Healthier Beef With Broccoli + Why I Haven’t Blogged in 3 Months (HUGE NEWS)

Where do I even begin with this?! It’s been 110 days since my last blog post (which is ridiculous), and it feels like every single day has been a whirlwind since then. So folks, you’re in for a long, juicy read with this post. :o) Looking back on the last 3+ months, I can’t believe how much has happened. I didn’t know how spot-on these words from my last post actually were:

“Things have gotten CRAZY busy over the last 4 months in all aspects of my life (personal, professional, and recreational), and I expect it to get even busier in the next 4-6 months. Posting every single week just ain’t happening, but I’m not going to beat myself up about it. Instead, I’m acknowledging the fact that I’m spending my time doing other things that are really important right now, and I’ll continue to post as often as I can.”

And here’s a little snippet of two posts back:

“I know it might not be kosher to post about this when we have nothing (other than a name) finalized, but hell, I think a girl should be able to dream, dream big, and dream publicly — so I’m throwing this out there a little bit half-baked… We want to change lives. We want to help people get healthy and achieve their goals. And, obviously, we want to have fun while doing it… I know how much of an impact getting my health in check has had in ALL aspects of my life, and I want nothing more than to show the rest of the world that they can do it, too, without enduring hours on a treadmill or starving themselves on 1200 calories/day. Seriously, there’s a better way. I’m living proof, and Kristina is the methodology behind it. No, I’m not drastically changing course in any way at this specific moment. And no, I’m certainly not quitting my day job any time soon. This is a “big-picture” thing that we’re going to put a lot of time and effort into planning and building out.”

Let’s connect the dots between those two posts and the current state of things, shall we?

Asian Barbeque Steak Skewers

Happy Monday, everyone! We’re having some really awful weather in Austin today — cold and rainy with a chance of ice — and I’d be lying if I said it was easy for me to crawl out of bed at 5:15 this morning to lift weights. But, instead of convincing myself that staying wrapped up in my warm blankets and skipping my workout wouldn’t do me any harm, I realized that not sticking to my routine on a Monday morning was the exact opposite of how I wanted to start this week.

Regardless of the crummy weather, how little sleep I got this weekend, or how many excuses I could have come up with to rationalize staying in bed this morning, none of them would have validated starting my week out in a way that gets between me and my goals. This has been a recurring theme for me throughout 2015 thus far. No, my year didn’t get off to a great start. I had a crap-ton of personal stuff going on in January, then had a few crazy weeks of pet health issues to deal with earlier this month, and work has definitely been picking up. I’ve been constantly busy, stressed out some (most?) of the time, and ready to give up a small number of times. Any time I catch myself thinking about that last one — giving up — I remind myself that it isn’t an option.

Baked Crab Rangoons

I’m baaaack! Saying the last few days have been crazy-hectic would be an understatement, but I made it through my portion of SXSW and am (slowly) getting back into my regular routine. Today is really day 1 of working my way back to “normal.”

Being in the midst of the conference was completely invigorating. It made me want to go out and change the world, and my appreciation for Austin was totally revived. Basically, I never want to move. And, I ate 3D printed food. (Yep, that’s a thing. Technology is crazy.) My lapse from the regular day-to-day lasted an additional 2 days because of the unexpected passing of a friend, so there was a funeral to attend and a day full of quality time with my best friends from my home town (plus a little more than my fair share of cookies). Now, it’s back to the grind with work, cooking, and exercise.

Clean Chicken Pad Thai

I know I said I’d post the burrito recipe. I KNOW. (I’m sorry, it’s going to have to be next week.) Here’s the thing: something incredible happened last night. I made Chicken Pad Thai on a whim, and it knocked the proverbial socks (proverbial because chickens don’t wear socks) off of literally everything else that I ate this week. EVEN CHICKEN STRIPS. That’s a big deal.

How to NOT Fail Your New Year’s Resolution + Clean Shrimp “Fried” Rice

Welp, tomorrow is officially the last day of 2013. I don’t want to make this some sappy post all about how much I’ve grown this year, so I’ll avoid that as much as possible, but I will say that I have accomplished more than I ever dreamed possible in the last 12 months. I bet you guys are more curious about HOW I got here, so I’ll focus on that instead. I’m closing out this year healthier, happier, and more motivated than I’ve ever been: all things that I am extremely proud of. I’m 50 pounds lighter, a LOT smarter (or so I think…), and I finally feel comfortable in my own skin.

That last part — the self-acceptance — is something I’d never nailed down before. I’ve always been able to seem self-confident, but I wasn’t ever truly there. I hid behind materialistic things, alcohol, and/or work to make everyone believe that I was, but I never really loved myself as much as I should have. This year, I stopped partying as much, stopped bringing work home, and started focusing on plain ol’ me. It made all the difference. I had to learn to appreciate myself for who I am and believe that I’m worth the effort first and foremost before I could dive into working toward a goal of becoming healthier.

Why 92% of People Fail At Their New Year’s Resolutions

TONS of people make health-related resolutions at the beginning of every single year. “Get in shape” or “lose weight” had been at the top of my list for as long as I remember, but I never made it happen until this year. I started 2013 with a resolution to stay dedicated to working out at Synergy, which was also tied to finally losing the weight that I’d been trying to lose since high school. What made this year’s resolution different was that I actually knew why I wanted to do it.