Healthy Weekly Meal Plan

Over the past few weeks I decided to stop doing the 2nd month of the Insanity workouts. Before you start loosing faith in me let me explain. It really is a simple explanation, I simply do not have time to do the hour long workouts right now. I know you are thinking they are only an hour, that is not too long. But, after each exercise session I am dripping in sweat so I have to take a shower and the likes. Now we are at 1 1/2 hours. In addition, I have all the housework to get done after I get home from school. Plus supper. I thought I had a super idea, duh: just workout in the morning. So I wake up early and exercise before everyone gets up. That would be genius, except that the 1 1/2 hours does not include the time it takes to do my never cooperative hair, makeup, and getting ready for work. Include that time and we are at 2 1/2 hours, plus breakfast, and getting 3 kids dressed, fed, teeth brushed, and lost shoes (boots, snow pants, hat, glove, folder, scarf, you name, we lost it) found. Total time for morning exercise: 3 1/2 - 4 hours. That would equal out to me getting up at 3:30- 4 am every morning. However, (I bet you thought my rambling about this whole time situation was over, almost, but not yet.) sometimes I sub, sometimes I don't. Sometimes I work the afternoons as an extra aide, sometimes I don't. Sometimes I have two kids at home during the day, sometimes only one. Sometimes we have to go to town, sometimes we don't. See what I'm saying. My life is so unpredictable at the moment that I simply don't have the time for such intense hour long workout sessions. No fears though, I still love the program and am hoping to pick it up after school is out and I have more leisure time.

In the meantime, I still want to eat really well and do simpler workouts. I have a few other DVDs that I like to follow along to and there are so many online that really, if I have the motivation, I will continue to tone my body--my original goal in the first place.

I put together a weekly meal plan using a few healthy recipes that I found online and the meal plan book that came with the Insanity workout which you can find here. I usually cook a main meal for my family and a separate one for me. I thought this would be a pain, but really the meals are so simple that I don't find it too irritating making two different meals.

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
1	Proatmeal pg 16	Bagel & Grapefruit pg 18	Egg White & Fruit Plate pg 18	Cereal Bowl pg 20	Egg White Breakfast Wrap pg 19	Egg Sandwich pg 25	Warm Cereal Bowl pg 20
2	Peanut Butter Protein Shake -Banana -Peanut Butter -Protein Powder	Vanilla Banana Smoothie -Protein Powder -1/2 banana -Almond Milk -1 c berries	½ Peanut Butter and Banana OR Jam Sandwich	Rice Cake	Berry Protein Smoothie -1 ½ scoops protein powder -1/2 c berries 1 c Almond milk	Yogurt & Fruit -1 tsp honey -2 tbsp walnuts -1 apple, diced	Cottage Cheese 1 cup
3	Deli Sandwich pg 28	Chicken Ranch Wrap pg 36	Roast Beef Sandwich pg 34	Pasta & Veggies pg 37	Turkey/Apple Pita -1/2 c Spinach -1 oz Turkey -¼ sliced apple	Mexican Style Eggs pg 25	Protein Omelet pg 26
4			Pizza Muffin pg 43
5	Chicken Stir Fry pg 54	Grilled Chicken Salad pg 33		Citrus Baked Chicken pg 52	Baja Style Chicken Bowl -Saute Red Pepper, ½ c frozen corn, ¼ c black beans, 2 oz cooked diced chicken -Spoon over brown rice	Steak with Broccoli pg 50	Lean Burger

The page numbers refer to the meal plan book that is linked above, but also here for your convenience. This is custom for my schedule. For example, I never know if I am going to sub so my second meals are easy to make in the morning and take with me to school. On those days, I eat a simple meal at school and eat my 3rd meal for my 4th meal. I have most of the 4th meal spots empty for this reason. If I am at home, I simply repeat one of my 2nd meals. I don't have a 5th meal on Wednesdays because I am usually busy elsewhere. I also did not use all the meal ideas from the book because I don't eat seafood, or I simply don't like it. The point is that you can make this customizable for you, your likes, and your time.

Sometime soon I hope to have a weekly exercise plan to post. Stay tuned!

Exercise Motivation

For a little over a month I have been working my way through the Insanity fitness program. It is a two month program. I made it through the first month and the recovery week as well as the first week of the second month. I also made it over half way into the second week of the second month and then I got sick. I barely had enough energy to get out of bed let alone enough energy to exercise, and this program requires A LOT of energy.

Before I started the second month I was pumped. I was excited. I was seeing results from before and half way done pictures I took. But then I started the first week of the second month and I was questioning everything. It was so difficult. I thought that I missed a month of training because I went from "I can do this" to "What! Where did this tough stuff come from?" I was laying on the floor for most of the exercises glaring at those people on my screen and thinking that they were all crazy. There was no way that the first month was enough training to get me ready for the second month. After I forced myself, very reluctantly I might add, to finish the first week and called/texted up a few friends who helped talk me into staying with the program, I was feeling better about the second week. But then I got sick. I am hoping to get back into it tomorrow morning, but I really just don't want to.

I decided that what I needed was some motivation. I wanted to make a motivation board. Something that I see everyday that gets me pumped to reach my fitness goals. I tried something like this a long time ago before Insanity ever crossed my mind. I put a picture with a good quote in my pantry. Every time I went to reach for something unhealthy, I would see this picture and close the door. If it worked then, why not now?

To start off, I turned to Pinterest for motivational quotes and pictures. Pinterest wasn't shy on any fitness tips and ideas for exercises, but I wanted more. With the right search, I was able to find wonderful pictures and quotes that really got me motivated to keep going or start all over in my case as I'm sure I will be laying on the floor most of this week thanks to taking off a few days. I started a new Pinterest board just for fitness motivation. If you are shy about what you pin, create a "secret board" where only you see it. From those pictures and quotes, I copied and pasted two pictures with quotes onto a Word document. Then, I typed a good quote in an empty place. That's it. The nice thing is that when those quotes/pictures are not doing it for me anymore, I can go to my Pinterest board and create a new poster. It is one page and I taped it on my wall right next to my bed so when I go to bed I see it and when I wake up I see it.

I hope it works. I'm going to need all the help I can.

I thought this quote was so fitting: "Train Insane or Remain the Same." Yup, I'm definitely insane!