The First 43: My Life Now

Getting tired of seeing the fitness calendars yet?  I hope not! Mad Abs June is on the agenda for well, June!  This one is focused on core strength and toning which I think is great considering we are headed into bathing suit season! You can either save the calendar to your phone or desktop or check back here to remember your reps. Mondays are the rest days which is great for all of us Bachelorette fans!

Today makes day 400 of calorie counting. Wow. I can't believe it's been that many days! Weight is holding steady within a one pound variant but I am losing inches so, some of the remaining fat must have decided it's time to turn itself into muscle. Fine by me! I'm definitely starting to enjoy the summer weather and especially runs at the cottage in this spring weather. My new running goal is to run a 5k every week from May long weekend through the end of June. So far, so good. Here is a photo at the end of my cottage 5K today, cooling off on the dock after the run.  The cool weather was definitely appreciated on today's run. Fresh herbs!! Definitely a staple in our home all summer long, so glad I've got a fresh batch always at my fingertips all summer long. Since we aren't living in a high rise apartment anymore, I hope my herbs (well, my dill) does a better job of growing all summer long. Another major part of my weekends? Playing wit...

I had my dad take some fun photos of Jeff and I at Thanksgiving while we were taking the dock out of the water. Anyway, this weekend we were putting the dock back in when I realized just how big the same hip waders were on me. So, I had my dad snap some more photos so I could see the comparison when I got home. Weight Loss at Thanksgiving: 27lbs Weight Loss at May 24: 54lbs You can really see the difference between then and now. It's kind of crazy. I don't always see my weight loss but these kinds of photos help me stay motivated to keep it up!

  This weekend I had the longest run I've had yet. It was certainly not flat (oh how I hate hills!) and I felt pure exhaustion upon finishing. I made it 6.8km.  I admit, I did walk for about a minute at the 5.5km mark as my legs hurt and I was battling a stitch. My pace however was just a standard 12 minute mile. Not super fast, not incredibly slow. I was disappointed because my runs have been closer to an 11 minute mile pace but they were also on average half the distance. Makes sense.  The longer I ran, the slower I went.  I mentioned to Jeff as we ran that I would most definitely be the slower one in the group when we do the Color Me Rad run in June.  Then I was on Pinterest as saw this little quotation, made me laugh because it explained exactly how I felt on that run.  I felt like a turtle stampeding through peanut butter! It explained what I was going through perfectly. I'm just a little turtle trying to improve my endurance running skills. ...

Lemon Kale Ricotta Dip! I really don't like kale. At all. I find it bitter and awful and I have a really hard time with it. It has to be well hidden in some other food. Honestly, I've tried. One friend almost turned the ship around with her kale chips but, I just can't get into it.  This week our iron chef ingredient was kale and I wasn't sure if I was just going to skip it but decided to suck it up. I found a recipe for Lemon Kale Ricotta dip. I love lemon, I love ricotta, maybe it would be enough to cover up the taste of the kale?  Guess what? It is awesome!!! It is so tasty and so healthy. I can't get over just how good it is! I honestly give this recipe a 10/10. That's a lot coming from this kale hater. I changed the recipe up a bit from the one I found online but, here is how I made it and as per usual, the original recipe can be found linked at the bottom. Ingredients: - 1 bunch of kale. Stems and tough ribs removed, sliced up. - 2 cloves of...

It's been a few weeks since I've really updated. Not much to report honestly. I've been maintaining my weight, not gaining, not losing.  I still want to lose another 4lbs but, it will happen when it happens.  I did debate going back to the more intense MyFitnessPal tracking but, I think for the summer anyway I will just stick to maintaining and exercising and if I happen to lose a couple pounds while I'm at it, great! I've been getting back to the gym more and getting outside to run as well.  It's been really great to get moving again.  As I've mentioned, I didn't run much more than 3k all winter as the treadmill bores me but, I've been working my way back up to 5k.  I've successfully run two 5k's this week which is great. To be honest, I was a little concerned I was going to have trouble working myself back up to 5k after a winter hiatus.  The good news is I won't make a fool of myself at the Color Me Rad run in June. Just need to stic...