Friday Five: Favorite Fitness Bloggers

To say I've been lacking in the fitness-related posts (or any other type of post, for that matter) lately is an understatement!  I have, however, continued to read my favorite fitness blogs while I've been on my maternity leave/getting back in the groove hiatus.

Today's Friday Five topic is Favorite Fitness Bloggers, so I thought I'd share mine with you!

While I read many more fitness blogs, I chose these five bloggers because of how awesome they are.  They're all so different, too!  Hopefully today's post will introduce you to some new fitness bloggers that will also strike a chord with you!

Julie from Peanut Butter Fingers

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Julie's blog was one of the first fitness blogs I started reading and ultimately inspired me to start my own!  Her commitment to and consistency of working out has always impressed and motivated me.  She also posts great workouts that meet a wide variety of needs (treadmill, at home, cardio, lifting, etc.)!  Julie just had her first child about 3 months after I did, so I'm hoping that her return to fitness will help me get my butt back to the gym (literally and figuratively!).

Annette from Enjoy Your Healthy Life

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Annette is another great influence in my fitness journey, as she is also consistently working out and super positive about it!  She is a Les Mills instructor and shares some great reviews of the program releases, which I love reading after taking the classes myself.  Another thing I love about Annette's blog is her posts about faith and family.  Her faith in God is so evident, and I love that she is a positive light for Him while also sharing about her health and fitness journey.  She's also just had a baby (her second), and I've used her blog posts as references quite often while preparing for and dealing with Baby Fish thus far.

Kathryn from From Dancing to Running

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Kathryn's blog is a favorite of mine because of her focus on running.  What drew me in to her blog is that we were at a very similar running pace.  I loved reading about her training, because it was so relatable!  Since then, she's done an excellent job of training and increasing her pace, and it's been great proof of what can happen if I were to stay as committed to my training!  Fun fact: Kathryn is also pregnant with her first baby and has kept up with her running while pregnant!  You go, girl!

Chelsea from Chelsea Eats Treats

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Not all the blogs I read feature new or soon-to-be moms!  Chelsea is a 20-something living in DC who does a great job of keeping her fitness routine fun and interesting.  She's always trying out new workouts that sound like so much fun.  I love reading her reviews of these workouts, as well as seeing how well she balances her healthy living with plenty of fun, as well.  Something that makes her blog unique is all the travel she does.  I enjoy living vicariously through her travel reviews (and watching how she stays active all over the world, as well!).

Erika from MCM Mama Runs

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Erika writes another running blog that I love!  Her goal is to run a half marathon in every state, and it's fun watching her meet that goal!  I also appreciate her honesty and willingness to admit defeat.  Life gets in the way of fitness and running, and I love that Erika shares everything with her readers--the good, the bad, and the ugly.

I have to say thank you to three other ladies that also have pretty awesome fitness blogs (Courtney, Mar, and Cynthia) for the Friday Five link-up!

Question for you: What are your favorite fitness blogs?  What do you like about them?

Hope you have a great weekend, everyone!  People on the East Coast, please stay safe with all the rain and the possibility of Hurricane Joaquin!

Getting My (Healthy) Groove Back: Running

Over the next few weeks, I'll be doing a series of posts detailing how I'm getting myself back on track health and fitness wise.  Between having a baby, moving, school starting, and an injury, I've really fallen off the healthy wagon.  I finally feel like I'm back in the groove, so I wanted to share what I've done to get myself to that point.

Today we're going to talk about getting my (healthy) groove back in the area of.... running!

Truthfully, I'm not fully back in the running groove.  In fact, my last run was a short 2 mile run on August 3rd!

Why haven't I been running?  Well, the big thing hindering me from running lately was falling and spraining my foot back at the beginning of August.

Honestly, I've wanted to run, but it was painful just to walk from my house to the car to get to work.  It was painful to stand and teach.  It was painful to walk in my classroom.  Shoot, it was painful walking the 30 steps into the baby's room to get her when she'd wake up at night!  So, as much as I wanted to run, I knew I needed to take it easy once I got home.

And take it easy I have.  For about a month after my injury, I didn't do much on my feet other than getting around.  Around the beginning of September, I was finally able to walk a little more with no pain.  I started walking Tequila as far as I could until my foot started hurting.  Then, I started walking a little bit further as my foot got better.  Two weekends ago, I was able to walk about 2 miles with no pain at all!

Now, just under 2 months since my injury, I'm finally feeling back to normal enough to attempt a run this week.  I'm going to strive for 2 miles, running the first mile then using run/walk intervals during the second.  I don't want to re-injure it, so I will be listening to my body to see what I'll be able to do!  Slow and steady will certainly win the race here.

Over the last two months, I've learned a pretty valuable lesson.  The quickest way to get back into your running groove after an injury is to rest!  If I hadn't taken it easy then slowly worked in more activity, I doubt my foot would feel healed at this point.

So, what's next?
Well, I'm hoping that a run this week will go well enough to sign up for a 5K at the end of October.  I also need to begin training for the runDisney Princess Half Marathon weekend 2016, where I will be running the Glass Slipper Challenge (10K on Saturday, half marathon on Sunday)!  Having these goals, as well as my desire to get back out there pounding the pavement, should help keep me on track with scheduled runs!

(I'm linking up today with Erika, April, and Patty for Tuesdays on the Run!)

Question for you: How do you get back in your running groove after an injury?

Stay tuned for the next installment of Getting My (Healthy) Groove Back series...Healthy Eating!

Meal Plan Monday + Training Log 9/28

Hey, guys!  Long time, no talk!

It seems that any time I try to get a post ready, I never wind up actually publishing it for one reason or another.  This girl may have a little bit of something to do with that!

I'm hoping to do a better job of that from here on out.  I'll do a catching up post later this week, but for now, let's get in to my normal Monday post: my meal and workout plan for the week!

Meal/Workout Plan 9/28-10/4
Monday-Blackened Tilapia-I found a recipe on the back of the bag of frozen tilapia filets for blackening the fish.  This is my favorite way to order fish at a restaurant, so I want to try it out on my own!  We'll have fresh field peas (from a local farmer!) on the side.
Tuesday-Crock Pot Apple Chicken and Sweet Potatoes-I keep putting this on the meal plan then never making it.  It is happening this week, for sure!  I'll probably serve steamed broccoli with it.
Wednesday-out for Mexican food
Thursday-Cheeseburger Casserole-I actually made this for dinner on Sunday night, but the recipe makes enough for us to make two meals out of it!
Friday-Sunday-meals in Virginia!-we are heading up to my grandparents' houses this weekend for some family time (and a Virginia Tech game), so I look forward to spending time with them!
Workouts-I'm doing the Piyo program, so I'll be following their plan for the workouts.  These low-impact workouts seem easy but really are no joke!

Training Log 9/21-9/27
I started following the Piyo program last week.  My foot is still recovering from the sprain, so a low-impact workout program is perfect for me!  Also, these DVDs are about 25-35 minutes long, so I can easily fit them in during Baby Fish's afternoon nap.  Let's see how I did with the plan vs. what I actually did:
Monday-Piyo Define: Lower Body
Tuesday-Piyo Define: Upper Body
Wednesday-Piyo Sweat

Thursday-planned rest day
Friday-Piyo Define: Lower Body unplanned rest day
Saturday-Piyo Define: Upper Body lazy day
Sunday-Piyo Sweat
Not perfect, but hey, 4 workouts in a week is a drastic improvement from what I've been doing.  And I'm striving for progress, not perfection!

Question for you: What's on your meal plan?  What did your workouts look like last week?\
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Baby Fish: 4 Month Update

Being behind on blogging means I'm behind on Baby Fish updates!  She actually turned 5 months old on Monday, but I've had her 4-month post ready for a while.  For my sake, I'm going to publish it today.  I want to be able to read these back someday, and missing a month would just be a shame!

So, without further ado, let's look at how Baby Fish handled her 4th month of life!

Baby Fish's 4th month of life was another jam-packed month.  We started on vacation with my family,

to enjoying our last few days with me as a stay-at-home mom,

to starting day care,

and adjusting to me going back to work.

She is such a happy, go-with-the-flow, outgoing baby that we are so so blessed with!!

Measurements:
Height: 25.75 inches (90th percentile)
Weight: 15.2 pounds (75th percentile)

Eat
Eating is still going well for Baby Fish!  She is still being breast fed, but also drinks bottles of breast milk while at day care.

I was so nervous about her eating at day care, since we hadn't gotten her to take more than 2 ounces from a bottle before taking her.  I knew that she would eventually drink out of one when she was hungry enough, and now she sucks them down!

We also do rice cereal once every three days and have gotten the go-ahead for stage 1 baby food at her 4-month appointment!

She takes the rice cereal much better than before.  She actually sucks on the spoon rather than having to dump it in her mouth, so hopefully the same will happen soon with the baby food.

Sleep
She is still a pro-sleeper!  She sleeps through the night, and we actually have to wake her up to get her ready for day care during the week!

She does not take very long naps at day care, which means that she takes about an hour nap in the early evening and is ready for bed early.

It makes me sad that we don't get to hang out with her as long, but it has led to her falling asleep on me more, which I love!

Play
She finally enjoys tummy time!

She is able to roll to her tummy now, and I think this independent little girl likes that much better than being turned on her tummy!  

She is starting to reach for toys, and she has so much fun while on the play mat.  She's also started grabbing her feet like the "happy baby" yoga pose!

She's still such a fun little girl, and we have a great time playing with her!

Baby Fish Likes:
-Putting her hands/everything in her mouth
-Tummy time
-Day care
-Snuggling after day care
-Watching TV with daddy
-Napping in bed with us
-Screaming/squealing/babbling
-Trying to do things herself

-Looking around

Baby Fish Doesn't Like:
-Having a dirty diaper while on her tummy
-Being held in one way for too long
-Being "forced" to do something

-Being tired

-Eating a bottle while I'm around 

Baby girl, you are so much fun and have made me going back to work both really hard and really easy.  I miss hanging out with you all day every day, but you having an easy time adjusting has made it easier for me, too.  Daddy and I love you more and more each day, as if we ever thought that was possible!

Previous updates:
3 Months

2 Months

1 Month

I'll be sharing her 5 month update next week on the blog!  Thanks for letting me share this with you.  If you can't tell, I love this little girl and love to talk about her :)