Spinach & White Bean Soup

Bacon - Sweet Potato Soup

Hearty Tuscan Soup

Chicken & White Bean Soup

Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup

Vegetable Soup

Crock Pot Chicken and Black Bean Soup

Kale & Potato Soup

Butternut Squash Soup

Sweet Onion Soup with Porcini Mushrooms

Meatball, Sweet Potato & Kale Soup

Broccoli Cheese & Potato Soup

Stuffed Pepper Soup

Week #1 Recap of 21 Day Fix - back on track after summer fun



First week of 21 Day Fix in the books!

And I'm THRILLED to say I'm down

3.5 pounds in just one week.

 

Starting over again freakin SUCKS!!!!
I can't do the moves as well as I used to be able to

and I don't feel as fit 😪

I put on weight through the summer and my clothes are feeling a bit tight

It comes down to one of two choices:
 Be disappointed in myself and just throw in the towel...

Or

 Work on it each day and slowly improve and get somewhere

I vote for not giving up on yourself and being the driver of your own bus and work for it. 

 Take back control and take it one day at a time, one meal and one workout at a time



Simple, healthy and delicious!
Strawberries -
Greek Yogurt -
Granola from Kashi -
 

I made a plan last weekend to start back up with the program that got me started in this new healthy lifestyle just 3 years ago. 

It was the program that I followed to lose all the baby weight I gained with our last son, and finally get rid of the maternity and XL clothing that had been in my closet for so long.  It was also the program that help me get set on this new healthy lifestyle I've learned.  I lost 35 pounds on that program and it taught me a new way of eating and it also taught me the discipline of fitting in some exercise in each day. 

No gym memberships.  No need to work out to the point of overdoing it, and it did allow for some treats here and there.  It was completely up to me; the closer I followed that nutrition plan, the faster the weight came off.
 
After a very fun filled summer with my kids and slipping back into my old habits, I decided to recommit to this program again.




30 min leg workout and I didn't even need to leave the home.

  Barre legs workout off of BOD done 🔥

Legs are shaky and I'm ready for some lunch!!!

Belief is the driver of everything we set out for ourselves to accomplish.
 I KNOW I can stick to this for 21 days
 I KNOW I can make time for these workouts
 I KNOW I can trade the treats for healthier things
 I believe I will make some trade offs and it will be worth it!

I believe I can do this so I WILL

This meant I :

• Followed the workout schedule (just missed one workout)
• Drank my chocolate Shakeology every day for optimal nutrition (I didn't miss one)
• Followed the nutrition plan to a T (the only treat I had was a Hard Rootbeer on Friday night)

Little mans first day back in gymnastics
He loves this!
 Lots of running, climbing and balancing, what a big week for him

I DID get my workout done this morning
(I was trying to put it off until tonight, but deep down I knew I wouldn't do it later)
I ran out of time to make breaky so my shake it is! 
 Completely avoiding the Timmies drive thru bagel cause I'm seeing some results already.
I'm pumped! Sticking to this

Pssssst! Guess what!!
I happened to wander thru Walmart today
and found these workout tops!
$5 each! Score!
There were even more with different sayings.

I grabbed a couple as a reward for this week's hard work.
 

I said no to SO many things this week that I normally would have eaten so that was my big win last week. The weight loss was so worth it. 

Because I had taken the time to plan my meals last weekend, I knew exactly what I needed to eat when I was feeling hungry.  No room for treats when I was constantly keeping myself full right?
 
I took my before photos and was shocked, no one likes taking "before" photos.  Instead of feeling disapointment in myself I just accepted where I am today, and told myself that those WILL change because I have complete control in this. I did it before with focus and conscious effort and I know I can do it again.  

I'm not quite ready to share those before photos,  but I will at the end of the 21 Days.  I have them to look back on in the mean time to keep me focused on what I'm putting in my mouth.
 
Here's some examples of the meal plans I've been following incase your curious or want to do it along with me (feel free to make changes or tweak things to your food liking)

Going on into week #2 here is my meal plan
and incase you'd like to see week #1 here it is

Maybe you want to start up on the 21 Day Fix again, and follow along with me?  Or if you feel this might be a great program for you, please feel free to fill out this application form and we can chat more about your goals and your struggles and see if this program would be a good fit for you. 

I have a couple of exciting things to offer you this week.




Join the Soup Group for easy soup recipes
and easy healthy Crock Pot Dinners

I'm hosting a Soup Group for busy mom's that would like to get some new Soup Recipes that can be made in the Crock Pot.  This is to help with those busy nights that you come home from school with the kids and need to get out the door in a hurry again.  

I will be also showing you how I meal plan for these busy weeks, as well as sharing even more crock pot recipes.  Lots of support, healthy tips and information.  This is a fun and supportive environment and we would love to have you.  This will run from September 16-23rd, and you can join HERE

 Also, do you have a Fit Bit? 
I had taken mine off during the summer but it's strapped back on my wrist for this week.  Are you going to recommit to the Fit Bit?  Do you notice you step and move more during the day when you do have it on ?  If you'd like to join the Work Week Hustle with me this week I would love to keep each other going and on track with our steps.  Send me a message on FB HERE and I will add you.  I may have a prize for the person with the most steps this week! 

 

Hope you all had a lovely weekend !

~Jenn

Getting back on track after the Summer

21 Day Fix was the very first at-home fitness and nutrition program I was introduced to after I had had our 3^rd son and was trying to lose the baby weight. I wanted to lose 40 pounds and since we had completed our family, I also wanted to get rid of all those lovely maternity clothes and XL clothing pieces that were still hanging in my closet. 

I was always a bit bigger of a person but I did enjoy being active.  So after our son was born, I believed that I could out-exercise a bad diet.  Before starting the 21 Day Fix, I would bike to work and back, do Jillian Michaels Shred workout and go for a walk after dinner.  I also had a membership at the gym but I felt so guilty leaving my family at home while I was there.  Even with all this activity, hard work and time I was putting in, I still couldn’t get that scale to budge and keep up with what I was putting into my mouth.  There was no way around it - I needed to put better quality food and nutrition into my body.

I didn't want the quick fix. 
 I wanted to grow new healthy habits
for life.

So when I was introduced to the 21 Day Fix back in 2013, I treated it as an experiment for myself.  Since I was spending the money on this program, I was dedicated to make the money spent worthwhile because we didn't have a whole lot back then.  My husband thought this was another weight loss quick fix thing so I was even more motivated to prove him wrong and make the money spent worthwhile.   

I cut my workouts back to just 30 minutes a day following the 21 Day Fix workout calendar and workout videos.  I followed the set out nutrition plan that went along with it.  Since nutrition was my biggest struggle, I wanted to see what would happen if I really just surrendered to the "healthy eating thing" for just 3 weeks.  Would I be further ahead and would it be worth it?  Would skipping dessert and eating more veggies be worth it?
 

The workout schedule that you follow. 
Push play on the scheduled workout,
get stronger and better each time

I learned SO much by following that nutrition plan for those 3 weeks.  I learned about  the different size portions for each food group.  I learned about how many servings of each food group is ideal in a day.  I learned that the reason I couldn’t lose the weight before, even though I was exercising and active, was that my diet was full of carbs and hardly any veggies.  If I’m being honest with myself, some days I would go without any at all.  I also learned to say no to foods for comfort and had to work through my emotions for those 3 weeks by distracting myself elsewhere.  I was a big emotional eater and I would eat things to perk me up if I was running low on energy or having a hard day.  I learned that the food doesn't really fix anything and after saying no to emotional eating for a week, it got easier, and I grew more self disciplined.   

 

For anyone out there wanting to start to change their eating habits and lose weight, I personally just feel the nutrition plan is genius.  You aren't eliminating any food groups (except my sugar food group) You have a great balance of protein/carb/healthy fats without the food scales and the plan does allow for a treat or adult beverage by swapping out a carb container a couple times a week.

When I dedicated myself to just 3 weeks of this new way of eating, I lost 8 pounds in 3 weeks and I was proud that this was done through putting clean foods into my body (not starving) and exercising just a little bit each day.  I was hooked and I was slowly growing new healthy habits  that would really change not only my lifestyle, but our whole family's.  I knew I had to let go of old eating habits in order to finally get rid of the weight and this quote always sticks in my mind,  "If you want something different I had to do something different" and that’s exactly what I did.
 

I followed that nutrition plan 100% that first round.  I checked off each container on my tally sheet, I worked through the cravings that I had by distracting myself with other things and just giving myself a little pep talk each time cravings popped up. 

So why all the talk about the 21 Day Fix again?

Because for the next 21 days, I'll be dedicating myself to this program again and sharing my progress and my days over on my FB page. I got off track this summer.  I let the ice cream and treats become a daily thing, and I let my workouts slip.  I know how much better I could be feeling if I ate better and got up for my workouts in the morning, it will just take a bit of focus again and making this a priority. 

It's just 3 weeks and I'm going to re-dedicate myself to this again starting tomorrow.  I took my before photos, I have a meal plan that I'm going to follow and stick to for this first week (I'm going with this one)  and I have cleaned out the sugary foods and made room for the good foods again.


Are you recommitting this week because the kids are back in school and you've got more of a routine going on this week, let me know. 

If you have Beachbody on Demand (BOD),  you know you already have access to not only this program, but ALL the Beachbody programs they have ever released - including Instanity, Country Heat and Body Beast to name a few. 

You get the program's workouts that you can stream from your laptop, smart TV or tablet. Because exercise and nutrition go hand in hand, they all come with their own nutrition plan too, that you can customize to suit your food preferences. 

If you don't have BOD, I will be happy to talk to you more about it and how you can get started too.  If you'd like to just watch and see how I do with this, you can follow me over here on my FB page 

Take back control and re-dedicate yourself.  Let me know how you're doing!