Motiviation & Menu Monday

Motivation Monday

Well I'm officially on my 3rd week of a "new" lifestyle of being more active and improving my overall health.  I've somehow hurt my ankle (don't ask me how b/c I have no clue) but its impossible to run at the moment.  So, I've taken up cycling and really love it.  I think it reminds me of being a kid again.  I love riding my bike as a kid, so this bring back so many memories for me.  The best part is that I can hook up the bike trailer and take my kids with me...not to mention the added weight of pulling 2 kids and a trailer make for a nice workout!

But on this lovely week 3 I've had my first "friend" since getting pregnant, so the bloating and water-retention is unreal.  I've gone up, down and all-around on the scale, so I've decided that I shouldn't weigh myself until its all over.  As of last Friday, I was down 9.8lbs from when I began!  Almost 10 lbs in 2.5 weeks - I'LL TAKE IT!!! 

This week's workout schedule is pretty up-in-the-air since I'm hoping my heel will heal soon.  I need to keeping running and doing my C25K routine since I'm supposed to be running a 5K in September.  Although I love cycling, I still need to run.  So as of right now, I'm just going to cycle every day until I can get back on the running trail.  I've averaging about 10 miles per workout, and try to keep an average pace of 14-15 MPH, and on a mountain bike that is not the easiest thing to do. 

I'm super excited about Saturday morning.  The Lifetime fitness by our house has a cycling group and you do not have to be a member of the club to participate.  The second Saturday of every month they have a "newbie" ride for those just getting accustomed to cycling.  So I have it on my calendar to attend this weeks "newbie" ride.  I am so excited about it.  

Menu Monday

One thing I'm struggling with our menu on is keeping low-fat dinners on the table, but still introducing a nice variety of items.  If you have some good ideas or know of some tasty, but low-fat recipes, send them my way!!

Here's our menu this week:
Monday - Grilled chicken, roasted new potatoes & spinach & kale salad
Tuesday - Turkey taco salad
Wednesday - Seasoned short ribs in the slow-cooker with roasted broccoli  (I love this recipe...although I'll be deleting the BBQ sauce this time around and just flavoring with a spice rub)
Thursday - Baked chicken & veggies w/ a spinach & kale salad
Friday - Pizza night.  I think we'll make our own pizza instead of order out.  All of these veggies look delicious!