Life Update

So I've neglected my blog the last few weeks and I can pretty much guarantee you that when I neglect my blog, it means I am also neglecting my exercise and diet.

During the month of May I was super busy trying to finish out the school year.  I am not a regular classroom teacher, I am a pull out specialist and with that comes an insane amount of end of the year paperwork for each individual student.  Through all that, I was not as consistent with my diet as I would have liked, but I did remain pretty active.  During the month of May I walked close to 30 miles and biked close to 15.  My weight pretty much wasn't budging, but I was okay with that.

And then June hit and things got even crazier.  I completely stopped working out and have been eating complete junk.  I feel very soft all over and have lost a lot of the muscle tone I achieved earlier this spring.  I'm actually appalled at what I have been eating.

I weighed in the morning at 171.2, which is the highest I have seen since April.  I'm truly hoping this is mostly water weight and bloat due to the copious amount of pizza I have been eating recently.  We shall see.

So I leave for my vacation on Sunday morning.  I plan on eating super clean this week and getting in a few workouts so that I feel my best when I leave.  I'm going to weigh in on Sunday morning just so I have an idea on how much vacation weight I gain.

After that, it's on!  I've been getting so motivated again recently and since I have off until August 14, there is no reason for me to not been in the best shape of my life by then!

Bathing Suit Update

First, thank you to everyone who game me suggestions on where to look for a bathing suit.   After a few tries and a few headaches, I seem to have found a bathing suit!

I ordered the Victoria's Secret bikini that I showed in a previous post.  Both the top and bottom fit, however I felt a little too over exposed on top.  I knew that I was going to need a second option for my bikini top.

Enter my dear friend, Honey, who kindly advised me to check out Athleta for a bathing suit.  Within minutes of her advice I was on their website and ordered this bikini top.  I even had some Old Navy rewards dollars to use up and it ended up only costing me about $30.00 including shipping.

It arrived today and it is perfect!  For anyone who is looking for a bikini top for bigger boobs, I highly recommend this.  It is supportive and offers lots of coverage.

Now, I leave for my vacation in 2.5 weeks and while I am still not completely thrilled with the way I look in a bathing suit, I've decided to take the pressure off myself.  I've got enough going on with the end of the school year.  I feel confident in this bathing suit and look a lot better than I did 50ish pounds ago.

So here it is, me in a bikini for the first time in over 8 years!  

I think I just need a bit of a tan to take away some of my pastiness and I should be good to go!

What I'm Loving Lately: Gardein Crispy Tenders

Dinner time in my house can be a bit frustrating.  My husband gets home from work pretty late most nights and we go to the gym when he gets home, which means that dinner can be as late as 9pm most evenings. 

As a result, I like to keep our dinners light and quick.  Lately I have become obsessed with eating big salads for dinner.  I'm trying to limit my carbohydrate intake to mornings and early afternoons, so at dinner I like to eat lean, green, and clean.  I can easily make a salad for myself and something a bit more substantial for my husband. 

A few weeks ago I stumbled upon Gardein Crispy Tenders in the frozen food section at my Target.  I was intrigued because the photo on the front definetely looked like chicken, but it is actually a meat free product.  I grabbed it and checked out the nutrition content and was quite pleased that there is only 100 calories in two tenders, very little carbs, and low in fat.  Like any frozen food, the sodium content is a bit high, but not too bad. 

I've been hooked on these babies ever since!  They crisp up nicely in the oven and give the impression of fried chicken tenders, but are so much better for you!

I've been eating 2 tenders on top a bed of lettuce with a few sliced strawberries, some feta, and oil and vinegar dressing.  This salad has been my go to for 2-3 meals a week.  It fills me up and is super quick to throw together!

Last Saturday my husband and I went on a 7 mile bike ride.  When we got back I was absolutely famished, so I made a fun little wrap with my tenders!  I toasted a whole wheat tortilla, spread it with a little bit of roasted red pepper hummus and then topped it with sliced cucumbers, two Gardein tenders, and some feta.  It was so crazy delicious!

I hope to be back to semi regular posting soon.  Life at school is crazy hectic and should be slowing down in the next few weeks.

Have a great week!

It's Bathing Suit Shopping Time

It has been at least 8 years since I purchased a well fitting, nice bathing suit.  3 years ago, right before my wedding, I ordered a black tankini from Old Navy with no thought about support or coverage.  In retrospect, it was horribly unflattering and did not fill well.  I probably only wore it a handful of times.

I've got a couple of issues I need to deal with when looking for a bathing suit.  The first is that I have fairly big boobs that need to be covered and lifted.  My second issue is that I'm still not thrilled with the way my thighs look, so I need a pair of bottoms that cover more of my hips.

I've currently got my eye on this bikini from Victoria's Secret. It's got an underwire and a halter top for extra support and the bottoms have enough coverage to hopefully make me feel confident about my hips and thighs.  I need to make a decision and order it soon though, since I leave for my vacation in 33 days!  I'm going to dig out my measuring tape this evening and take some measurements and try to order it tomorrow.  If it doesn't work out than I will need some time to find something that does work.

Besides Victoria's Secret, anyone have any tips on where to purchase swim suits for women with larger chests?

WFD & A Few Weekend Pictures

 Happy Sunday!  The weather here has been absolute perfection the last few days, so we have been soaking up as much sunshine as possible!  Yesterday we took our bikes out for the first time since last summer and enjoyed a relaxing 6.5 mile ride along the river. 

 Gorgeous scenery.  I've lived here my whole life and still love how beautiful my city is. Some lovely tourist who was in town for a baseball game offered to take our picture with the city and river behind us.

Last night we met up with my BFF and her boyfriend for dinner at one of our favorite restaurants.  We had someone snap a photo of all of us since we don't have a picture of the 4 of us yet.

Today is also the marathon in my city, so the husband and I are about to walk out the door for our tradition of getting coffee and cheering on the runners as they come through our neighborhood.  I love marathon Sunday and I'm not even a runner!



I'm nearing the end of the school year, so my schedule is becoming more and more jam packed.  The amount of paperwork, reports, and meetings I have are a little overwhelming, so I am trying to stick with easy meals for dinner.  Here's what is on our menu this week!


Monday: Crock Pot Salsa Verde Chicken Tacos
Tuesday: I am attending a work dinner, so my husband will have leftovers.
Wednesday: Turkey and Black Bean Tacos
Thursday: Basil and Garlic Stuffed Chicken
Friday: Hummus Crusted Chicken
Saturday: Out

Weekly Weigh In and Bikini Series Workouts

Happy Friday, all!  The last few days feel like they dragged on for me.  I'm thrilled that it is finally Friday!

This week I made a promise to myself to stay off of the scale.  I've said it before, but often I let the number on the scale dictate my mood.  Lately, it is taking me 1-2 weeks to lose just a single pound.  Seeing the same number on the scale each morning was seriously starting to depress me. I would literally think about what the scale said all day long.  I realized that thinking about a number all day was not healthy, so I made a pledge to stay off of it until my official weigh in day on Friday.

It was surprisingly easy for me to stay off of the scale in the mornings!  I am going to try and continue this practice from now on.

I stepped on the scale this morning and weighed in at 167.2, so down a little over a pound in two weeks.  Like I said, it has been taking me much longer to lose weight this time around.  I have gained noticeable muscle definition in my legs and biceps, so I am hoping that has something to do with it!

Speaking of leg muscles, my new workouts have left me completely exhausted!  The days that I work my legs are the toughest, and by 8pm I am struggling to keep my eyes open.

I've been participating in the Tone It Up Bikini Series for the last week and a half.  The workouts are fun yet challenging, and my muscles are pretty much constantly sore.  Here's a peak of my workout check ins from Instagram.

Sunkissed Abs is my favorite ab routine.  I do this 3x and can really feel it after!

I was feeling super sore this day, so I went on a long walk to stretch out and paired it with 3 rounds of Under the Sea

I worked out super hard this day!  Another round of sunkissed abs, plus summer arms from the BeachBabe DVD, and the new full body Sunseeker Workout

This day was 2 rounds of Cocktail Dress Workout plus one round of Sunset Workout and 30 minutes on the elliptical.

Malibooty plus 45 minutes of an intense HIIT workout on the cardio

Today wasn't supposed to be a rest day, but I am listening to my body and taking one anyway!  I'm sore and exhausted.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!  I'm off to take a nap!

Three Years

Today is my 3rd wedding anniversary!  I cannot believe 3 years has gone by since I married my husband, we look like babies in our photos!

So much has changed in the past 3 years. I feel like we have accomplished so much in that short amount of time, so I am so excited to see where the rest of our life is headed.