Today has been great so far… it started out like a Prius commercial. The sky was super blue, there was a nice cool breeze and everyone who wasn’t at work was out walking their dog. I seriously felt like I was in a cartoon.

I was out of iced coffee so I loaded up the baby (still in her jammies) for a walk to the coffee shop. She ate breakfast on the way and was more than willing to share her super slimy banana with me. It was cute.

As appetizing as that banana was I passed because I was planning on making some eggs before my morning workout at Crossfit Bodywerx. I should have taken her up on her offer though, because before I knew it an hour and a half had passed and I only had ten minutes to get to the gym.

I got home just in time to transfer Penelope from her stoller directly into her car seat… still dressed in her jammies. The whole jammie thing wasn’t cute anymore since she was caked with regurgitated cereal and smashed bananas. I was a little shaky and jumpy from only consuming coffee  but I didn’t have time to eat… I had to go!

Brent had just gotten off of work and when I arrived he had announced that our workout was going to be a conditioning one. I was really wishing I had eaten some of that slimy banana before I got there. So I guess we’ll call this workout…

You Should’ve Eaten You Idiot!

Warm-up:

Toy soldiers and spiderman lunges

Part 1:

30 seconds on 10 seconds off of battling kettlebell swings. A battling kettlebell swing is when one person swings the kettlebell and another person stands in front of them and pushes it down as hard as they can once it has been swung to shoulder height. There were three of us so we rotated between being the bitchy kettlebell pusher, the swinger and the left out loser who has to sit in a squatting position during the 30 second exercise. We stayed in position for three sets and then switched. We did this for 5 rounds.

(Brent still refuses to take pictures so I squatted and photographed at the same time… it was awkward.)

Part 2:

Next we did a series where we wore a weight belt connected to a resistance band connected to a pole. We had to push the prowler as hard and as far as we could against the resistance. One other person pushed it right back to you and the left out loser did planks. We also did this for 30 seconds on and 10 seconds off, three times in a row before switching. We did each exercise three rounds each.

(Brent yelled at me when I took this picture because I wasn’t planking.)

Part 3:

We had a 12 pound ball slam and a 20 pound ball slam. We had to do as many slams as fast as possible in a 20 second period of time. Rest 10 seconds while simultaneously rotating. So we started off with the light ball, switched over to the heavy ball and then rested (tried not to puke). I think we did this for three rounds I don’t remember because I was on autopilot by this time.

Part 4:

Five rounds of resistance band sprints. They aren’t attractive when you’ve got some belly fat to lose but I love them all the same. I feel like an unstoppable freight train.

By the time I got home I was REALLY ready to eat. Luckily I had some left over avocado chicken salad on hand.

My friend Amanda was telling me about this awesome chicken salad recipe that she had pinned on Pinterest. At the same time her husband was telling Brent about this recipe that they had tried… You know it’s good if dudes are sitting at the gym talking recipes.

They have these elements in common:

2 C. shredded chicken

1/4 C. light mayo

1/4 C. greek yogurt

lime or lemon juice

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 avocado

Other than that you can add whatever elements you want to it. One has cilantro and lime another has dill. In this one I added red onion. Basically, if you stick to the ingredients above you can’t go wrong. Then you can simply add what you like to it. I usually have shredded chicken on hand because I’ll stick the chicken that is about to expire in my crock pot covered with stock and a bay leaf. Then  I forget about it and go about my business until I remember that I was cooking chicken. It’s usually falling apart by then 🙂

Anyway… yesterday I mentioned wanting to set some weight loss goals that actually have numbers attached to them. I tend to shy away from this because I don’t want to become obsessed with numbers. I don’t like letting the scale determine my self worth.

At the same time I’ve found myself stuck in a comfort zone. I think I’ve made it pretty clear that I think I’m pretty awesome. This wasn’t always the case. In fact, when I first started this blog I was miserable with myself. I was trying to lose weight out of desperation. That’s never a fun place to be.

I have gotten to a point where I still need to lose a good thirty pounds to be healthy but it’s hard to stay motivated when you can convince yourself that you look good where you’re at. Let’s be honest, the majority of weight loss motivation stems from a really shallow place of simply wanting to look good. Don’t get me wrong I have my moments when I can look pretty rough. But I clean up nice. As long as I’ve showered, fixed my hair and actually put makeup on. I can look GOOD. (Given I’m not wearing something with a tight waste band.)

However, just because I know how to hide my fat it doesn’t mean I’m in the clear. So that is why I’ve decided to make some concrete goals to strive for. Goals are good because they tap into my competitive nature.

So here they are…

Long Term Goal: I want to weigh 165 or less by Thanksgiving Day. 165 is a good healthy weight for me. It was what I weighed when I got married. Thanksgiving is significant because last November is when I started writing this blog. I didn’t actually share it until January but this would be the one year anniversary of writing this blog. I want to have reached my ultimate goal by then.

Also, the holidays are a slippery slope for me. Once Halloween approaches with all of it’s accessible candy I turn into that grimlin that I’ve already talked about. I kind of want to avoid that.

Over the course of the summer I have proven that I am perfectly capable of maintaining. That will be my goal during this year’s holiday season. For once I would like to spend the holidays thinking about all of the fun I’m having with my family and not about how fat I’m going to get.

Short Term Goals: So here is where the math comes in. I have exactly 15 weeks before Thanksgiving Day. If I lose an average of two pounds a week I will be beyond my long-term goal. But I need to set up short little goals in order to actually get there. I just need to get the damn thing done!

September 27, 2013- 180 lbs

October 25, 2013- 170 lbs

November 28, 2013 (Thanksgiving Day)- 165 lbs

I know where I’m going but I can’t really think of any way to reward myself when I reach a goal. That’s where you come in. Help a sister out! I need non-food related ways to reward myself as I reach these mini goals. I would love to hear your ideas.

I would also love it if you would join me. You may not need to lose weight, in that case you can make your goals fitness oriented or even organizational… or professional. Whatever your goals are I would love to hear them as well! Good luck!

*I’m wishing you luck because I want you to wish me luck.  Kind of like when you offer someone a bite of your food or when you tell your friend she looks good… Okay, I’m stopping now.*