time, I am determined to not hurt myself while enjoying running again. I miss running and training for an event, so I am incredibly excited about my 10K! There are about 10 weeks left until February 15, so I have developed a 10 week 10 K training plan that is injury proof! I am using my past experiences to fill in the missing pieces of my training plans in the past. I will start my plan this coming Monday, so I decided to post it now so if anyone wants to join, you will have it available!  But, as a disclaimer, I am NOT a personal trainer, nor do I have any fitness certification. All of this is just from my past experiences running races. I hope you all can join me and we can learn together!!

I have a few rules in order to keep myself in check, as well as a split between fast, moderate, and endurance-based runs! I'm so excited to share this plan with you all and I hope it will be of some help to someone out there!

First of all, I've set some training rules for myself that I am going to aim for. I don't want to be running every day as I used to do in the past. I want to put a cap on my distances, and how many times a week I plan to run my longest distance. I definitely want to get into the habit of stretching after each run, and ideally every day. I am a horrible stretcher and need some motivation in this area!

The speed work I plan on doing won't be anything too crazy.

I want to do more plyometrics/jumping exercises. These exercises help your heart develop more strength and endurance. Some of these exercises include squat jumps, burpees, and jump/plyo lunges. I am not too experienced with plyometrics yet, but I am hoping some research and You Tube will give me some more ideas! I will aim to do these plyometric workouts on my moderate run days.

These will be the 3 types of runs I focus on. On my fast runs (F), I will go my shortest distance and try to go all out. These will be when I also practice my sprinting intervals (going really fast for 30-60 seconds at a time). Sprinting speeds are different for each person depending on your running background and endurance levels. I will go based on what tires me out, and keep challenging myself from there! Below, in my running schedule, the runs with an "F" are my short and fast runs of the week!

My moderate runs (M) will be 3-4 miles long and will just be at a comfortable speed. I will not push myself too far, but just at a normal speed with a few intervals thrown in there. Below, the runs with an "M" are my moderate runs for each week.

Lastly, the long, endurance runs will be 5-6 miles long (almost the distance of a 10K) and will be run at an even more comfortable speed than the moderate runs. I will not necessarily be running for time (maybe more towards the end of my training!) but will just develop endurance with these runs. Per my rules, these runs will only be run once a week! Below, the runs with an "L" are my long, endurance runs of the week!

I am pretty excited to start my plan! On my weekly food/fitness posts, I'll also write about which plyometric and interval workouts I do, or plan to do. This is the first time I am following a strict plan. In the past, when I would train, I would just run as far and as fast as I could every time I ran, and obviously, it wore me out! If anyone wants to join me, leave me a comment and let me know! You don't necessarily have to be training for an event to follow a plan. This plan would be perfect for beginner-moderate runners and will help develop running skills in a safe and progressive manner.

Happy Friday, all!

- TV :)

Solvang Day Trip: 11/29/14

My fiancé and I have been wanting to go on a day trip somewhere for a few months now. We were mulling over our options and trying to decide between Santa Barbara and San Diego. However, we both have been to each of those places multiple times and wanted to try somewhere different and "other worldy." We decided to head up to Solvang, somewhere we have both only been once and hardly remember. I am SO glad we took this trip! It was so fun to explore somewhere different together. This town has so much character and is like a little Dutch village. I took a ton of pictures and can't wait to share them! Enjoy! The morning started out early. We left around 8am and decided to stop at the outlets since it was Black Friday weekend and we hadn't done any shopping yet. Of course, I had packed some healthy snacks for our drive!

We got to the outlets and immediately went in to a kitchen store. Our first purchase was probably the one we were most excited about...a Pyrex glass container set!!!

We also went into Banana Republic and bought some clothes. My fiancé bought me a beautiful necklace too! I love it!

We left the outlets and made our way up along the coast. We drove past a beach and decided to stop for a bit and get some fresh air. We had some bananas with my yummy nut mix: almonds, cashews, and macadamia nuts, while enjoying the beautiful beach and ocean waves.

We loved taking our time to get up to Solvang, but were so excited when we finally made it! We had planned on going to Paula's Pancake House, a famous breakfast spot (even though it was 2pm) in Solvang that is known for their huge Danish pancakes.

My fiancé was all over that. Seeing as I am gluten intolerant and am trying to be as strict as possible with my GF diet so I can feel better, I decided to just get a veggie omelet with fruit. The omelet was SO good....I know eggs are just eggs, but oh my goodness, I polished off the plate! It was delicious!

My fiancé got their Danish pancake combo with a  sausage, biscuit, strawberries, and scrambled eggs. The man can eat! And he was so excited! :)

We were proud of ourselves for not getting too full after eating. He didn't finish all his food, and even though I did, I still felt light and not overly stuffed. Eggs have an amazing way of filling us up without getting us uncomfortable!

We walked around the antique shops and came across some interesting stores. We went into this really cool clock and music box shop. All of their clocks played music on the hour!

There were a lot of random shops in Solvang, but we loved walking around and exploring. I really wanted to buy this sign, since it basically describes me perfectly!

"If you can't stand the garlic, get out of my kitchen." YES!

Surprisingly, we got hungry a few hours after our breakfast/lunch. We decided to split 2 scoops of ice-cream, peanut butter swirl and vanilla. The lady at the ice cream shop gave us almost 4 scoops! The minute we got it we thought, "there is NO way we will finish this!" Then...we finished it.

It started getting cold, so we decided to bundle up in our coats and scarves and walk around the pretty Christmas lights they had decorated all around the town.

For dinner, we went to this little spot called Succulent Cafe. It had such a romantic atmosphere, we had to sit outside even though it was cold. They had their silverware in mason jars, and I LOVE mason jars! We were so excited to eat here.

We started off with their sea salt fries with homemade ketchup. These fries were delicious! But we had to exercise some self control and cease and desist while we were halfway through in order to fully enjoy our dinner! I loved that they were served in a pot. When I have my own kitchen one day (soon!), I would love to decorate with and serve food in mason jars and pots!

My fiancé ordered a pumpkin seed crusted lamb dish, which he thoroughly enjoyed. I got their side arugula salad with feta cheese. This salad was DELICIOUS! The feta was so good and I kind of wished I had ordered two of these salads!

After dinner, we decided to head back home since we had a pretty long drive. We had such an amazing time in Solvang and can't wait to go back. Sometimes, you need to just get away for a day and step out of your usual routine!

December Goals & Food/Fitness Plan!

It's finally December and I couldn't be happier!!! This is my favorite time of year. I love all the Christmas movies, music, and decorations. I LOVE going to church and lighting the advent candles and getting closer and closer to the story of Christmas. I just love it all.

I am also excited for a new month because, you know what that means for me! Goal time!!! I love setting goals at the beginning of each month of what I want to accomplish. Sometimes, I don't reach my goal. But that doesn't stop me from setting them anyway and still working towards them! These month's goals might sound familiar (ahem) but I am hoping to really reach them this month and experience some growth in the process! So here are my December goals!

1. Run 5-6 miles, 3 times this month 2. Reach my 100 miles by Christmas goal with Tone it Up! 3. Keep strong with my gluten-free diet and carry around my doctor's prescription whenever I have a hard time with it...yes she wrote down on a prescription pad that I have a severe gluten sensitivity so I would finally believe it! 4. Keep strong with not counting calories 5. Stop complaining about not having time to do things and MAKE THE TIME! 6. Enjoy this Christmas season to the FULL! 7. Count my blessings every day 8. Scrapbook!

I want to start back up a joy jar I used to do with my friend which helped me focus on the positives in my day instead of what stressed me out. You write down something positive on a little piece of paper and place it in a jar. Then at the end of each month (or whenever you want if you want to wait longer), you read through all the great blessings and joyful things that happened during that time!

Fooooooood:

These are my food options for the week! I had zero time to meal prep this weekend and hopefully will have some time tonight!

Pre workout: - hard boiled egg (w/nuts optional) - banana w/nuts or nut butter - Larabar or quest bar - GF toast w/nut butter

Breakfast: - hard boiled eggs w/fruit - protein waffles or pancakes - quest bar - veggie scramble

Lunch/dinner: - leftovers - meatballs (if I have time to cook tonight!) - Turkey or Mahi Mahi burger - roasted vegetables - salads

Snacks: - carrots w/hummus - veggies - bars - nuts

Workouts:

I usually have my personal training session this morning, but we had to cancel this week. Here is my tentative workout plan!

Monday: run Tuesday: run, workout with Hanna (legs!) Wednesday: TIU arms, cardio Thursday: chest, triceps, run Friday: back, biceps, cardio Saturday: run Sunday: rest

I really want to up my running game since my 10K is in 2 months, but I also want to prevent my inevitable hip and knee injuries that appear when I overtrain. I plan on developing and sharing an injury proof 10K training plan to follow!

Anyways, off to the gym to start this month off right! Have a great Monday everyone. I hope you all have time to reflect and set some goals this morning for December!!

Long Weekends & No More Counting

I literally cannot believe that it is only Saturday. I'm sipping my tea and smiling for joy that there are still two days of this weekend left. I feel that my body definitely needed a break, and I have really enjoyed it these past two days!! Thanksgiving morning was a restful one and I spent some time with my parents at home relaxing and watching silly shows that make us laugh. I went to the gym and got a workout in, but didn't kill myself over it. Too many people work out like maniacs before Thanksgiving in order to eat whatever they want; but for me, I treated this day as a typical day, eating a little more than usual but not going crazy over all the goodies we had. And as the saying goes, "you can't out-run your fork." No matter how much you work out, you can't fix a terrible diet. Foods have a certain effect on our hormones, metabolism, and health, which all play a huge part in your ability to burn fat, lean out, bulk up, or reach whichever goals you have.

Black Friday was also a restful day for me. I woke up, spent some time with Jesus, did a 20 minute cardio routine at the gym, then came home to do this back/bicep workout I made up on the spot!

It was definitely more intense than I thought it would be! I did it three times through and really tried to push myself. In 15-20 minutes, it was over, and I felt great. The rest of the day was spent shopping, hanging out with family, my fiancé, and watching the poor Lakers lose yet again. My family and I are HUGEEEEE Lakers fans, so this season has been a tough one for us!!!

Today (Saturday) my fiancé and I are going to take a day trip up the coast. I'm pretty excited for this mini getaway. Even though I have been enjoying being lazy at home the past couple days, it will be nice to get away for the day!!

As far as calorie counting goes, I still have not done it!!! I've actually been feeling great lately, praise the Lord! I feel God's strength with me and I am not getting anxious about my food choices. I am learning to just eat the healthy, good foods that he provides, while indulging in moderation and trusting my body in the process. Thanksgiving was freeing, and I felt that I could have little nibbles here and there without logging every single thing into my app. I also used to feel like I had to wipe my plate clean since I had calculated certain portion and had to stick to eating what I had entered. This may sound silly, but it felt so good to leave some food on my plate! I am still keeping a food journal, but have almost forgotten about it and just write down what I have eaten for accountability's sake. Yes, there are times when I feel like I am eating more, and even less than what I would have eaten if I had been keeping track of my calories and strict portions. In those situations, I have been listening to my hunger cues and adding a snack somewhere if I am still hungry, or just waiting till the next time I am hungry to eat my food instead of forcing a snack down before the hunger strikes. Overall, I am happy not counting my calories, and I hope God's peace and strength continues throughout this journey!

Anyways, I need to go get dressed and ready for my day date! And of course, I need to pack some snacks!

I love Quest and Larabars!! I also loveeeee nuts, as you well know if you follow me on Instagram (@tveen_RD). I have a problem and eat nuts every single day. But until I can handle eating an avocado by itself (I love avocados but just can't eat them on their own for some reason), nuts (and olives but we are out!) are the easiest portable fat source for me!!

Anyways, I hope you all have a great Saturday and a wonderful last few days of November!! Remember to start thinking about those December goals!! We are coming upon a new month and new beginnings for everyone!!

Thanksgiving Short-week Plan!

I am so excited Thanksgiving week is here! Christmas is my favorite holiday, but Thanksgiving has always been a close second. I love spending time with family and reflecting on God's uncountable blessings and what I am thankful for.

This week is also a short week at work! Just 3 days! Which is great since I worked all weekend getting trained to be a Certified Lactation Educator! It was such an amazing and informative week at work, but I am mentally exhausted and can't wait for a few days off!!

Here is my tentative meal plan for this short week. I've only planned my meals for work days since thanksgiving + leftovers will probably make up the rest of the week! Also, I am still not counting calories (yay!) and update on that coming soon!

Meals:

11/24: B: sausage, taters, veggies L: turkey with gluten-free peanut sauce, brown rice, carrots, hummus S: nuts D: out with parents!

11/25: B: sausage, taters, veggies L: Mahi Mahi burger, brown rice, veggies S: nuts/quest bar D: probably out!

11/26: B: sausage, taters, veggies L: turkey burger, salad, carrots, hummus S: nuts D: probably out!

And then the family time begins!! I can't wait!

As far as workouts go, I plan to be very on top of my workouts this week! I want to stay in my routine and build on the strength I've been developing!

11/24: I had my personal training session this morning. We worked on chest, triceps, and shoulders, then I did a 2 mile run/walk

11/25: RUN! I am at 45/100 miles for Christmas...being sick really set me back! I hope I can get some decent mileage in this week!

11/26: Log book workout (legs), cardio

11/27: Log book workout (biceps/back), cardio

11/28: run...if I have time before shopping of course!

11/29: rest day

11/30: run/toning circuit before church!

And that's about it! I'm hoping the first 3 days of this week fly by and the last 4 days take their sweeeeet time! That's possible, right?? :)

Okay Monday, let's do this!

Leaps of Faith: November 17-23

Here we are! Another week on its way. I can't believe we are halfway through November. It's almost Thanksgiving and almost Christmas!! I am looking forward to spend time with family and friends and make the most out of this season. I also don't want to stray too much from my  healthy eating plan except for the occasional treats here and there. I have been doing pretty well with my fitness lately, but my food...not so much. It has been hard to resist temptations and there seem to be treats everywhere I go!

Real talk right here...even RDs struggle! I am striving to find balance, allow the occasional treats, all while making most of my food choices real, whole, healthy foods. I am also trying to steer away from calorie/macro counting. I have counted calories since I was in high school...so about 10-12 years. I know, that is SO long. But I am being honest in my post today because it is something that I really want to grow out of. I rely on it too much, know too much, and let it rule my life too much. I have learned throughout the years what healthy food choices and portions are, and I want to trust the brain that God gave me and rely on His strength in all areas of my life, even my food. I know God cares about ALL of us, our entire being, and if one area is taking over and causing anxiety and confusion, I think God just wants IN to that area in order to redeem, restore, and renew us. Don't get me wrong, I don't think that calorie counting is harmful for everyone. Most people can have a balanced approach. But being the perfectionist that I am, it was taking up too much of my mental time and energy. I feel convicted to step away from it, and that is the leap of faith I am taking this week!

With that said, this is my food and fitness plan for the week. As always, this is a tentative plan, but I hope to follow these guidelines throughout the week! I will also probably keep a food journal as a way to track myself without the use of numbers or apps. I want to be mindful of what I eat without getting so caught up in the calculations of it all!

Pre workout ideas: * 1/2 bagel with cookie or nut butter * hard boiled egg * high protein pumpkin bars

Breakfast ideas: * scrambles with veggies * hard boiled eggs * protein waffles

Lunch/dinner ideas: * mahi mahi burgers * turkey burgers * roasted sweet potatoes * salads * peanut chicken * curry with chicken and veggies * marinara w/lentils and veggies

Snack ideas: * larabars/quest bars * nuts * fruits * veggies w/hummus

This week will be a little different because I also have all day trainings for work on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I will be working on my certification to be a certified lactation educator (BREAST IS BEST)!!! So, I will be basically on a work schedule this weekend from 8:30-5pm. I plan on packing all of my meals for these training and have healthy meals for dinner/possibly go out with family.

Fitness plan:

Monday: logbook toning workout (back and biceps), run 3 miles

Tuesday: run 4-5 miles

Wednesday: TIU kettle bell workout, possible circuits with my friend Hanna

Thursday: personal training sessions (probably will be leg day!), cardio

Friday: logbook toning workout (chest and triceps), cardio

Saturday: run outside and/or TIU workout

Sunday: run outside and/or TIU workout

That is all for this weeks! I will try and update you all on my progress with the no calorie counting goal for this week. Get ready for some honest heart to heart posts by yours truly!

Just Do It!!!!

Yesterday I surprised myself. No really, I did. This usually doesn't happen often since I am a very routine person. I like to stick to what I know and am pretty stubborn in most areas of my life. As many of you know, and if you don't you can read my post about one year ago called "the strength training woes of a cardio queen," I am not into toning or lifting weights. Give me a 7 or 8 mile run and I can run it out in no time, but the motivation to lift heavy things has never been a natural desire in my soul. Until...yesterday. My fiancé and I headed to the gym yesterday morning and only had about 30 minutes to workout because of the crazy busy day ahead. I planned to just run or do some cardio for the entire 30 minutes...because HELLO calorie burn! But then, 18 minutes into my run (yes, 18), I started to get an itch in my soul to lift some heavy things. Now, I've been lifting regularly since May, ever since I got a personal trainer to keep me accountable in the toning department. I workout with him once a week, and workout of a logbook of exercises he gives me twice a week. I had already done my allotted logbook exercises for the week, so yesterday should have been a purely cardio day (days that I usually look forward to more than logbook days). So when I started craving lifting some weights, on my own, without a trainer or my logbook accountability to stick to, I was shocked!!! I decided to grab hold of that feeling, run another 2 minutes to hit 20 minutes total (OCD problems), and hit the weights. I did a short 10 minute circuit, but it felt amazing, and I feel sore today! Just from those short 10 minutes. Here was my circuit, and I even had time to stretch afterwards!

The point of this post is this: just do it. Start that program. Start lifting the heavy things. Even if you don't feel like it, just start. Eventually, the feeling will follow. Lifting weights has transformed not only my body, but my mind as well. I feel stronger and challenged every time I pick up a weight. I want to see how heavy I can go and how many reps I can do. And the thing is, I NEVER thought I would enjoy it. I was always the 40 mins on the elliptical, 3 mile run, kind of girl. But now, I find myself wanting to fit in the toning and lifting into my workout routine because of the results I have seen in my overall health, body, and sense of self. I have more confidence in my abilities and my strength. The combination of toning and cardio have helped me find more balance in the area of fitness, instead of being lopsided to one side. Sometimes, we have to workout not for the sake of a calorie burn, but for the sake of bettering our strength and abilities. I challenge any girl, or even guy, out there who is scared of weights to start a toning program this week, even if it is with a pair of 2 lb dumbbells! Starting is the biggest step!

Food & Fitness Plan: 11/10-11/14

Hello friends! I hope you all had a fabulous first week of November. I have been loving this month so far and am looking forward to a colder more wintery week...or at least wintery for California! This week's plan is going to consist of a few new recipes and hopefully a some runs. I came down with a nasty cold last week which really effected my running plan. I am feeling much better today and hope to be as good as new in order to run this week! But first, the food plan:

Pre workout options: * I spied these yummy looking pumpkin bagels at Target a few weeks ago and have been wanting to try them. Yesterday, I finally took the plunge and bought them.

I am trying to treat myself a bit more in this whole healthy eating journey without going overboard. I decided that pairing half a bagel with either a fat or protein source would help me enjoy these delicious carbs while still balancing my plate! So as a pre workout option, I may have half a bagel with some fat or protein! I have been eating them with a 1/2 T of Trader Joe's cocoa swirl cooking butter and it's AMAZING!

* banana w/nuts * low carb tortilla with peanut butter * hard boiled egg

Breakfast options: * veggie scramble * egg tacos * hard boiled eggs * healthy whole grain French toast * a bar if I am in a rush!

Lunch options: * Sausage minestrone soup (recipe coming soon!) * Mahi Mahi or Turkey burgers from Trader Joe's w/salad * I bought the Thai Green Curry Sauce from Trader Joe's I am hoping to experiment with this week! Maybe with some chicken...yum! * I also bought some ready-made meatballs from Trader Joe's to have as a quick meal option.

Dinner options: * my Mama's beef and potato casserole...SO GOOD! * out with my parents possibly * any lunch option as dinner would work too!

Dessert options (yes, dessert!) * I made a super healthy single crusted apple pie yesterday that came out tasting delicious! It satisfied my apple pie craving and only has 120 calories/slice...no joke! I'm glad to have a healthy dessert option this week if my sweet tooth kicks in. And don't worry, I will be sharing this recipe soon as well!

Fitness Plan:

11/10: training session (back and biceps) with a lateral elliptical workout...I love this elliptical machine! It moves you up and down and side to side so it targets every leg muscle!

11/11: run + TIU kettlebell workout

11/12: logbook workout from my trainer (legs), lateral elliptical

11/13: run + possible workout with my friend!

11/14: logbook workout (chest, triceps, shoulders) from my trainer, some kind of cardio

11/15-11/16: run, strength training, random!

I am doing the Tone it Up 100 miles by Christmas challenge. I've reached 19 miles so far and am hoping to make a dent in my mileage this week since I am feeling a bit better!

That's all for this week, folks! Here is a bit of Motivation Monday for you before I end this post:

It all starts in the mind! If you keep your thoughts positive and focused on God and His strength, peace and strength will follow. As one of my favorite passages, Colossians 3:1-4 states:

"Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory."

Have a great Monday!