Lindsay's Ramblings

There was a time when food consumed my thoughts. What I would eat, what time I would eat it. There was a time when I was scared to eat carbs at night. There was a time when I forced myself to eat broccoli or cauliflower for dinner every day even though I hated the taste.  There was a time when I would eat fruits ONLY after a workout because any other time would make me fat, right? I'm glad to say that things have changed! One thing I've been doing lately is tracking my macros. And  what I've found is that I usually end up able to eat more than I thought! I try to keep things pretty simple and have an approximate calorie goal for the day. I'm currently eating higher carbs and calories on workout days, and a little less calories and carbs on off days. Nothing too complicated. I still have one "treat / off- meal" per week, but will also allow myself to eat whatever I want throughout the week if the opportunity comes up. I may not cont...

Celeste Faith has arrived! Born 7/18/2013, 6lbs, 8oz. Beware: photo overload!  And way too much cuteness to handle!! I love her so much already! Welcome to the world, Celeste!         With Grandma! So precious First time holding her!  One day old. Isn't she beautiful? Enough photos, Aunt Lindsay! One week old. I am so obsessed with her! "For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well." Psalm 139:13-14 (All photos taken by ME!)

Strength, good looks, connections, and the competitive instinct may bring a person success in a society like ours, but those very qualities may block entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven.   Dependence, sorrow, repentace, a longing to change-these are the gates to God’s kingdom.  -Philip Yancey

Happy Monday! Hope everyone had a great weekend! As sad as I am when the weekend is over, I really look forward to Monday's so I can train! Here's what I did today:  UPPER BODY: 1)Hang power cleans: 95x5/105x3/110x2/110x2 (+ one split jerk at the end of each set) 2)Military press: 65lbs x8-8-8-6 (finally got 3 sets of 8!) 3a)1 arm DB row: 55x8/8/8/55x15(Kroc rows-put your body into it!) 3b)DB incline chest press: 40x8/40x8/35x8/ Pushups- 1x12 4)Neutral grip pullups(one giant set to 20 reps-15-30seconds rest between sets)8-4-3-3-2 5)L-sit hold 4x10 seconds/ muscle ups x2 (just playing around since my gym finally got some rings!) 6)Farmer's walks 2x~45 seconds w/50lbs each hand Handstand practice   Looking forward to leg day Wednesday to work my legs and glutes! I'm workin on it! ;)     Since I * may* have a photoshoot coming up in a month, instead of cutting way back on my nutrition since it is already pretty good(and I don...

Well, it is hot hot HOT here in Kentucky! Almost too hot even for the pool! I'm not complaining, though-I will take this over being cold ANY day. So I tried something new for my post leg workout treat this week! It was pretty yummy! Although I think I would've enjoyed the ice cream more with it not being combined with the protein, just to really get the full on fruity, sugary taste! I've always loved Sherbet ice cream....or "Sherbert", as I've always called it! (My husband always make fun of how us "Kentucky people" talk!) So anyways, here's what I did for legs yesterday: 1)Single leg front loaded barbell reverse lunge from deficit: 3x8 2)Back squat: 3x10 (I hate doing high rep squats!!!! Yes, anything over 5 is high rep to me!) 3)BB hip thrust: 3x10/Single leg-1x12 4)Cable abductions: 2x12 5)Calf raises superset with reverse hypers Feeling it today! Like I said, I'm doing something a little different with my leg workouts la...

Always have to share a good Facebook status when I see one! I love her mindset.   "It's not a crazy thing to think that you can have the best of both worlds... that you can call it a diet and still eat what you enjoy.   It's not a crazy thing to think that you can go to the gym and simply just train to be a better version of you... not be better than the person next to you~ just a better you.   I t's not a crazy thing to think that you can compete on a stage without starving yourself ... ... that you can actually consume a healthy amount of calories and still look good.   It's not a crazy thing to think that you don't have to do hours upon hours of cardio to lose weight... that you can can actually spend less time doing HIIT than you would watching your favorite t.v. show and still get results.   It's not a crazy thing to think that you can be normal, happy, and healthy... that you can live life in moderation and still be exceptional. ...

The perfect body.  Ripped abs, round shoulders, muscular legs, nice glutes, toned arms...Isn't that what we all desire? Well, at least it's what I've always desired; it's what I've worked so hard for the last 10 plus years.  I absolutely LOVE lifting weights, but I'd be lying if I said I only do it because of the way it makes me feel; I also love the way it makes me look! It's a great feeling seeing your body transform from the hard work that you put into it. But lately...my mindset has been changing. Or rather, God is changing it ;) My body is just a temporary shell. When I die and go to Heaven no one is going to care that I had a lean stomach or muscular arms, right? At my funeral, people aren't going to say, "She really had a great body!"(Well, at least I hope that's not all that they would say of me!) I don't want to be seen as just someone with a good body, but as someone who loves God and loves people. I want to be a pos...

Our society encourages us to seek comfort. Most products advertised day and night are designed to make us more comfortable and less challenged. But, only challenge causes growth. It's up to you to constantly look for challenges that motivate you. It's up to you to notice when you are buried alive in a comfort zone." - Steve Chandler

I was just thinking the other day about how long it's been since I've eaten broccoli...and it's been  awesome! I used to basically force myself to eat it almost every single night since I thought having carbs at dinner was so "bad". Oh, silly me.... So now I've been having rice and potatoes and corn on the cob for dinner almost every night!  I have really been slacking on the green/cruciferous veggies....But  I constantly feel full eating all this food, so the last thing I want is veggies! Occasionally I'll have a salad or green beans and maybe some spinach in my smoothies here and there, but that's about it. Guess it's better than nothing, right? So... I changed up my leg workout this week, and boy am I sore today! Love it. I did some light(but what felt heavy since I did them  after glute hams, lunges and hip thrusts!) squats for the first time in a few weeks, so that may have been what got me so so...

Everyone seems to want things easy these days . It's easy to grab fast food rather than cook a meal; it's easy to eat a poptart for breakfast rather than make eggs; it's easy to sleep in rather than get up early and workout; it's easy to just take a diet pill rather than change your eating habits. Well, guess what? "Easy" doesn't get you closer to your goals . In fact, "easy" doesn't get you very far in fitness, in fat loss, OR in life in general. Taking the easy way out is a path that almost always leads to nowhere....except maybe to where you are right now. You can't always do things the easy way and then expect success. Success takes work . It takes effort .  You may have to do things that are HARD in order to get the results you desire. You know all those people you look up to, those people who have the body that you want so badly to have? They definitely didn't achieve their results by doing things that were ...

Saturday we had a family get together to welcome my cousin home from being in Africa with the Army. I had fun hangin with the fam and watching Asher run around like a crazy wild dog! He loves the water, but is afraid to swim!     My sister is so cute with her belly. She is 'bout ready to pop, and I can't even wait!   And of course, my little cousin, Landen, is always entertaining. I just love that little guy!   I mean, how cute is he???   After days and days of non-stop rain, the sun finally decided to make an appearance Sunday, so the husband and I spent a wonderful lazy day in the pool!   I made this super yummy banana pudding poke cake over the weekend. There's still a lot left, so I know what I'll be eating post workout this week! :) Oh, yes. 

"Permanent and lasting change takes time. The band-aid approach will rarely, if ever work. This is why the mindset needs to change so it's less of what you do and more of who you are. The move from the mindset of a diet to the mindset of a lifestyle. Yes, when you have a concrete goal you're trying to achieve, you have "fat-loss rules" you need to adhere to and some sacrifice is required. But the difference between the time of the year when you're actively pursuing a physique change and the time of the year when you're cruising, maintaining, living in a balanced manner and approaching nutrition with a LIFESTYLE in mind, should NOT be that different. Amounts of food might be different, you weigh vs you don't weigh maybe, you tighten up the off-plan meals, etc., but that "goal achievement" phase should just be the lifestyle you're already living tightened up. THAT is what makes coming off a phase where you were pursuing fat loss ... sust...

This was my 4th week doing these workouts, so I may switch up a few things next week. My upper hamstring thing is still bothering me, so I'm staying away from deadlifts because that's when I feel it the most. I hate not being able to do them, though!!!  I do have some good news to report-I measured my hips(glutes) the other day, and they have increased a little over a 1/2  inch! Woohoo, this booty's really growin! Heavy hip thrusts (+ icecream!) do a booty good! However, my calves are a different story-I have been training them hard...but they always stay the same size! Sometimes I think calves are just something you're either born with or you're not! So annoying. :/ MONDAY : UPPER *DELT* FOCUS 1)Hang power clean & jerk practice: 95x3/105x3/105x3/115x1 2)Military press: 65lbs x8-8-7-6 3a)1 arm press: 3x8 w/30lbs/ 1x10 w/25lbs 3b)Wide grip pullup: 5sets x6 4a)Cable face pull: 3x12 4b)Reverse crunch on bench: 3x12 5)...

I love floating in the pool, looking at the clear blue sky overhead, with the hot sun shining down on my skin, watching the cardinals fly past me and the pretty butterflies on my butterfly bush....it's so relaxing and refreshing to just enjoy nature and marvel at what God created for us. Everyone should take 5 minutes at least out of their day to just sit outside, clear your mind, listen to the birds chirping, feel the soft breeze on your skin, and just simply enjoy the beauty around you. And don't forget to thank God for it. :) Have a great weekend everyone!  

People often ask if I compete and/or try to convince me to do a fitness competition. It has never been something that I've had any desire to do, although I did have a brief moment of insanity a while back where I considered it...but that didn't last for long, thank goodness! At this point, I have no desire to  EVER do a fitness competition. Just not my thing. Why? Well, I wrote about a few of my reasons in this post last year. Besides the fact that I don't think I have the right figure for it, I don't want to constantly be on and off dieting or "prepping", or whatever they call it, and I don't want my life to revolve around macros and tupperware. NO thank you. I don't need a trophy, I don't need photoshoots, and I don't need to be in fitness magazines. It's enough knowing that I'm doing this for ME-for my health, for my mental and physical well-being, for my future quality of life, and simply for the satisfaction of working hard ...

Happy Monday!! It ended up being a really nice weekend, with lots of sunshine and cooler temperatures. Got some pool time in, a workout, a yummy treat(PIZZA!!), church, and yesterday took Asher to play at the creek. He had so much fun(and so did I)!           And some Instagram pics from the past few weeks: Pool L-sit, why not? My boys! Favorite summer spot(well, besides the pool!) Cruisin in the Jeep! Someone wants to float in the pool, too! Dinner on the river with a beautiful view of the Louisville skyline! Had to try the key lime donut from Krispy Kreme!  Sun's out, guns out! Hope you all had a great weeked!