Lazy Days... ARE OVER

So I fell apart. We went on vacation and I got sick when we returned. Started to feel better and went home on vacation again right after that. Came home and got sick again, this time really sick. But in between all of this I had some days where I felt fine and was just completely lazy when it came to working out. Honestly, this is no longer acceptable. I work until 3pm everyday and I have almost 3 hours until my fiancée comes home from work so there really is no excuse for not at LEAST going for an hour walk. 
Honestly I'm fed up. I'm sick and tired of being a lazy ass. I really am not unhappy with my life or anything going on in it. I have been so happy but I have neglected myself. And yes, I have a man who loves me unconditionally but what happens if I start to not love myself because I keep doing this to myself, will he stop loving me then? Regardless, I'm doing this for me and for us. I cannot stay this unhealthy. That's all there is to it. 
So I've decided to start taking small steps towards getting into shape instead of going full steam and quitting. I've been in shape most of my life, these last 2 years I have just fallen apart and it's not okay. The worst part about it is that I'm happy. I'm not necessarily happy with how my body looks or feels but as a whole I'm very happy and I think that's part of my obstacle in getting into shape. Plus, I've been making terrible decisions on what to eat. Candy bar here,  french fries there.. I have to realize that I simply cannot eat whatever I feel like eating ALL the time. There has to be some restraint in my life, I have to control myself at times. 
Although I'm still fairly sick, when I kick this I WILL start walking for an hour a day at least 5 times a week. This is an accomplishment that I know I can handle. I will workout with weights at for 30 minutes at least once a week but hopefully twice a week. I'm going to set small goals and as I attain them I will set new ones and continue to build on these small goals. 
I once read someone's goals that were along the lines of each day running to a further street lamp. In most neighborhoods that's not terribly far but I understand that it's the small milestones that keep us going. 

So goal #1 - Walk for an hour, 5 days a week & 30 minutes of weights at least 1 day a week. 

Week 9/27 Workouts...

Monday - Nothing
Tuesday - 5.4 mile bike ride in the morning, alone this time. It was so hard to get up alone this morning as my fiancé and the dogs stayed in bed sleeping but I went at it and am really proud of myself.
Wednesday - Got up alone again today and went for a .75 mile run. I figure if I can do this run twice a week for 2 weeks straight I can move up to a 1.10 mile run. Plus as soon as I put on my running shoes my one dog knows it's time to go and how can I deprive him of that? Hopefully tonight I can get some weight training in since vacation starts tomorrow night and I don't know how much working out I will get in.



I'm not seeing any progress on my scale but I am starting to feel tighter and that's better than any scale could tell me.

Brick Chicken Recipe - Amazing

I made this Brick Chicken on Saturday and it was honestly the juiciest chicken I have ever had and super simple to make. 


Ingredients

• 3 bone in chicken breasts
• 1 tablespoon olive oil 
• 1/2 - 1 tablespoon of butter
• 4-5 sprigs of thyme
• Salt & Pepper

Directions

• Heat a large skillet (cast iron is recommended) over medium heat. Wrap a smaller skillet in foil and find a brick, something equally heavy or 3 heavy cans. Season the chicken with salt & pepper on both sides. Place the olive oil & butter in the skillet to heat. Take the chicken breast and place skin side down in the oil/butter and scatter the thyme around the chicken. Take the foil wrapped skillet and place it on top of the chicken breast and place the brick in the skillet. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes and then check and adjust the chicken to ensure equal cooking of the skins. Cook like this for another 20-25 minutes or until the chicken is 3/4 of the way cooked. Flip the chicken over and cook on opposite side for 8-10 more minutes uncovered or until fully cooked. Remove chicken from skillet and let rest for 5-10 minutes then serve and enjoy!!! 

Week 9/20 Workouts...

Monday - Overslept like a bum and didn't do anything... laaame
Tuesday - 5:30 am - 5.35 mile bike ride, average speed 11mph
Tuesday - 5:30 pm - 30 minutes of circuit training with weights
Wednesday - 5:30 am - 1st run in months, ran .74 miles in 7 minutes, I'm a little happy about that time. (I've mapped a few new routes in my neighborhood as well, once I'm semi-comfortable with this route, I will up it to 1.11 miles, then 1.5 miles and so on until I can get a solid 5k finished)
Wednesday - 6:00 pm - I get to coach soccer for an hour
Saturday - 9am - .74 miles in 8 minutes, my body was very exhausted, I could tell that I had taken too many days off in a row.


A little about what is going on... I have recently peaked at a weight I am unbelievably uncomfortable with so I have signed up for MyPlate on www.livestrong.com and began tracking my calories and workouts in order to help me lose weight. I would love to lose 30 pounds in the next 6 months. Anything more than that, I will consider a blessing but I am going to be working to drop 30 in 6 months so I will be posting healthy recipes and meals that I have made as well as posting my workouts to keep myself honest.
Any questions or comments are always welcome as long as it's positive criticism.

Green Beans with Browned Butter and Lemon

I stole this recipe from Cooking Light and we absolutely love it. Just about every time we have green beans now, this is how I cook them. 

Ingredients

• 1 pound fresh green beans, trimmed and cleaned
• 1.5 tablespoons of butter (we use Fleischmann's Olive-oil spread)
• .5 teaspoon grated lemon rind
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• .25 teaspoon kosher salt
• .25 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Cook the green beans in boiling water for 5 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain the beans and plunge into ice water. Drain well. 

Melt the butter in a skillet on medium-high heat, cook for 2 minutes or until the butter is browned. Add the beans to the pan, cook for 1 minute or until heated, stir in remaining ingredients. Yields 4, 1 cup servings. 

*We personally use a little less lemon rind and a little less lemon juice because we aren't lovers of citrus but you can tweak this as necessary. This is a super simple and quick side-dish.*

Rough nutrition estimates 

Calories - 74

Fat - 4.4g (sat 2.7g)

Sodium - 155mg

Currently listening to Dispatch - Even