Boxing Class!

I joined a local gym and yesterday I went to a group boxing class.  It was so intense!  There was a lot of interval stuff including jumping jacks, knee raises, and everyone's favorite, burpees/squat thrusts.  We ended with a 4 minute Tabata cycle which was so hard at the end of the workout!  The people in the class were really awesome and helped me push myself through.  But boy am I sore today! I'm glad I went and I will definitely try to keep going once classes start again (although it may be hard since my last class ends at 6 and the group class is at 6:40 and my school is a 35 minute drive away without traffic...) But anyways it was a really fun class and I highly suggest going to something like it!  Although it's definitely not for beginners, make sure you're in good shape first!

Live, laugh, love,

Laura

Beautiful Salad!

  For lunch today I made a gorgeous salad that tasted so delicious!  It took a while to prepare but it was totally worth it.  I used spinach and arugula for my greens then added sliced apples, strawberries, raspberries, grape tomatoes, cucumbers, baby carrots, almonds, Perdue grilled chicken, and crumbled feta cheese.  Yummy!  Probably the best salad I've ever had, no joke.  I love mixing my fruits and veggies together.  I am not a huge fan of salad dressing so I did not use any but you could definitely use a vinaigrette with this salad :)

Live, laugh, love,

Laura

Breakfast!

    This morning I went for a nice brisk walk with my puppy and came back and enjoyed a two egg omelet and fresh strawberries and raspberries.  It was quite delicious :)  I also had some of my acai fruit smoothie which was very tasty.  Today I will be doing light cardio on my elliptical, a short tae bo workout, and then some resistance training.  I will also be using my ab wheel!  The ab wheel is the best, I have seen really good results with it, I just need to wear wrist braces or straps to keep me from injuring my wrists.  I'll write again after my lunch today, which I am very excited about making! 


Live, laugh, love, 

Laura

Couscous Wrap

    So I didn't end up making the chicken since I was eating a very late lunch and I was starving!  I ended up making a chicken couscous wrap.  I made regular couscous,  Purdue precooked chicken strips (like the kind you put on salad), cucumbers, and tomatoes and wrapped them all up in a spinach wrap.  It was delicious!  And I have leftover couscous for tomorrow, so who knows what I can make with it!  I can get creative.  I should have taken a picture of my lovely lunch since it was quite pretty and colorful but I forgot to, I'll be sure to next time!  Let me know what you think of my quick and easy lunch recipe!

Live, laugh, love,
Laura

Spiced Chicken with Couscous Salad

I found this recipe today for chicken breasts on top of a couscous salad that looks delicious.  I'm off to the supermarket to buy the ingredients and I will let you know how it turns out!

Here's a link to the recipe:  http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/spiced-chicken-couscous-salad-recipe-00000000034246/print-index.html

Live, laugh, love,
Laura

Resolutions

  Hello.  So like millions of people around the world, my new years resolution is to get in shape and live a healthier lifestyle.  However my goal is not just to go to the gym a few times and cut out junk food for a couple weeks then give up.  I have a long term goal.  I would like to compete in a fitness pageant in November of 2013.  I am not in so bad of shape now, but I do have a lot of work to do.  Also, I am only 5 foot 1, so I have a lot of compensating to do since I will be competing with women who are a lot taller than me.  I hope to post here and show my progress from day one, which is today.
  For the past couple years I have really enjoyed working out and have gotten myself into pretty good shape.   However I eat pretty badly and I sometimes stop working out for a couple weeks then get back into it.  Hopefully this year I can accomplish my goals in order to make it to the pageant.  I hope that I can get support from my fellow bloggers for my journey.  In this blog I will be posting some of my work outs, healthy recipes, and my overall progress.
  As well as getting into shape and eating healthy, I need to work on my outer appearance.  Another goal of mine is to try harder with how I look.  Haha mostly I'll wake up in the morning, throw on some clothes and go to class.  I usually do not wear makeup or do anything with my hair.  But I hope to change this in 2013!  Wish me luck!

Live, laugh, love,
Laura