21 Day Fix : Day 2

I just started the 21 Day Fix and wanted to share the journey with you. If you have any helpful tips, please share! Here’s Day 2.

Meal One: 1 Red
Shakeology

21 Day Fix Day 2 Meal 1

 

Meal 2: 1 Purple 1 Red 2 Tsp
2 Hard Boiled Eggs
1/2 Apple (A purple is a small apple. This was a big one.)
2 Tsp Almond Butter

21 Day Fix Day 2

21 Day Fix Day 2

 

Meal 3: 1 Green 1 Red 1 Yellow 1 Tsp
Grilled chicken
Brown Rice
Grilled Peppers

Sad – no picture. This was GOOD though. David grilled chicken and peppers for me over the weekend and then I put them with brown rice. Yummy!

Meal 4: 1 Purple
Cherries – I love cherries… especially in the summer. So good.

21 Day Fix Day 2 Cherries

 

Meal 5: 1 Blue 1 Yellow 2 Tsp
Mozzarella Cheese (not pictured)
Steel Cut Oats
Almond Butter

21 Day Fix Day 2 Meal 5

 

Meal 6: 1 Green 1 Red 1 Purple
Shakeology
Spinach
Berries

21 Day Fix Day 2 Meal 6

 

Totals for the day:
2 Green (WAY short. WAY)
3 Purple
4 Red (1 short)
3 Yellow (1 short)
1 Blue
No Orange (1 short)
4 Tsp (1 short)

Workout: Upper Fix (3o min DVD)
I was really excited about how well I did on this one. Well, until we got to the planking. My thighs were so sore from the full body yesterday, that I couldn’t plank. The problem wasn’t my arm strength. It was my legs! The big win for this workout was that I was able to use 5 pound weights!! The last time I did any DVD with weights I was only able to use 2 pound weights. So, I was VERY VERY thrilled to be able to use the 5s. I had to document it.

21 Day Fix Day 2 Workout

 

Takeaways:

  • Today, I didn’t start eating until after I worked out, which was like 9:30. That is NOT going to work. I MUST start eating earlier. Much earlier.
  • Preparation is the key. Each and every day.
  • All that working out I’ve been doing has been great, but there are many muscles my body has NOT been using.

 

The 21 Day Fix Series (June 2015)

21 Day Fix : Day 1

This 21 Day Fix journey is interesting to lots of folks so I thought I’d try to blog through the days. So, here is Day 1.

First, I CANNOT STRESS ENOUGH that preparation is the key to doing this. If you do not have food prepped and you either work or have children or both, you will find it difficult to do this correctly at the start. I’m a pretty organized person who meal preps for the week anyway, and I’m still struggling a little bit. I’m confident that it will get easier over time, but this first week, you’ve got to get your ducks in a row.

The other thing to note is that you’re encouraged to eat 6 “meals” a day. You and I, we would call them snacks in between meals, but no. It really is more like 6 mini-meals, and I’m trying to get my head around that.

So, here’s what I had on Day 1

Meal One: 1 Green 1 Purple 1 Red
Fresh, chopped vegetables with 2 eggs
Banana not pictured

21 Day Fix Day 1

 

Meal 2: 1 Purple 1 Red
Mixed berries – some frozen, some fresh
Plain greek yogurt

21 Day Fix Day 1

 

Meal 3: 2 Green 1 Red 1 Yellow 2 Tsp
Lunch at Cinco with Team
Fajitas with corn tortillas
Side salad

Forgot to take a picture, and I’m pretty sure I went over on my fats here, but it was worth it. I did say NO to chips and salsa, which is HUGE for me. So, I considered the meal a win for my first day on the 21 Day Fix.

Meal 4: 1 Red
Shakeology

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Meal 5: 1 Green 1 Blue
Veggies and Hummus

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Meal 6: 2 Green 1 Red 1 Yellow 1 Orange
Salad with grilled chicken and dressing
Side of brown rice

Forgot to take a picture…

Totals for the day:
6 Green (over by 1, but if you’re going to go over, this is the best place to do it)
2 Purple (short 1)
5 Red
2 Yellow (short 2)
1 Blue
1 Orange
2ish Tsp (pretty sure all 5 were covered and I just didn’t know)

Workout: Total Body Cardio Fix (3o min DVD)
I was able to do it with some modifications. Obviously, I’m not in great shape or I wouldn’t be doing this. They do have a fabulous lady, Kat, who shows you how to modify each exercise. We are becoming great friends.

Takeaways:

  • Getting the 4 yellow containers in is going to be hard. I have avoided carbs so much that trying to eat some, even healthy ones, is hard. I’m pretty sure that’s because I never eat healthy carbs.
  • This is A LOT of food. A LOT!
  • If I had not already been working out consistently since January, this would be really hard. It’s totally doable, just requires commitment and discipline.

The 21 Day Fix Series (June 2015)

#HOHGETSFIT Starts the 21 Day Fix

Yes, you read that right. #HOHGETSFIT has jumped on the 21 Day Fix bandwagon. 

If you’ve been following along, you know that the House of Hills has been working toward a fitter lifestyle (AKA #HOHGETSFIT). Maggie and I joined a gym. David has been doing workouts at home. We’ve been trying to improve our eating.

Here Mags and I are the beginning of the journey.

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And, it’s been going pretty well. I lost ten pounds by the end of February. And, I lost another ten by the end of April. Then, I stalled out. Don’t get me wrong. I still FEEL BETTER. I have more stamina. I think I’m a nicer person to be around.

Here we are at the end of May.

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I’ve continued to exercise…

However, I haven’t been consistent like I was. I was starting to get lazy with the food. (I mean, my child started a cookie company and doesn’t eat cookies. Who do you think is taste-testing those things?) I needed a little nudge in the right direction.

THE ONE THING I DID NOT WANT TO DO WAS QUIT!
I have too much at stake here people.
I need to be alive to meet my grandchildren.

I have quite a few friends, both in real life and online, who are Beachbody coaches and while none of them pressured me, all had reached out to tell me about Beachbody. So, for Mother’s Day, I got the 21 Day Fix Program, and I joined a challenge group that started yesterday.

For those of you that don’t now, the 21 Day Fix is a three week (duh) program that encourages you to track your eating through monitoring how many “colors” or servings of different types of food you eat each day. In addition, they provide a workout DVD that gives you a 30 minute workout rotating through multiple types of workouts so you don’t get bored. Finally, you are encouraged to drink Shakeology, which is a nutrient packed protein powder that is actually a meal replacement.

21 Day Fix Package

I got the vegan Shakeology in case Maggie can have it.
I’m still investigating if it’s Low Fodmap or not.

Because everything is portion controlled, it is VERY important to be prepared. So, I spent a good bit of the weekend dealing with this.

21 Day Fix Prep

And making it look like this.

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Lots of little containers people. Lots of little containers.

It’s been worth it though. The first two days have gone pretty well. I’m excited to have a new focus and a new accountability group. If there is one thing I’ve learned on this fitness journey, it’s that I respond better when I know people are either counting on me or encouraging me. An accountability group does both.

I’ll keep you updated!

Have any of you done the 21 Day Fix?

 

It’s Summer!

We’ve had a ROUGH school year here at the House of Hills. I mean REALLY ROUGH. That’s why we were ALL so excited to yell “It’s Summer!” this past Friday afternoon.

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We celebrate the beginning of summer with a little mini-party when Maggie comes home from school. She always gets great grades and accomplishes many amazing things throughout the school year so we like to make a big deal of it all.

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There are presents.

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And balloons.

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We gave a little shout out to her role as JoJo this year in Seussical Jr.

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And, we gave her a little slice of her second home.

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Then, she got her big surprise. We booked a trip to Disney World for this fall weeks ago and were going to surprise her right before we went. But, she needed a bit of Disney magic to start the summer so we told her earlier than planned.

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She was so excited and so thankful.

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And slightly overwhelmed.

She’s already started planning the trip.
We’ll be talking about it for months.
That’s her favorite.

How do you kickoff summer in your house?

 

House of Hills Ladies Going on a Mission Trip

 

The House of Hills Ladies are VERY excited to announce that they are going on a Mission Trip this summer with Transit, the Middle School Ministry at North Point Ministries.

HOH Ladies

We are partnering with Flood Student Missions to help the homeless community right here in Metro Atlanta.

We will travel down to a women and children’s shelter (The Garden) and spend three days (and nights) helping there and out in the community. We will be preparing meals at the shelter to serve the women and children as well as organizing activities for them during one of the days. In addition, we will prepare lunches to take out to the homeless of Atlanta. Our vans will travel “under the bridges” where a majority of these men reside.

We can’t wait to spread God’s love and grace to the people of Metro Atlanta.

I will of course be blogging about it here and Instagraming (@kathill29).

We each need to raise $500 to pay for supplies and food for both the mission trip and the homeless we will be helping.

To give to Kathy, please visit here.
To give to Maggie, please visit here.

Please consider partnering with the House of Hills for this adventure either financially or through prayer (or both!).

Thank you friends.
The HOH Ladies – Kathy and Maggie

 

Spring 2015 Chorus Concert

Saturday morning was final Imrov Class.
Sunday night was Recital.
Monday night was the Spring 2015 Chorus Concert.

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I have to tell you. I LOVE the Chorus Concert. Maggie has had the honor and privilege of being under the direction of one of what I would consider the best choral directors in the state. Miss Grizzle does AMAZING things with these kids, and we always enjoy the concert.

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She sang in a total of three different groups last night. Was super proud of her. I grabbed some excerpts so the grandparents could hear. However, if you enjoy beautiful music, go ahead and push play. You’ll be impressed.

 

 

And, apparently my camera work was a bit shaky. I think I was enjoying the music too much. I seemed to be dancing to it! That’s hysterical!

This concluded our trifecta of performances, and we can now relax in the House of Hills. It’s been a crazy year, and I’m glad my girl has done so well in what she loves.

And, we got a semi-decent family picture!

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Are you done with the end of the school year crazy yet?

 

Spring Recital Time!!

Spring has sprung here at the HOH, and we seem to be dashing off to this thing and that thing to celebrate the end of the year.

Last night was the spring recital with Maggie’s voice teacher who also teaches piano. Actually, she teaches more piano than voice, but is AWESOME at both. She’s got quite the number of kids that troop in and out of her house each week.

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This was the first time we got to see Maggie play the piano at a recital. So exciting. She started before I could get the camera lined up, but here is her Lion King song on the piano.

Miss Ree always has themes for her spring recital, and this year’s was the 80’s. The parents had to pick an 80’s song for their child to perform. David of course chose a U2 song for Maggie. She forgot a couple words in there, but it was still a pleasure to listen to her sing, as it always is.

Love this kid…

Now, chorus concert tonight… Goodness…

Product Review: HEX Performance Products

I was compensated for this post by HEX Performance. All opinions are my own.

If you’ve been reading the #HOHGETSFIT updates here on the blog or following the hashtag on Instagram, then you know I’ve been hitting the gym A LOT lately. And, when I go to they gym…. I sweat… A LOT. And, that means… my clothes stink…A LOT.

That’s why I was so excited to be contacted by the makers of HEX Performance products! They make laundry detergent especially for stinky, sweaty clothes. Like for real.

Well, actually they say it in nicer words.

HEX Performance has developed the first and only system designed specifically to clean and protect today’s performance gear and apparel.

See, told you they were pretty words.
They have three products in their HEX Performance line.

HEXPerformance_01

 

Ultra+ Dual Action Gear Wash
HEX Ultra+ Dual Action Gear Wash is the first and only product guaranteed to clean and protect today’s high performance gear.

That means all those nasty shin guards and pads and such. You can wash those with this stuff and not only will it get them clean, but it will protect them from future nastiness.

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Power+ Laundry Detergent
The first high performance detergent with a long-lasting odor eliminating technology, all while staying gentle on fabric and skin. In addition, the detergent is naturally antistatic and restores fabric wickability. This eliminates the need for dryer sheets and fabric softeners, which saves you even more time and money.

Basically, it will take the stink out and keep it out. Whoop!

HEXPerformance_03

 

On Demand+ Spray and Go
It’s the perfect on-the-go solution for protecting and maintaining your gear and footwear. With all of the amazing benefits of HEX tech crammed into a spray that you can take anywhere, from your shoes to your yoga mat, you’ll never have to worry about odor again!

This is the stuff you throw in your gym bag so that you can spray your nasty shoes when you take them off at the gym. Or, you throw it in your sports gear bag so you can have it on hand when something needs a quick wipe-down at practice.

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I was really excited to try the laundry detergent as some of my workout clothes and towels have been getting a little nasty. You can’t sweat in them day after day without a little buildup. Am I right?

I saved a big pile of nasty towels to wash to test the detergent.
I was VERY pleased with the results.
Everything came out smelling nice a clean, and I didn’t have to use any fabric softener – a bonus for sure.

I’m excited to have this new resource in the House of Hills.

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Do you want to try HEX Performance Products?

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If you want to get a free sample and coupon, ALL TARGET STORES IN COLORADO AND GEORGIA will be featuring HEX Performance Products tomorrow, May 16, 2015 from 11AM -4PM.

So, while you’re out running errands, be sure to stop by the kiosk and investigate further. You’ll be glad you did.

#HOHGETSFIT March and April Review

Have you been following the #HOHGETSFIT over on Instagram? It’s still going… and going… and going. The hashtag continues to motivate me to get up and move pretty much every day. And, that’s pretty exciting.

I’ve had several wins and wanted to share them with you!

#HOHGETSFIT Toes

I sit and reached and went past my toes – pretty sure this has never happened in the history of my world. I discovered that I could do it quite by accident, and was SO EXCITED!

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I went past two miles on the treadmill. This one was HUGE! HUGE I say.

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I began adding the weights express workout to my routine three times a week. It makes the time in the gym longer, but is pushing me different ways.

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I’ve now increased the level on all the machines I use several times. That’s a massive win. That means I’ve been working out long enough to need to move up and make it harder. Super cool.

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I’ve even added some free weights to the routine every once in awhile. Trying to strengthen those arms. Why are women’s arms so weak?

I’ve also continued to log my food in My Fitness Pal. This is an integral part of the weight loss journey. It doesn’t matter how much you work out. If you don’t fuel your body properly, you won’t lose or more importantly get stronger.

Over the last two months, I’ve lost another 11 pounds. So, that’s 21 pounds total.
More importantly, I’m stronger and have more stamina. I survived Orange Conference without knee and back pain, and that is a VERY big deal.

I know myself well enough that I realize I’m going to have to change some things up soon. I’m getting bored. Perhaps I’ll try a class or maybe start swimming a couple times a week. I want to continue to use the gym because I’m paying for it. And, with summer coming, I’m hoping Maggie will go with me more often.

That’s your update. Let’s see what this month brings!

Following the #DisneySMMC Hashtag

Disney loving friends!

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Are you following the #DisneySMMC hashtag on the Twitters? If you aren’t, you need to go look it up immediately.  There is so much awesomeness on there right now!

The Disney Social Media Moms Celebration (DisneySMMC) is going on this weekend in Disney World, and while the HOH totally wishes we were there, I am learning so much great Disney and blogging goodness just from following the hashtag!

This tweet had me looking up Disney Citizenship. What a wonderful website that inspires us all to make a difference.

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They have these fun photo contests going on during the conference. Gave me great ideas to use for work and our conferences.
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They announced the awesomeness that is the new Disney Infinity 3.0. We’re going to need to invest in that I’m thinking.

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Disney Infinity Playsets

 

I had never heard of the Imagicademy, but am VERY EXCITED to share the information with my nieces and nephews. There are some awesome apps that educate while they entertain. Those are the best kind, right?

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Then, Donald Driver came on the stage and Twitter blew up! What an amazing talk he must have given. I can’t wait to go read more about him. His story is apparently very powerful.

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I pretty much can thank the above tweets for writing this post right now. I’m a writer. I need to write. I need to share. I’ve not been fulfilling that need.

And this tweet sealed the deal in my head that I needed to get out there more. If you don’t take risks, there is no reward.

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I’ve had such a great day learning along with the ladies (and gentlemen) attending #DisneySMMC. I can’t thank them enough for sharing all the learning and fun with the Twitterverse. They’ve inspired me in a major way!

Tomorrow, they’re getting to see a sneak peek of the new Disney film Inside Out. I can’t wait to hear how much they love it. And, the HOH can’t wait to see it!!

Are you following the hashtag? What’s the best thing you’ve learned?