kalynsara

OK, For Real This Time…

Posted on July 11, 2016 by kalynsara

Yep. It’s been a while. A long while. Close to forever. And that is not cool. I need to be better about tracking my workouts and progress. So, I just made a pact with myself that I will.

To give you a little update, a lot has happened since the last time I blogged. I switched jobs, went to Italy, bought a house, joined Barre3 (and to say that I am obsessed is an understatement), and most importantly I got selected to participate in the 2016 Marine Corps Marathon! It has been a whirlwind of almost two years and I have finally taken some time for myself. To focus on getting in even better shape, eat right, and train for the 41st MCM.

Yesterday marked 16 weeks exactly until the race. So leading up to yesterday, I…(apologize in advance for my poor quality iPhone pics. I just found my good camera and will hopefully be using that from here on out).

Spent some much needed time with one of my bestest friends. Shepherd is a pilates instructor and is one of the happiest, most encouraging people I know. I look up to her mental and physical strength and she is going to help me get through this on top. Whether she knows it or not. 🙂 BFF on Snapchat

Spent some time planking. My core strength is terrible. Not such a good thing when you have to run 26.2 miles in less than 4 months. I will be planking almost every day from here on out.

Spent some time being patriotic. Who is a fan of cheap workout gear? Me! don’t get me wrong, I have my fair share of really nice, expensive gear (Lululemon, you get me every time), but there is something I love about finding soft, cheap gear that I know I can wear and destroy. Also, it doesn’t hurt that it matches the seasons/holidays. 🙂 Patriotic Workout Gear

Spent some time meal planning. I’ve been so busy these last two years that I have made some bad choices when it comes to food. Finding things that are quick and easy and not necessarily fueling my body properly. Recently, I spent some time looking for quick and easy meals that involve a lot of protein, fruits, veggies, healthy fats and plenty of the right carbs so I can run like the wind. Kodiak Banana Pancakes Suja Juice Pick Me Up

So that’s it. I have a 4 mile run scheduled today when it gets a little cooler outside this evening. I will be sure to write an update on that tomorrow.

xoxo, K

Oh hey!

Posted on January 13, 2015 by kalynsara

I am alive. And I am sorry for the hiatus. I decided to give myself the month of December off. Don’t get me wrong, I still worked out as much as possible and ate as well as I could, but I also slacked off and I indulged. I was busy with my two jobs (one of which is my own business), family, friends, parties, holidays, cooking and I just needed to let my body be for a little bit. But don’t you worry, I am back in action this month! I am planning to sign up for a half marathon in March and last week I started the Kayla Itsines Bikini Body Guide. That thing is no joke! I plan on blogging my way through the 16-week (four weeks of “pre-training” and 12 weeks of the guide) training plan which involves three days a week of strength training exercises and then three days a week of cardio (which I will use as my running for the half-marathon).

Stay tuned on my progress every week. I will recap the workouts and my running progress. I am hoping to see major improvements in my running while I am strengthening my abs and legs so much throughout the guide.

Thanks for following along!

xoxo,
Kalyn

Days 30, 31, 32, 33 and 34

Posted on December 1, 2014 by kalynsara

Thanksgiving was a complete success! I hope everyone’s holiday weekend went well. Here’s a recap of mine:

Wednesday:
Started the day off with a lot of house work and some oatmeal (made with a teaspoon of brown sugar, a teaspoon of chia seeds and a dash of cinnamon) with a couple handfuls of blueberries. I ate half a mint chocolate Luna Bar before I hit the gym. At the gym I walked .25 miles and ran about a mile. I say “about” because the treadmill freaked out on me and I had to do two different runs. The last time I looked at my first run it was at .87 miles before it went nuts. I am not sure exactly how far I went (it was most definitely not 1.5 km at a 7:08 pace) so I am going with 1.25 since that is a definite. No idea what my real average pace was.

After I ran I did 50 full situps, and stretched and foam rolled with the torture roller.

I had the rest of my Luna Bar and a ham/swiss/tortilla roll-up for lunch. For dinner I had some homemade Jambalaya and some bread. One glass of red wine and a lot of water throughout the day.

Thursday I had a fabulous Thanksgiving! I woke up and had my mom’s infamous Monkey Bread for breakfast. Not healthy at all, but it was Thanksgiving. Then I made my butternut squash mac & cheese for our Thanksgiving dinner (I use this recipe).

I went for a really great run. I did .1 mile walk and then a 1.7 mile run at less than an 11:00 minute pace. I was pretty proud. It felt so good.This brings my 55 by Christmas total to 4.05/55.

After my run I had an apple and a homemade bloody mary. Then it was time to feast. My plate consisted of turkey, ham, mac & cheese, mashed potatoes, gravy, roasted green beans, a piece of rosemary bread, roasted asparagus, a salad of mixed greens, cucumbers, and cheese. I topped it all off with a cream soda, a slice of homemade pumpkin pie and a slice of homemade chocolate cream pie. Late nighted with a small slice of caramel pie.

Friday and Saturday were both a blur. I did not work out either day because I worked and my job was a total workout. My nutrition went like this:
Friday:
Breakfast – oatmeal bar and an apple
Lunch – Chick-Fil-A chicken nuggets and blueberries and strawberries
Snack – a pickle
Dinner – grilled romaine salad, fried oysters, scallops, ribeye steak over a bed of arugula (all split with the hubby). I also had a small glass of vodka with a splash of grapefruit juice.

Saturday:
Breakfast – bowl of cereal
Lunch – quinoa bowl with avocado, kale, zuchinni, carrots, tomatoes, cilantro, lime, and a spicy sauce
Snack – more doughnuts than I want to admit to
Dinner – a few mini slices of pizza – one was arugula/prosciutto and the other was honey/sausage

Today was a bad one. No workout. Bad food and I am going to blame it all on exhaustion and maybe even a sore throat (praying it’s not, though). Let’s just claim this one as a rest/cheat day and start tomorrow fresh. I did have the most delicious grapefruit today.

Days 28 and 29

Posted on November 26, 2014 by kalynsara

So I know I promised that I would not allow life to get in the way. But last week it did. I had some exciting news at work and it sort of threw me for a loop. In such a good way. But it left me in a whirlwind of figuring out how to manage my time. I gave myself the rest of the week to figure it out (and cheat a little. Ok, a lot). But don’t worry, I started yesterday off on the right foot. I gave myself some short-term goals to stick to.

First, I am going to run/walk (but mostly run) 55 miles by Christmas. This may not sound like a lot considering I have 30 days to do this, but remember I am trying to get in better running shape the correct way all while nursing an IT band injury that I have had for over a year. So this goal is going to help keep me motivated, but still allow me to become a better runner.

Second, I am going to go three days a week (until Christmas, then reevaluate) with absolutely no bread, sweets, pasta and chips. This is going to be hard for me. I love all of those things. A lot. And although I have been a lot better about not eating sweets, the no bread thing is really going to get me.

So here goes my recap for days 28 and 29.

Yesterday was an OK day in terms of fitness. I went to a wedding on Saturday night and so I was really feeling bad on Sunday. Yesterday I could definitely feel it in my workout.

I walked 1/4 of a mile and ran 3/4 of a mile (which brings my goal to 1/55). It was slow. And painful. But afterward I did some squats, biceps and triceps reps on the TRX bands (I just learned how to use those things and they are killer). I also did two swinging planks with the bands. Those are hard. I did one for a minute and one for 45 seconds. I stretched and rolled afterward.

For breakfast I ate a bowl of cereal with two handfuls of blueberries. For lunch I had the most incredible salad with romaine, cucumbers, green peppers, onions, tomatoes, artichokes (words cannot express how much I love artichokes) and feta cheese. All with a little bit of ranch dressing. I had two fresh rolls on the side. For snack I had a greek yogurt. For dinner I had a sandwich with rye bread, pepperoni, spicy mustard, ham, swiss cheese and tomato. It was awesome. The tomato was a vine tomato from the Farmer’s Market. Best tomato ever.

Today I did not hit the gym. My day at work was a workout in itself. Trust me on this one. I am exhausted.

For breakfast I had some oatmeal made with a teaspoon of brown sugar, a teaspoon of chia seeds, cinnamon and a splash of vanilla extract. For snack I had a greek yogurt. For lunch I had a huge grilled cheese with a small bowl of tomato basil soup. For dinner I had rice, steamed spinach and a little bit of grilled chicken.

I am planning a really good workout for tomorrow and Thursday. I need to go ahead and work off my calories now.

Days 22 and 23

Posted on November 19, 2014 by kalynsara

I am officially three weeks in (well technically yesterday was the start of my fourth week). And I am doing terribly. Yesterday I did not work out. I know these are excuses, but I had a ton to do around the house, a surprise meeting before work (which actually did take an extra hour chunk out of my time) and then was so tired and lazy after work.

My nutrition was not great either (and don’t get too excited, it was terrible today as well). For breakfast I had oatmeal with a teaspoon of chia seeds, a teaspoon of brown sugar (my husband’s request) and a splash of organic milk. For a snack I had a peppermint green tea. For lunch I had a sushi roll. It was oh so good. But oh so bad for me. For dinner I had spinach, sundried tomato and goat cheese raviolis made with butter and grated cheese. Yep. Not one fruit or vegetable (I don’t count the raviolis as a vegetable).

Today was better in the fitness department. I got in a really good 1.25 mile run with a quarter mile walk. I shaved about a minute off the same run from last week and it felt so good while I was running. I am not sure if I have mentioned this before, but I have asthma and I have been trying to slowly train my lungs (and diaphragm) into running without an inhaler. So far so good, but I always keep it on me just in case.

After my run I stretched for a bit and did this workout that I found on Instagram:

I used 5lb weights for the bicep curls and then I added an extra 20 second plank and three sets of 10 tricep curls (is that what they are called?) with an 8lb weight.

For breakfast I had a bowl of cereal. For snacks I had a greek yogurt and some thin pretzels dipped in hummus. For lunch I had an organic bean and cheese burrito and half of an oatmeal bar (disclaimer: this oatmeal bar was so delicious I only ate half of it because I felt like I was eating a cookie and I am trying hard to stick to my no sweets rule again this week). For dinner I had some Trader Joe’s Indian food. Palak Paneer, Lamb Vindaloo, rice and a piece of naan. And again, I do not count the Palak Paneer as a vegetable.

So there ya go. I skipped another workout and ate like a beast. I really need to get myself back in gear and remember why I am doing this before I really let myself go.

This Is How Is Starts (Days 19, 20 and 21)

Posted on November 17, 2014 by kalynsara

Life. It happened. This past weekend we went to visit my parents because I had a work meeting in the town where they live. I woke up on Friday with just enough time to get our house in order and pack before work. As soon as we were done with work we ate some dinner (which was a great idea because it was healthy and we didn’t have to stop for any fast food or unhealthy options on the way) and hit the road. So needless to say I did not workout. My nutrition was pretty great though. It went like this:

Breakfast – bowl of mini-wheat cereal with organic milk (remember, I never drink the leftover milk)
Snack – smoothie made with one orange, a handful of kale, a banana, some frozen pineapple and a coconut greek yogurt
Lunch – a turkey and cheddar sandwich from Wich Which (this included turkey, cheddar, shredded lettuce, tomato, avocado, pickles and ranch dressing on wheat bread) and I refused the chips and the cookie
Snack – I had a pinch (and I mean a tiny pinch of a chocolate chip cookie)
Dinner – sausage and lentil soup (I used this recipe and used organic, low-sodium everything) that was really amazing

Saturday I woke up and had a greek yogurt, an apple with peanut butter and a Kind bar for breakfast. After my stomach settled I ran on my parents’ treadmill. This treadmill is old. I mean like really old. I believe I did 1.25 miles in about 17 minutes, but who really knows haha. I also am not sure what the incline was (I typically have the incline set at a one, but I couldn’t tell on theirs) so I just kept pressing the buttons until I could feel myself carrying my own weight.

After my run/walk I did three sets of 15 with the Thigh Master. Does anyone remember these? My parents have an extra room at their house that serves as the home gym, extra guest room (we have a lot of family), laundry room, and catch-all and I found this gem and had to use it. It hurt. But, suprisingly, I was not sore.

After the Thigh Master I did about three minutes of abs followed by some stretching.

For lunch I had a couple of turkey and cheese wraps (I just use a tortilla and put turkey and cheese on it and pop it in the microwave. Not healthy at all, but good for a quick bite on the go while I was running around from my meetings). Then we went to an oyster roast and I had a ton of oysters (some I dipped in cocktail sauce and some I dipped in melted butter) along with some fruit skewers, chips with salsa and chips with onion dip and one rice krispie treat (and one bubble gum jelly bean because when a three-year-old offers you a jelly bean you cannot refuse). I also had a drink with a little vodka and cranberry juice.

Sunday was made up of a bowl of Raisin Bran (my parents do not drink organic milk so I had regular milk) for breakfast, a really yummy salad (spring mix, red onion, cucumber, carrots and tomato topped with a little ranch) and half of a cheesesteak that included sauteed onions and peppers for lunch, and some homemade chicken noodle soup (noodles, carrots, chicken and celery) with some fresh baked bread for dinner. I also had a sliver of a mini rum cake just to taste it. I also had a slice of homemade banana bread and a couple handfuls of lightly salted popcorn for a snack. The popcorn comes from a place in the town where my parents live and it is so yummy and not bad for you at all. They use real ingredients (none of the chemicals you find in microwave popcorn).

I did not get a workout in because we drove an hour and a half to visit my Grandpop for lunch, ate lunch and visisted with him then drove an hour and a half back to my parents house just to pack up and then drive a couple hours home.

So that was life. It happened. And it is exactly what I do not want to happen. I cannot let my busy schedule be an excuse for poor eating and skipped workouts. I am going to just learn from this weekend and move forward. I am thankful that I have this written down to remind myself.

Days 17 and 18

Posted on November 14, 2014 by kalynsara

Yesterday was blah. I had energy and felt great from eating so healthy on Tuesday, but for some reason I had no motivation to get to the gym. I ended up doing only 20 minutes of Jillian Micheals’ 30 Day Shred Level 1. Does anyone have any tips on how to stay motivated to go to the gym every day? Even thinking about my goals weren’t enough to get me moving. And I am afraid that as it gets colder and colder I am going to find it even harder to get out of bed, get out of my PJs, or even leave my warm home just to hit the gym.

My nutrition wasn’t perfect either. It went something like this:

Breakfast – one cup of oatmeal made with Nutella and chia seeds
Snack – a handful and a half of Cheez-Its
Lunch – two slices of pizza (one with broccoli and one with green peppers and both dipped in a little ranch)
Dinner – leftover grilled chicken, steamed spinach and rice along with a half of a sweet potato and some Farmer’s Market tomatoes with a little organic balsamic vinegar on top

I have no pictures from yesterday, but I will say that I am extremely proud of myself for resisting cupcakes at work. I did not even have a tiny bite. Not even a single taste of frosting. Nothing. It was hard.

Today was a little better. I got a great workout in at the gym.

I did a 1.25 mile run followed by a half mile walk. I did some squats (I doubled up and did some bicep curls with a 5lb weight in each hand), some tricep extensions, three minutes of continuous abs (it hurt) and then this machine (for three sets of 15):

I am not sure what this machine is called, but every time I do it my outer thighs and butt are sore the next day. It is awesome.

My nutrition wasn’t so good today either. I actually feel kinda sick writing it. It went like this:

Breakfast – one cup of oatmeal made with Nutella and chia seeds
Snack – half of a honey greek yogurt
Lunch – an everything bagel with a slice of provolone cheese, two big slices of Farmer’s Market tomato and some oregano
Snack – a few Triscuits dipped in hummus
Dinner – homemade sweet potato and black bean quesadillas. These were actually really good! I used the leftover sweet potatoes from last night (I just baked them last night) and stuck them in a bowl and microwaved it with a teaspoon of organic, unsalted butter. I then mashed them up with a little sea salt and chili powder. I spread it on a flour tortilla and put some grated cheddar cheese and black beans and cooked on the stove until done. We dipped them in organic salsa. I wish I had pictures, but they were so good we devoured them.

Day 16

Posted on November 12, 2014 by kalynsara

I have bad news and good news. I will start with the bad news and end with the good news.

The bad news: I did not make it to the toning class this morning. I took a sleep aid last night because I have not been sleeping well lately and this morning when my alarm went off I sleepily shut it off and went right back to sleep without skipping a beat. I didn’t even remember until I woke up about an hour and a half later form my husband’s alarm. I did make it to the gym to get in a mile run, a quarter mile walk and some arms and stretching.

The good news: My nutrition was on point today! For breakfast I had one cup of cooked oats made with a teaspoon of Nutella and a teaspoon of chia seeds. After my workout I had a huge smoothie with strawberries, pineapple, greek yogurt, half a banana, water and a huge handful of kale. If you are ever looking for a way to eat healthy on a budget check out your local Farmer’s Market. We got an entire bag of kale for $2.00. My husband and I have made two smoothies each and still have a ton left.

For lunch I had some Triscuits dipped in hummus, a cheese stick, an apple (from the Farmer’s Market where a bag with 10 apples was $5.00 and they are all local and delicious) and a Kind bar. Trader Joe’s is a great place to find organic protein bars like Kind, Mojo, Luna and Larabars for a really good price. For dinner I had grilled chicken, steamed spinach and rice.

I am going to strive to eat just as well tomorrow and to try and get a more intense workout on the books.

Day 15 and Reality

Posted on November 11, 2014 by kalynsara

There is nothing like looking at the pictures from your sister-in-law’s wedding and realizing why you haven’t been able to meet the goals you want. My sister-in-law got married the week before the marathon. It was a perfect wedding, the pictures are incredible and I definitely had a lot of fun. But looking at those pictures made me realize I am not physically fit enough to be running a marathon. Don’t get me wrong, I do not think I am fat. However, I do think that I have a lot of work to do in terms of losing excess fat and building and maintaining muscle.

I have always been naturally thin and I have definitely let that dictate my nutrition choices in the past. It has always been easy for me to eat a piece (or 50) of candy or order dessert after I had a big, carb-filled dinner because I know deep down that I am not going to really see any weight gain from it. It’s the reason it was so easy for me to eat so much candy these past couple weeks. And all I am doing to myself is canceling out all of the hard work I put in at the gym. Feuling my body with empty calories and tons of sugar is doing way worse than I am probably accounting for.

So, with that said, I am going to really pay attention to every single bite of food I put in my mouth the rest of this week and really push myself at the gym. It will be the only way I can meet my running goals this year. It will be the only way my body allows me to keep running for years to come. How can I expect my body to get through a 26.2 mile race (at less than a 4.5 hour pace) and the countless miles and strength training leading up to the race if I don’t treat it properly?

Today I took a rest day. I got a headache around mid-afternoon and it is still lingering. It is probably because my body was craving processed sugar and I refused to give in to my cravings.

My nutrition was decent today and I plan to be even better tomorrow and the rest of the week. I started the day with the special breakfast I was talking about last week: overnight oats. Has anyone ever tried these? I used this recipe and substituted the almond milk for regular, organic 1% milk. It was so easy, tasted incredible and I (and my husband) felt really full until lunch!

For lunch I had a salad with mixed field greens, spinach, red onions, cucumbers and carrots. I put a little bit of ranch dressing on the top and had a freshly baked roll on the side. My snacks included a handful of Cheeze-Its, a Farmer’s Market apple and a cheese stick. For dinner I had three small slices of a Trader Joe’s organic, frozen pizza. Not the healthiest dinner, but my day was not too bad.

And let this be my promise that I will wake up for a 7:00 am toning class in the morning and follow it up with a run.

Days 12, 13 and 14

Posted on November 10, 2014 by kalynsara

I am disappointed that I took the weekend off from posting. I noticed in my eating habits that I was not keeping myself as accountable as I want to and I am only two weeks in! I will not make a habit of this and I have already taken some precautionary measures to ensure this next week is one for the books in terms of healthy eating and fitness goals.

Here’s a recap of my weekend!

Friday I took a rest day. It was much needed. Thursday really kicked my butt. My abs are still sore. My nutrition looked like this (I am not proud of my day on Friday):

Breakfast – cereal with organic milk, banana for a snack
Lunch – greek yogurt, hummus with thin pretzels, a couple slices of an apple and a six-pack of Chick-Fil-A nuggets dipped lightly in ketchup (I snuck two Starburst and felt super guilty afterwards)
Dinner – homemade chili (I used this recipe [I substituted the beef for organic ground turkey] for the chili and it was incredible) topped with a little cheese (I promise the picture makes it look like way more than I actually had) and some plain greek yogurt. I also had a slice of fresh bread on the side along with a handful of carrots dipped in hummus

Saturday I was too lazy to get to the gym before work so I did another one of Jillian Michaels’ videos on YouTube. I did the 30 Day Shred Level II and it kicked my butt. I feel like those videos should be easy for me by now, but they get me every time.

My nutrition looked like this:

Breakfast – Mojo Almond and Chocolate bar and a smoothie with a handful of frozen strawberries, a handful of frozen pineapple, a handful of spinach, four ounces of honey greek yogurt, a half of a banana and water (I use a Vitamix to blend my smoothies and it has literally changed my life)
Lunch – Chicken Tortilla Soup from Firebirds along with their incredible bread (this soup alone probably has enough salt, chemicals, fat, etc., to kill me off in a single serving)
Snack – apple slices with my favorite PB
Dinner – a cheese stick and some hummus with thin pretzels (I am obsessed with Trader Joe’s garlic hummus and I eat way too much of it for it to be even slightly healthy)

Today wasn’t any better in the nutrition department. It started with half of an apple hotcake (topped with salted whipped cream) and half of a plate of huevos rancheros. We went to eat with my brother and his girlfriend because they were in town and I couldn’t bring myself to get a healthy breakfast. Trust me, it was all worth it. For lunch I had a cheese stick and some hummus with thin pretzels. For dinner I had a smoothie with strawberries, pineapple, kale, water, greek yogurt and a half of a banana. I also had the egg white of a hard boiled egg and some more greek yogurt. Do I eat way too much dairy? Probably. The good news is that my husband and I went by the Farmer’s Market (we split a chocolate chip cookie that was homemade by one of the farmers) and I have already prepped our healthy breakfast and dinner for tomorrow. My main goal this week is to not have a single piece of candy (or really anything full of sugar).

I did end the day with a mile run and a half mile walk with my favorite running partner. Some stretching and rolling followed.

Outrunning Doubt

Author: kalynsara