I got up yesterday morning and walked outside for just under 40 minutes. Our Chicagoland weather is so weird – yesterday we hit a record 95 degrees for a high, and at 6:30 in the morning it was already 80 degrees and very humid.
While I don’t mind the heat per se, it’s September so my mind has already made the flip to beef stew, pumpkin and hoodies! 
Breakfast was heated up at work – two sweet potato and banana pancakes, 3 ounces of deli ham and a blueberry Chobani. I was actually full from the pancakes and ham, so the Chobani will be a snack today. And thanks Lara for pinning my sweet potato banana pancakes – they were pinned over 100 times yesterday on Pinterest! Let me know if you make them for Baby G.
I planned on hitting the pool at lunch and lucked out and had the whole pool to myself. It was a glorious 30 minutes of solitude – the life guard was in her office the whole time too so I didn’t feel too self conscious. It was sad to see the outdoor pool drained, especially on such a hot day.
Since my brain is already to fall comfort food, I made beef stew over the weekend. I made this recipe – except I added a whole pound of mushrooms in the base of this with the white beans and diced tomatoes. While I don’t like the texture of mushrooms, I love the flavor – just gives it an earthy meaty taste. Not the most attractive picture, but there is a depth of flavors going on in this stew.
I had to work a bit late last night – I was planning on grilling a turkey breast (going to do that tonight) since its so hot out I didn’t want to heat up the kitchen. I ended up grilling up pork steak instead – super easy and quick. I made this German potato salad over the weekend too. German potato salad always reminds me of my Dad. I love that it’s tangy, mustardy – and its good warm, cold or at room temperature.
Last night as I was getting ready to do Insanity, I realized that I was on my . . .
101 Insanity Workout!
I couldn’t actually believe it, but my first workout was June 1. I am actually super proud of myself. I am the Queen of declaring “I am going to do this!” and then a week later lose steam and then just pretend I never made a declaration.
But I took it one day at a time. There were days that I missed, I was on vacation, etc., but I haven’t given up on it. I know its reshaping my body – my shoulders are more defined, I think my face is thinner and while I wish the pounds would drop off faster, I am losing weight.
So while it was my Day 101, it was my twin sisters Fit Test yesterday. You can check out her beginning stats here. Just think where you’ll be at Day 101 Jenn!
And after I cooled down I face talked with Hannah. She’s been so busy now that school is back in the mix. She’s being promoted at work to become a shift manager (in the morning) so she’s been working and doing their eLearning to get her certification. And on top of that taking 5 classes this semester. It’s just nice to see her face – here is an extreme close up!
She had just gotten out of the shower before we talked and she has a hoodie bathrobe – this just makes me laugh!
No walk this morning before work – I need to balance it out some so I don’t get burnt out. Today I have my quarterly diabetes doctor appointment – I think the last time I weighed in there in May I was 176 pounds – this morning I am 158.
Stats for the Day:
- 1581 calories, 167 carbs, 114 protein, 37 fat and 21 protein
- 20% calories from fat, 28% from protein and 41% from carbs
- 37:30 walk before work
- 30 minute swim at lunch
- 40 minute #101 Cardio Resistance of Insanity after dinner
Alright, time to get my shit together for the day – I have a feeling it’s going to be a Mexican theme today Make it a great day!
Wow Biz you are doing fantastic! And can I just say I’m so impressed with your daughter’s drive and dedication to both her job and studies.
I’m glad you are saying you need to balance it out yourself because honestly: 3 workouts in a day can be too much if you do that daily, even if one of them is “just” a walk. We don’t want to get you burned out. I am also super proud of you for doing 101 days of Insanity, you still rock at this day after day.
Here fall weather has definitely arrived and I look forward to making fall dishes too. I have a pumpkin in my vegetable box that I get tonight. I like pumpkin but I have never prepared it myself, actually look forward to it, think I will make a soup of it.
Congrats on your huge accomplishment….!!!!! Wasn’t the weather crazy today….so hot this morning. I walk every morning after bus pick up and I was dying!
And I’m with you – my brain is TOTALLY in fall mode! Now all we need is the weather 🙂
Happy 101, Biz!!! Huge accomplishment! My mom and I are actually up in northwest Indiana on the lake…we swam today! So hot!! Btw we made your grilled peach recipe tonight…DELISH!
You rock! That hot weather is here now. In the 90s and hoooomid today. Is it not just about mid september?
Insanity has done you good! You are glowing in every picture you post (and I’m not just saying that because of the sweat). You look HAPPY!
I love German potato salad; my Mom makes this recipe for hot German potato salad – no mustard, but lots of bacon and vinegar! It’s one of those things that I crave from childhood. YUM!
Hope your appointment went well. That photo of you is great – you look so young and so thin! 🙂
Best words of that comment? “young” and “thin!” Thanks Christine!
Yay you Vat! You and insanity go well together. Um…that came out wrong! 🙂 Joking aside, your face IS thinner and you are looking great. (but you looked great before too) have a good Wednesday
Ha ha ha – me and Insanity DO go well together Roz! Hugs!
You’ve been insane for almost 1/3 of the year! That’s awesome! 😀 I hope your diabetes doc doesn’t have a stroke when he sees how much weight you lost! I just had my A1C checked and it’s 5.5 – they lowest I’ve ever got it since being diabetic! So happy.
Holy shit that’s an awesome A1C!!! I am going in tomorrow because he wants a fasting blood sugar for my triglycerides – so I’ll have my numbers in a couple weeks. 😀
You are doing awesome. I didn’t realize your sister had a blog too. Cool.
Yep, there are two of us out there!
Mexican themed day – whoooo!! My favorite kind of day!
Congrats on 101 – just think when you get to 202. Amazing!
I know – Day 202 will bring me to December 23 – which is my next diabetes appointment coincidentally! 😀
101 days of Insanity is terrific. I’m excited to watch your sister’s progress too. I do my second fit test in two days. Haven’t lost any weight yet 🙁
Rats – did you take your measurements Wendy? I should have asked you that at the beginning – you’ll notice that you are getting smaller without losing weight at first – your muscles are building, which weigh more. Keep going! 😀
Yes, I did take measurements. If I don’t see a weight loss, I’m hoping for inches lost. It’s still kicking my butt! And yes, I want to kick Tanya’s ass too.
Dang – 101 days of Insanity is INSANE!!!! I’m excited to watch your sister’s progress. It cracked me up that she shared not just her Fit Test results but also compared them to you!!!
Yep, I am sure she’ll try to keep up with me Kim! Although, she does have three kids at home which I don’t have – I’ll be happy if she does it the 4x a week she is going to try to do.
4x a week is no small feat – that would be awesome!!!
I think it’s always hard to make beef stew look good in a picture, but dang if it doesn’t taste good! Yum…now I want some,and it’s way too hot for that. Remind me of it in November, OK?
Good on ya for doing insanity for so long! You DO look different – it will be nice to hear what your doc has to say about all the changes you’ve made!
Thanks Shelley – I’ll post about my doctor appointment tomorrow.
101 days – you rock!!!
Thanks Andrea 😀
You’re absolute amazing Biz! So proud of you for sticking with it & you’re getting the results you deserve!
Love the closeup screen shot of Hannah! 😀
Thanks Lori – we make each other laugh so much on face talk – I should do a whole post on it someday. 😀
Yayyy for a Mexican themed day! Congrats on all the pins. Your recipes are totally yummy. I’m not a beef fan, but my Mom makes the BEST beef stew. Its the only time I really WANT red meat! Hope you have a great day
My Mom makes really good beef stew too – except she puts onions in hers. Ew. Growing up she kept telling me “you can’t even taste the onions!” and I would say “then why put them in?!”
You are doing amazing!! I think I need to get up off of my ass and buy that workout.
Thanks Anne Marie!
You’re doing great! It has been sweltering here–97 degrees, but we’re on day 3 of rain now, which is really odd for Colorado. I’m enjoying it, though! You are making terrific progress!
Thanks Dana! Hope the kiddos are adjusting to the new school year okay.
Nearly 20 lbs in that period of time is no small feat–and keep telling yourself you’re doing it in a way that feels good for you and is ultimately sustainable. While it means things don’t happen as quickly, it’ll stick for longer–at least that’s what I tell myself! 🙂
Thanks E! 😀
The beef stew even “Not the most attractive picture,” is making me drool. I can see the yummy goodness all mixed in. I’m going to have to get a crash course on food storage etc. I throw out way too many leftovers. I’m such a “sally” and don’t want to end up in the bathroom all day due to old food. Sunday I made a soup out of leftover rotisserie chicken but now that it is Wed. I’m afraid to eat it because the chicken was already two days old.
Yes, your toned arms and thinner face are a constant “in your face” reminder to slackers such as myself that if we get off our butts and work we too can see some phyiscal change. Day 101 incredible!
OMG, I have to laugh because I’ll eat shit that is two weeks old – ha! And for the record – your soup would be fine for a whole week after its made. 😀
Thank you thank you thank you!
I agree that it’s good to change things up when it comes to exercise. If I start to feel tired or like I’m dreading my workout, that’s usually a cue to me that I need to look at what and how much I’m doing and back it down a bit.
We’re having a bit of summer back here too, but of course it’s going to cool down just in time for the weekend. I feel like this whole summer our weather has been really odd – nothing usual about it!
I cannot wait for the cooler weather – I don’t like having the air on in September.
176 to 158! That’s awesome!! I’ve finally gotten back to the Y for some classes…I’m so sore today that I’m taking a break. I’m hoping it will break through the plateau I’ve been in the past couple of weeks…8 lbs from goal weight!
Thanks Kim – and go you – almost to goooaaalllll! 😀