P90X3 Review -- Block 1 So Far

My husband and I are now at Week 4 with P90X3. OMG! I really can't believe we're still going! This is my first time literally in my life actually continually sticking to working out. I"m waiting to post my before pictures after we fully finish Block 1, which is 30 days from the start. At that point we take progress pictures and get stats. Then I'll have something to post to compare the two pictures. Recently we've started drinking the Results and Recovery Formula after our workouts to minimize soreness and to help us get more out of our workout. It taste like a Creamsicle Popsicle...especially if you add a little ice to your drink.

This was my dinner last night. I threw together a salad with all the veggies we had in our fridge. I also baked some tofu to add a little extra protein and make my meal more fulfilling.

Here is how our first 3 weeks have gone with P90X3.

My favorites from Week 1-3 were Yoga X, Agility X, and The Warrior. My choice of Yoga X is obvious because I have always been a Yoga fanatic. During college when I could scrape the money together I would pay for the trial periods at a Hot Yoga location near my apartment. I love love love Hot Yoga. With Agility X it's not an obvious choice since I sprained my ankle doing that video during Week 2. I blame myself entirely for that accident however. I would never want to warn people away or scare people from doing Agility X as long as you heed mine and Tony's warnings. After pressing play on each video Tony Horton explains stresses the importance of having the right shoes. He tells you every time that you do not want running shoes, because that is not the workout you are doing. I ignorantly chose to ignore that fact. I mean of course Tony Horton has no idea what he's talking about....yeah right. He's 55 and in amazing shape. Finally, The Warrior was another one of my favorites. This workout reminded me a lot of the bootcamp and bodyworks classes I used to attend at L.A. Fitness. Don't get me wrong, I loved all the videos in some way, but I definitely had my favorites that I will continue to fit into my workout regimes even after I finish my 90 days.

Within the next few weeks I will also be adding Beachbody's product Shakeology into my meal plan/healthy lifestyle regimen. I've heard a lot of great things about Shakeology from friends so I'm dying to try it and see how it helps me with my weight loss journey. I've been feeling pretty frustrated because my husband is just dropping off pounds while I continue to struggle. I really hope trying Shakeology helps me!!

Here's a great video on the benefits of Shakeology. I will continue to update on my results and thoughts on P90X3 as well as Shakeology.

<3 Kelly Jean

Healthy Meal Planning

Part of my journey to becoming a healthier and happier me through P90X3 is to make changes when it comes to how I eat. There are many days I still look back with sadness to the days of High School when I could eat pizza for 4 meals a day (Yes 4...not 3) and still wear a size 2 in jeans.  I still wish I didn't have to workout. I still wish I didn't have to eat healthy. I also still wish I could wear a size 2. However, part of my growing up process is to become a healthier person so that I can live longer. I don't want to be healthy just to be "skinny", I want to be healthy to become "happier". I recently made an inspiration board to help keep me positive and keep me making great decisions. One of my favorites is this...

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It's such a true statement. You can't just wish for things to be great. You have to take the actions to make things better in your life. You have to choose to be healthy. A great place for inspiration (and sometimes temptation) for healthier eating is Pinterest. I have made a board just for healthy meal planning. So far I have found many great recipes to try out that I was extremely pleased with. My favorite so far is Zucchini Lasagna. It allows you to have the cheesy favorite of many people, but in a healthier way. Zucchini Lasagna is low on carbs and calories. The recipe I found and adjusted from Skinny Taste was only 9 points plus with Weight Watchers. I went vegetarian style simply because I'm not a ground beef eater. I've also been working to insert more veggies into my daily meals. A few of my favorites are Garlic Roasted Vegetables and Chick Pea Salads. 

Don't they just look colorful and tasty? Finding alternatives that still satisfy your cravings is important to me in my journey to a healthier me. I can't wait to try more new recipes!!

<3 Kelly Jean

Life Updates

Lately I have been very busy. A little over a month ago I married the man of my dreams. I am officially now a wife to someone. That word still surprises me each time I say it or hear it. The wedding went perfectly. It was very nerve wracking the day of when I woke up to 80% chance of rain all day. Somehow though the weather turned out perfect and there wasn't even a sprinkle during my outdoor ceremony. I felt truly blessed and everything was so beautiful. I had the greatest vendors and such a beautiful site. If you live in Georgia or plan to get married in Georgia and you want a southern wedding with definite class then I recommend you choose Chene Rouge! 

I haven't gotten my offical wedding pictures back, but I was sent the above by a great family friend. I can't wait to see my actual wedding pictures done by Jesse Garrett Photography. 

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Now that we're back from the wedding my husband and I have also decided to make some changes in our lives by starting P90X3 and becoming healthier people.  My husband completed the original P90X after graduating High School and lost 40lbs. I've tried doing the original P90X with him, but I can never stick to it. The original one is less realistic for the modern working person. However, with P90X3 you just have 30 minute workout videos to do rather than 1+ hour long videos done with the regular P90X. The videos are great and with such an amazing workout partner to do them with (aka my handsome husband) we were doing great. However, for me the process has been paused sadly. During Week 2 Day 2 while doing Agility X I sprained my ankle. I am FULLY to blame. With every video Tony Horton stresses the importance of the right shoes. He says that running shoes are not what you want, because it's not what you are doing. However, I chose to ignore that and start P90X3 with my running shoes until my cross training shoes arrived. Then during Agility X while doing grapevine runs around the tape lines I tripped and landed sideways on my ankle. Now it's swollen and causing a lot of pain/discomfort. It has been 4 days and the swelling has gone down, but it still looks bruised. Depending on how it looks tomorrow I may try walking on it. Based on my experience all I recommend for anyone contemplating doing P90X3 is that you get the RIGHT shoes. Order yourself some cross training shoes!!!!!

Here's the ones I got. They are ASICS Women's Rhythmic 2 Cross Training Shoe. I can't wait to test them out once I'm back in perfect working order and back to doing P90X3 with my husband.

<3 Kelly Jean

Sweet and Sour Tofu Stir Fry - Vegetarian

I am here to announce that I am a vegetarian that HATES mushrooms. I absolutely 100% hate them. The smell of mushrooms mixed with the taste of them just grosses me out. Sadly, I've noticed that many vegetarian recipes typically contain mushrooms. With that said it takes a lot of investigative work on my part as well as a little creativity for me to make/find recipes that I love. One thing as a vegetarian that I absolutely adore is any stir fry with tofu. I feel like it's my favorite way to add some extra flavor to my tofu so that my meat loving fiance will also enjoy it. I hear it all the time from friends and family that tofu is just not for them or that it just plain has no flavor. I like to prove people wrong and show them how amazing it can taste.

Recently I found a recipe from Big Girl Small Kitchen for Sweet and Sour Tofu with Bok Choy. It's delicious! I loved it so much, but at the same time I wanted to add some more color which means more vegetables. I love to throw as many vegetables as I can into any recipe that I make. Therefore I decided to take her recipe and switch it up a little.

I started out by grabbing all of my ingredients and measuring out the right amounts. Once I had that down I opened up my tofu and pressed the water out of it. I have another blog post describing exactly how to do that located here. Once the tofu wasn't soaked anymore I coated it in whole wheat flour and threw it in a pan with sunflower oil heating over medium heat.

I flipped the tofu every 3-4 minutes until it was a nice golden brown. Once the tofu was all finished I added in all my veggies. While it was cooking I mixed the lemon juice, honey, soy sauce, grated ginger, crushed garlic, and Siracha to create the super yummy sweet and sour sauce. After 3-4 minutes of the veggies and tofu cooking together I dumped in the sauce. It has to simmer for around 10 minutes till it thickens up so while that was cooking I made my brown rice. 

It smelled so good while cooking. My mouth was literally watering. I couldn't wait to put it together and enjoy my dinner. I hope you like it too!!

Do you have any stir fry recipes that are your go to dinner recipe? This one is definitely my favorite that I've had so far!!!

Best Breakfast in East Cobb

I've been looking for local breakfast places for my fiancé and I to try out on weekends. We finally got the chance this weekend to try out a place we pass everyday on our way to and from work. I kept seeing the sign for Cafe 33 and after reading reviews on it my interest was piqued. In Cobb Life Magazine they are voted as "One of the Best in East Cobb". I am so glad that we decided to give them a try. We stopped by for breakfast this morning and it was packed. We were a little hesitant once we found out that there was a 30 minute wait for food, but we decided to stick it out anyways. I am so glad we did! 

I got the belgian waffle with strawberries and powdered sugar.

My fiancé got a waffle sandwich. The waffle sandwich contains Two Fried Eggs, bacon or sausage, choice of cheese and pepper jelly surrounded by a Hot, Fresh Belgian Waffle and maple syrup on the side.

The food not only looked amazing, but it also tasted wonderful. It was definitely worth the wait. I would for sure recommend Cafe 33 to anyone in the area or that's traveling through.

<3 Kelly Jean

Friday Favorite: Unfinished Wood Co.

I'm officially obsessed with this new store I found through GroopDealz called Unifinished Wood Co. I typically like to DIY my own wreaths for my front door, but if you're not into going through the whole process of making your own you can always go over to Unifinished Wood Co. and buy one of their super cute Baltic Birch Plywood door hangers and just paint it whatever color you want. In my post from Easter I showed their Bunny Monogrammed door hanger. I was short on time so I just painted it a Robin's Egg Blue and hung it up on my door. I think next year I'll add a cute bow or maybe even little flowers. 

I was browsing their site today to find some new ideas for my front door or even for other places in my home. Here are a few of my favorites...

This one would look so cute with some of the new fall decorations that you can find at Kirklands! I can't wait to decorate my front "porch" for Fall!!

This could be cute as a "guest book" idea at a wedding or just in your home to show your state pride. GO GEORGIA!

This would be perfect in a kitchen painted with chalkboard paint to write little messages on or to even write your menu on

 

This one would work great during the summer..especially since it seems like anchors are really popular lately

<3 Kelly Jean

A Sunday Hike

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Recently my fiancè and I had our engagement pictures taken at the Roswell Mill in Georgia. I believe most people know it for it's covered bridge. Both times I've gone there I have seen at least 3-4 groups of people with professional photographers taking pictures there. We were no different since we had a few taken on this very same bridge....

It was such a beautiful place so we were determined to go back and hike it. Today we finally got the chance. It was a wonderful day for hiking. Most of the trails are covered by trees so even on a warm day it still feels pretty nice. I think also being by the waterfalls created a nice breeze to make it quite enjoyable. Plus I have to say the views weren't too bad either.. If you're ever in the area I definitely recommend hiking the trails at the Roswell Mill.

<3 Kelly Jean