Power Boost Breakfast

Well, it's the last day of March and I'm still sticking strong to my New Year's Resolution of creating a healthier lifestyle. In fact, I'm down 6lbs this month! I'd attribute that to the fact that I've upped my workout game from 2-3 times a week to 4-5 times a week. This means a lot more soreness and fatigue, and a need to increase my protein and carb load. So I figured why not start with the most important meal of the day? 

I used to skip breakfast almost everyday. Terrible, I know. I didn't think that I had time for breakfast. And besides, I wasn't even hungry anyway... So no harm done right? But really, my body was so used to being denied food in the morning that it stopped sending hunger signals to my brain. Not good. And as far as the whole not having time excuse, that was just pure crap. There is always time to take care of yourself if you make it a priority. Now that I work out first thing in the morning most days, I need to eat breakfast and a hearty one at that. My new favorite breakfast...scrambled eggs with red onion, avocado, and smoked salmon on toast. 

Smoked Salmon

I love the salty flavor and a little bit goes a long way. Smoked salmon is an excellent source of protein and  omega-3's. It's also a great source of iron, something most women don't get enough of. An iron deficiency means less oxygen circulating in your blood, which leads to fatigue (plus other very bad stuff) and Ain't nobody got time for that!

Eggs 

Ah where do I begin? Vitamin B, Vitamin E, Vitamin A. Lots of different vitamins and nutrients all in one little egg. 

Avocado

There is a reason that avocados are a super food! Packed with fiber and essential nutrients; avocados are a great source of healthy fats. Avocados level out your blood sugar, lower your cholesterol, and help your digestion. Plus, they contain oleic acid, which helps to make your body feel full. 

Red Onion

I honestly just added these for flavor, but it turns out that they function as an antioxidant too! 

Oatmeal Wheat Toast

When people are trying to lose weight (as I am), bread seems to be one of those things that is automatically eliminated. But not all breads are created the same. In fact, whole grain breads can be an excellent source of fiber and minerals. 

This breakfast covers so many different food groups, fills me up, and helps meet many of my daily nutritional requirements. Plus, it tastes amazing so I love it. 

Eat Clean & Stay Well 

Quinoa, Snap Peas, & Feta Cheese

I love love love to bake, which would suggest that I like to cook too. Well I don't, I hate it. So while it seems that I have shared several recipes with you for some of my favorite sweet treats, I haven't shared as many dinner recipes. Lately, I have been trying to spice things up and experiment with more options at home. I've recently fallen in love with quinoa and have been incorporating it wherever I can. Here is my recipe for quinoa salad. And the best part is that you could easily adapt this to include any veggies that you please. 

Blazing Saddles: Biking San Francisco

After a great night out in San Francisco, we were eager to start the next day early. We decided to rent bikes from Blazing Saddles and bike the city. What better way to explore all the important landmarks?  

Hiking Sequoia National Park

Time for some more hiking! 

The Congress Trail that we did earlier in the day was pretty easy and quick so we decided to challenge ourselves a little more. We started with the Tokopah Falls Trail...a 3.5 mile hike. It was completely different landscaping than elsewhere in the park.  

Redwoods, Black Bears, & Bee Stings

We awoke in our tent at Sequoia National Park, surrounded by the canopy of the redwoods and the rustling of the Kaweah River. Perfectly peaceful and surreal. I didn't want to leave the tent, but the mountains were calling us so we headed off to hike the Congress Trail in The Giant Forest. 

Waterfalls

Happy Fourth of July! Hubby and I are on the road right now, on our way to spend the holiday with my parents. We just left my in-laws place so I thought I would share with you some of the time that we spent there. Yesterday, we all piled into the car and headed to Shenandoah National Park in the Blue Ridge Mountains. We decided to hike the Dark Hollow Falls Trail, which turned out to be 4.5 miles round trip. 

There was a good bit of thundering when we started out, but it wasn't really raining so we decided to push onward. It worked out perfectly for us because the overcast day allowed for a much cooler hike. The heavy rain held off until we were finishing up the trail. By that point, it was much welcomed because the last stretch was the steepest and the rain cooled us down after that workout. 

Fresh Start

One of the advantages of having an exam every week is that after each test you have the chance to start anew. This past Tuesday I stayed up very late and got up fairly early on Wednesday morning to squeeze in some extra studying for my respiratory exam. And after our test, we had dental lab so to say that I was exhausted yesterday is an understatement. I literally came home from school and crashed, totally missing yesterday's Work-It-Out Wednesday post. And with that said, I think it's time for a change.

Work-it-out Wednesday

Between the combination of working out regularly and eating clean, I have not only lost a little weight, but I'm feeling better as well. Unfortunately, I have been getting a little bored with my fitness routine lately, which makes me less interested in doing it. Instead of using this as an excuse to not exercise, I decided to use it as incentive to find something new to try. My solution is Hip Hop Abs by Shaun T. It's the same fitness guru responsible for Focus T25 and Insanity. 

Simplicity

I don't know any better way to describe today's outfit or how I'm feeling right now. We are only three weeks into our summer semester and I am a little overwhelmed. Last week we had our first cardio test and three graded assignments due. This week isn't any easier as we had another cardio exam, a graded project, and the first skills assessment of the summer. Yesterday's exam totally wiped me out, but I don't even have a moment to relax. While I'm keeping up and doing well, right about now I would really just love a little simplicity in my life.

Work-It-Out Wednesday

It has been a little while since I have done one of these. Being sick (boo sinus infection) made it impossible to exercise consistently so I didn't bother to report my workouts. I am planning to change up the format of these a little bit because I don't want it to become to static. Therefore, while I will still be reporting my workouts most weeks I also want to incorporate other aspects of what I'm doing to maintain a healthy lifestyle. I'd like to start by sharing one of my favorite easy to make healthy recipes.

Work-It-Out Wednesday

As you all know this past week was hellish for me so I recovered by indulging myself on Saturday. I also found a lot of solace in working out. It was the first week where I felt motivated enough to look forward to exercising as opposed to having to drag myself to the gym. I started looking at it as an opportunity for me time where I didn't have to study. And as much as I am not an exercise fanatic, I would much rather do that than learn about neuro pathways. So here are my workouts for the past week.

Thursday 

Ab Routine 

Elliptical 3 miles 

Sunday 

2 mile Inclined Walk 

Ab Routine 

Monday 

1 mile Inclined Walk 

1.5 mile jog 

Ab Routine 

My main goal for next week is definitely going to be to work on being more flexible. As of now, if I don't work out first thing in the morning it doesn't happen at all. I really need to work on pushing myself even if I am tired and have had a long day. Leaving you with favorite inspirational quote this week.

Work-It-Out Wednesday: Routine & Mini Haul

Gap was having a big sale  recently and I needed some breathable fitness tops, so I decided to pick up these from the GapFit Line. I normally buy fitness gear strictly from athletic brands, but now it seems that most normal stores have some form of fitness wear and these were cute that I decided to give them a try. 

Work-It-Out Wednesday: Getting Started

So this week was the first week in my pledge to get back into shape, not only to look better but to feel better and have more energy. I find that I normally have trouble with motivating myself to get going so I have all kinds of systems in place to help me get started. One of the best ways to do so is with an inspirational quote. Here is one that I found on Pinterest that I am loving right now. And of course this can apply to all aspects of life-not just fitness. 

Work-It-Out Wednesday

When I started this blog in January I originally created a Health and Fitness Page in order to make myself more accountable for regular workouts, but all I really did was pretend as if the page didn't exist. I have been very good at living in denial, but it has been long enough that I can't continue to ignore the page or my reasoning for creating it so welcome to the first official work-it-out Wednesday. Because we normally have a test every Wednesday, it has come to represent the end of the week for me more so than a Friday would. So every Wednesday I am going to make an effort to report what I did each week to stay active and how I am advancing towards my fitness goals.

Eventually, I will be the person in the gym running several miles-you know instead of being the person who spent 30 minutes matching their work out gear and spent more time posing for photos and texting then actual sweating.