STRONG is the new beautiful, and I mean that!  When I look at myself in the mirror what do I see? I see a strong and beautiful woman. As I share almost daily, I am on a lifelong quest to lose body fat and to be healthy. People may look at me and think “man she’s big” but you know what, I am big but I can also bench press your mother! I am a strong woman and I am proud of who I am!

In high school I was a competitive power lifter.  I benched 200 pounds, squatted 400 pounds, and dead lifted 395 pounds.  I was big and I was STRONG!  In college I was a Division I discus and hammer thrower.  I practiced 4 hours a day and competed with some of the best throwers in the country.  I was big and I was STRONG!

I am in the middle of my 5th week of Jillian Michaels Body Revolution and guess what, I am big and I am STRONG!  In my first month I only lost 1 pound but I lost 10.5 inches!  This week I feel incredibly strong and can see my body changing.  When people look at me they may think, that girl is big, but you know what?  I AM “BIG” AND I AM STRONG!

Last night was my first time doing Cardio 2 and boy did it kick my tail.  The workout was high intensity and fast pace… I loved every moment of it, even the painful ones.

I mean, I was sweating so much my upper lip was sweating!  Now you know it’s a good workout when your LIP is sweating.  I am loving Body Revolution and am excited to do workout 5 again tonight on top of my spin class this morning.

After cardio 2 last night I went over to Neal’s to watch some hockey (go CAPS) and baseball (go NATS) and whipped up a yummy, protein filled salad.   The salad included a Trader Joe’s goat cheese medallion…

two diced grilled chicken tenders…

a lot of lettuce (spring mix)…

and two diced eggs.

It was perfect and refueled me after a hard workout.  Aside from my uber yummy strawberry rhubarb crumble, my goal of eating less simple carbs has been going well.  Breakfasts this week have included oatmeal and a banana.  Lunches have varied from pasta zero to salads to soup.  Dinners have been pretty diverse but again as close to whole foods as possible.

I hope y’all are having a wonderful week.  Happy Thursday!