12 week transformation...day twenty-five

Fun and random post today!

So Tuesday was my very last orthodontist appointment! It has been a three year process dealing with braces and my retainer....but I am finally done! And just for fun, here is a before and after picture of my teeth. Look at my face and my neck too! I have changed in a good way since three years ago. :)

This just goes to show that if you stick with something, you will see results. You may not see them everyday, but overtime, you will notice those small changes.

Workout
I did my run early this morning, since I am going to be busy after work. I won't lie...it's really hard to get up and actually start running. It took me a while to wake up and stretch out, but about five minutes into the run (or really jog) I felt pretty good. It was quite cold this morning, so that helped to wake me up too. It's actually kind of fun running in the morning...makes you feel pretty energized for the rest of the day.


Breakfast
Nothing too exciting for breakfast this morning. Made a french vanilla shake and took it with me to work. Boring...I know.

Morning Snack
I just love calorie burn cappuccinos!!! I loved every sip this morning...totally hit the spot on this cold and gloomy morning...which I totally love! Finally having somewhat of a winter!

Lunch
I enjoyed yesterday's lunch so much, I made it again! Had another turkey burger with cheese and broccoli on the side. Delish! I wish I could show you...but I was just so hungry I completely forgot to snap a pic.

Afternoon Snack
Had some cinnamon pretzel bites this afternoon...haven't had these in quite some time. I am glad I reordered them! These are pretty good!

Dinner
For dinner I made a mud pie shake...or really just a chocolate chip cookie shake packet blended with some instant coffee, ice, and water. Ah-ma-zing. So amazing...that I forgot to take a picture...again.

Dessert
To finish off the night, I ate a smores crunch bar. Perfect ending to quite a busy day.

I am off to a weekend camping trip with my college group from my church, so no blog posts until Monday. But I hope and pray you have a beautiful and blessed weekend. Remember, to keep your eyes on the Lord!

xoxo,
Toni

12-week transformation...day twenty-two

This was my exact face as my alarm went off this morning. The weekend went by way to fast...I was not ready for Monday.

...Little Peggy just gets me...

Breakfast
It's still a good morning even though it is Monday. Made a mocha shake this morning with added instant coffee for an extra flavor punch.

Morning Snack
I am guilty of not drinking enough water lately...it's even making my face a tad puffy! I know it and I know I need to change that. So this morning I have been drinking water like crazy, which has made me feel full...so by the time my snack time came around, I wasn't really hungry. But don't get me wrong...I still had a chai latte.

Lunch
There are times when I just want to yell, "LUNCHTIME!!!" But, I practice self control and do not let out that yell. I am sure my co-workers are very thankful I can resist. Anyways, today for lunch, I had a steak chopped salad from Rubios. I had to get my oil changed during my lunch hour, so I wasn't able to go home and grab lunch.

Afternoon Snack
Due to me working out after work, I ate my snack about an hour beforehand. I ate some chili nacho cheese puffs along with a ton of more water. Water, water, water...all day long!

Workout
I did my normal 2.18 mile run tonight after work. Felt good...well, after I am done, I feel good. During...well, that's another story. But, I did it!

Dinner
Once I got back from my run, I made a chocolate chip pancake and drizzled it with some medifast sugar free syrup. Yum! I love breakfast for dinner!



Dessert
To finish off the night, I ate a smores crunch bar. Perfect ending to quite a busy day. Sorry...forgot a to snap a photo.

Well, you made it through Monday! I pray your Tuesday is a good one! Mine is going to be...I will tell you all about it tomorrow. :)

xoxo,
Toni

12-week transformation...day eighteen

I am simply meditating on this today. No specific reason...it's just a good reminder and one to remember.

Breakfast
For breakfast I made a mocha shake and added some instant coffee to up the flavor a bit.

Morning Snack
I was feeling a tad stomach sick around my snack time, so I slowly sipped on a chai latte...I think the warmth of it made my stomach feel better, but not 100% better. :(

Workout
Due to a busy evening, I did my run at lunch! It was okay...I prefer doing it at night, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

Lunch
After I got back home and showered, I made a quick mocha cookie crunch shake. I used a chocolate chip soft bake packet and blended it with instant coffee, water, and ice.

Afternoon Snack
I was pretty hungry by the time my next meal time came around. So I had some honey mustard pretzel bites with a ton of water.

Dinner
When I got home, I got ready to go to a Bible study and a lean and green meal while doing so. I was in such a rush, I didn't take a picture...but I had a some chicken and lettuce.

Dessert
After I got home, I ate a strawberry crunch bar while writing this post. Sorry...no picture of this either.

And now I am off to bed! I am tiiiiired!

xoxo,
Toni

trust and blessings

I was reading Psalms chapter 2 this morning and came across a verse that said, "Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him" (Psalm 2:12d)

Don't you just love that? All we have to do is put our trust in the Lord—the all-knowing, all-powerful God—and He will in turn bless us. Seems like a win-win to me.

That is my prayer today and for this year...that I would have trust in the Lord and that in every situation I will turn to Him rather than the things of this world. Amen? Amen!

Breakfast
Back to normal today...meaning, I am back to my regular work schedule. I have had the majority of the last two weeks off from work and am actually really happy to be back on my daily routine. I am a big fan of structure...which is probably why I like this program so much. Anyways, for breakfast I made myself a french vanilla shake. I put a tad too much ice in it, so it was quite cold, but still delicious!

Morning Snack
This morning I ate a cookie dough chewy bar with a cup of coffee. I have mentioned it before, but the only way I can really eat these bars is by dipping it in some coffee...but it works for me!

Lunch
For some reason I was hun-gry by the time lunch came around. But I soon quenched that hunger with a salad topped with a pizza burger, light cheese, and some light dressing. Simple yet delicious!

Afternoon Snack
I was once again pretty hungry once my afternoon snack came around, so I made myself a calorie burn cappuccino...this kept me quite full until dinner.

Workout
Went for a run after work today and never felt better. By the end of the first mile I was already getting tired, but I persevered through it and finished with flying colors!

Dinner
Once I got back from my run, I ate some mixed berry cereal crunch along with a bottle of water.

Dessert
To end the night I made a peanut butter milkshake and called it a night. I am so tired as I am writing this, so I am off to bed!

Remember..."Blessed are all those who put their trust in the Lord"!

xoxo,
Toni

day sixty-three...if it was easy, everyone would do it

Today was kind of tough. Not really for food reasons (although having an entire box of see's candy in my office doesn't help) but rather for exercise reasons. I went for a 2.17 mile jog and just struggled with it. Then I saw this quote and thought, how true! I mean, if running was easy, everyone would be healthy and in shape, right? But the fact is, is that working out is hard! There is just no easy way if you want to see results. Simple as that.

With that said, I am not feeling discouraged, but rather encouraged. Weird, right? But I am excited to see my weight for tomorrow morning. And you know...if I don't reach my goal of 2 pounds, that is okay. I know I am due for a plateau and I am ready for that, but I also know that I have tried my hardest this week and have stuck to the plan. 

But all the glory goes to the Lord for helping me get through my run tonight and also through this week.

Breakfast
Okay...enough with my "life is hard but keep going rant"...let's move onto my eats for the day. For my breakfast this morning I made a mocha shake and added some instant coffee to it. Totally enhances the flavor of the shake...you should try it.

Morning Snack
I was out and about on an errand when my morning snack time came around. My stomach started grumbling and I realized, Oh, it's time to eat! Funny thing though, in about ten minutes my stomach stopped grumbling and I wasn't hungry anymore! Just goes to show that when those hunger pangs do come, stop, drink some water, go for a walk, etc...I promise the hunger will dissipate. :) But anyways, when I did make it back to the office, I made a calorie burn cappuccino and sipped on the hot goodness for about 30 minutes. 

Lunch
Back to the daily grind for lunch today. I had a romaine salad topped with a pizza burger, some parmesan cheese, and light chipotle ranch dressing. Perfection. It was raining outside which is why the table has puddles on it. ;)

Afternoon Snack
For my afternoon snack I had some nacho cheese chili puffs. These are fairly good...just remember to have some water on hand...well, at least for me. They can get spicy at times.

Workout
As I mentioned earlier, I went for a run today. Nothing out of the ordinary, just my same 2.17 mile run. It was hard but fun at the same time. Maybe the difficulty was due to the cold? I don't know. At one point I couldn't even feel my nose! Oh well...I fought through the pain and finished the run.

Dinner
After my run, I made a java chip frappuccino. I just mixed instant coffee with the chocolate chip soft bake and blended it with some water. Easy peasy and delicious!

Dessert
To end the night, I had a strawberry crunch bar. Something light and small...because tomorrow is a weigh in day!

And now I am off to bed! Isn't this picture of my cat, Peggy, just the cutest! Even cat haters have to love this. I mean, how can you not. ;)

Goodnight!

xoxo,
Toni

day fifty-six...movin' about

The photo above fully demonstrates how I felt today.

Why? well, today I moved offices. Yep...moved from one office to another...and I share that office with my mom. At first I thought, Oh no, I am going to be spending all day in the same room as my mom? This is going to end bad. But you know what? After we got situated, I actually enjoyed being in the same room as her. It was nice talking with her and I think that rather than drive us apart, this is going to drive us closer together. Love you mom and can't wait to see what happens. :)

Breakfast
Waking up this morning, I knew it was going to be a tough and long day, so I made a dark chocolate shake and made my way to work.

Morning Snack
All morning I was walking back and forth moving my stuff into my new space and then helping my mom get settled into her desk space. It was a crazy busy, but I still made some time to make a calorie burn cappuccino. It was a perfect stress reliever and was exactly what I needed at the moment.

Lunch
Despite all the craziness going on (we weren't the only ones being moved today), my mom and I managed to escape for a quick lunch break. I made my usual pizza burger and Parmesan cheese salad with a drizzle of light Italian dressing. Simple and delish!

Afternoon Snack
After lunch things started to calm down and I was able to take a much needed deep breath and get my desk organized. While doing so, I ate some cheese pizza bites.

Workout
Despite feeling kinda sick, I knew I still needed to run. So, I went on my normal run and then before I got back home, I decided (for some crazy reason) to go around another block. It only took me about 33 minutes to go 2.73 miles. Not bad, I guess. I will only get stronger from here. :)

Dinner
I felt a little better by the time I got back, but about 20 minutes later I hit a wall...hard. I felt really sick. So I made a mud pie milkshake (recipe soon) and laid down and relaxed as I sipped it.

Dessert
Still not feeling better, I manged to eat a chocolate crunch bar with a bunch of water to wash it down and called it a night. Well, I wrote this post and then called it a night. Don't you just love my Christmas tree PJ's? I do...I mean, I only get to where them once a year. ;)

Well, goodnight! I pray your Friday is the best one yet! Keep a lookout tomorrow...it's not only a weigh in day, but it's also a updated picture and measurements day! :D

xoxo,
Toni