My first 5K.

Happy hump day! Anyone ready for this weather to be over already?? 

I had a first this past weekend: I signed up to compete in my first 5K. I went into this thinking that I might run some and walk the rest of the way since I really have not trained myself to run the whole thing. I have never been a runner and never thought I would ever enjoy it. I have been walking for a while now and I knew my body needed to move to the next level. I have always avoided running but decided to give it a try to up my cardio. I used the Couch to 5K program to get myself introduced to it at first and now just push myself on my own.

And I love it!! It really is challenging for me since I have a lot of weight to carry but is a way to relax and have "me" time.

The 5K went great and I felt more motivation running with others. I ran almost half way before I had to walk for a bit and was shocked! I finished 39:41 and came in at 19 out of 40. I know the pros out there are probably thinking that's terrible. But that is awesome for me and my body is making progress in this fitness journey. I was so proud of myself for getting so far and stepping out of my comfort zone.

I will definitely be finding more races to sign up for. Of course just 5Ks for now, I know I am nowhere close to anything more but I might think about that in the future. So if you know of any coming up in the Athens area let me know. 

"It doesn't get easier, you just get better"

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Skinny Jean Food

Happy Monday!


This beautiful weather is encouraging me to stay outside the rest of the afternoon. I love spring weather. I wish it would stay like this year round.


My weigh in was this past Friday for the Biggest Loser competition that I have organized for work. I am not competing but I try to do the best I can to encourage my co-workers. I definitely did not do so good this past week but I cannot give up so I have got to jump back into full swing with my diet and exercise. But the girls I work with are doing FABULOUS! So proud. We have 3 more weeks to go and the winners are getting some good prizes!


So, Saturday I had to try some new recipes to get my nutrition back on track. Hopefully I will be doing this every week and share with y'all what I experimented with. I love to cook, I just am short on time most days so meal prepping is a must.


First, I made Cauliflower Pizza and it really surprised me. My first thought was that it was going to be a flop but I do really like it and have leftovers for lunch this week. I know I will be making this again soon! I have mentioned before that I love SkinnyMom but I will say it again...I love SkinnyMom!! They have tons of recipes and fitness ideas to keep you going. This is where I got this recipe from so go here if you want to try it too.


It is so important that you have parchment paper to make this or it will definitely stick to the pan! There is cheese in the crust as well so it does cause the edges to burn so do not be alarmed. I made this exactly by the recipe. It made A LOT of sauce so I will not use as much next time but if you like lots of sauce, go for it. It is also really salty-tasting so I may try reducing the salt next time too and hopefully lower the sodium a good bit. Feel free to add whichever toppings you love. I am not much of a veggie person so I did not add any extras but get creative! I cut mine to make 6 slices. This is a very filling meal and pairing it with a salad would be perfect. Only 9.5 carbs per slice! I have got to try more things with cauliflower soon.


Cauliflower Pizza:
Calories-132
Fat-2.2
Sodium-623.7
Carbs-9.5
Fiber-1.7
Sugar-3.4
Protein-18.3


Pizza Hut Medium Thin Pepperoni:
Calories-210
Fat-9
Sodium-640
Carbs-21
Fiber-1
Sugar-4
Protein-8


Not too shabby!

Next, I made a sweet snack to help with the surroundings of candy all weekend. I almost think that Easter is worse than Halloween. The Reese's Eggs are the devil...


I found a recipe for No Bake Peanut Butter Bars on Pinterest. My first thought was these bars my grandma makes. So freakin' good. So I wanted to try these and compare. There is only three ingredients which is awesome. 1 cup peanut butter (I use simply JIF), 1 cup honey, and 3 cups oats.

No Bake Peanut Butter Bars:
Calories-154
Fat-7.4
Sodium-29.6
Carbs-21.6
Fiber-1.4
Sugar-16.5
Protein-3.7


Grandma's Peanut Butter Bars:
Calories-174
Fat-10
Sodium-77.8
Carbs-19.1
Fiber-1.2
Sugar-10.6
Protein-3.5


Not a huge difference but I love this recipe. I also like the fat that I am getting healthy fats instead of the alternative. Definitely not something I can eat all of the time but a good treat when other temptations arise. I also compared it to a peanut butter cookie from Subway and Subway had way more calories and fat. I used an 8x8 pan and cut them into 18 bars. I also would love to take these to a family dinner or something. They are super easy! The hardest part is waiting for them while they sit in the fridge. Definitely a keeper in the recipe book!

(I cut these squares again to make a smaller portion because they are really sweet!)

Cannot wait to try some other new recipes next week! Any suggestions??

Life is a Beach

So last week my husband and I, along with my mom and step dad, took a week off and headed to the beach! We love the beach so much that it is the only place we go. This time we headed to Myrtle Beach, S.C. It has been a while and it definitely has changed over a few years. April is a little early to sit in the sand and jump in the water but we had so much fun!

One of our favorite parts to the beach is eating real seafood! And I am not taking about Red Lobster. The real thing!! And it is easy for me to find something to eat that is not fried (even though I did splurge I little). As much as I love fried shrimp and carbs, it is just harder for me to eat it because I hate the miserable feeling to follow. 

As far as my exercising, I was able to get more walking in than I do at home because I had the time! It was great to walk a few miles on the beach. If only I could do that every day...hmmm..retirement maybe??

We of course had to play putt putt twice (my favorite). We also got to ride the SkyWheel which is basically a "upscale" Ferris wheel but it is so tall that you could see for miles! Skee ball and shopping was also on the list of things to do. And lastly, we would have to find a gun shop and stop by to browse. But if the guys put up with us the whole week, they deserved a short trip there. Cannot complain. Makes the hubs happy:)

View from the SkyWheel:

The first to days were kinda rainy but our last two days were beautiful! We were finally able to get some beach time. The wind was really cold but the sun evened it out so it was perfect. Water was freezing though. I mean it. We stuck our feet in for a second and could not feel them.

Those Krispy Kreme we picked up was my downfall last week. What is it about those things that make them so good? That was definitely my splurge. Maybe a little too much. A donut a day keeps the doctor away right?! 

Just kidding y'all. I wish.

Oh and my birthday was Thursday. Seafood, beach, and putt putt was the best way to spend it. And I got to come home to a mailbox full of warm birthday wishes from my family. How great is that? So thankful and blessed. 

Overall, the trip was awesome!

Monday was not fun though. Too much to do but not a lot of time to do it in. But we make it work. Such is life.

Random thought for my next venture on the blog: I am going to start a weekly recipe makeover/Pinterest party. Thinking about turning some of the best foods to "skinny" foods and maybe trying out a few of the recipes I see on Pinterest. So excited to find some new dishes everyone will love!

Well I gotta get back at it. Life is a beach!

My FAV apps!

I am back! It's been a little longer than I expected to post again but life happens ya know. I am on a fabulous Spring Break right now, which you will all here about next week. But while I have a break from everything else I will post about some of my favorite things. 

We use our smart phones so much now that we could not function without them. Soooo, I am sharing my five fav health and fitness apps with you. You know there is a whole section of health & fitness related apps in your App Store?? I have an iPhone but I am sure that most are available in the other brands. (Love my iPhone and probably won't ever switch. I am one of those that do not like change). If you have some free time (what's free time?), browse that section. You may find something that strikes your fancy. Until then, I have done the hard work for you! Here is the top 5 for me:

MyFitnessPal. Some of you may already use this, either the app or website. But this definitely keeps me accountable for what I eat because I know others are looking at my diary. Basically, you set up an account with height, weight, goal weight, etc. and it will give you a pretty accurate calorie range. Try not to just focus on calories though. You can see fat, carbs, sodium, etc. in your daily and weekly intake. Find me as a friend at jeannie_410@yahoo.com and set your diary to public/friends only for accountability. 

Striiv. Yes, I spelled it right. This is an awesome app to track your steps/miles walked everyday. And links directly to MyFitnessPal to subtract calories burned. I am all about subtracting calories!! Warning: this app does run your battery down. I try to keep a charger around so my phone does not die. I love to see how much I have walked in one day though. Worth it for me, but others tend to delete it for that reason. Don't blame me later; I did warn you!

Pact. This app I am fairly new to and still getting used to it but so far I am liking it. This keeps you accountable with food logging, eating fruits & veggies, and workouts by charging you if you do not reach your goals for the week. But if you do reach your goals, you get paid. Yes, that's right. They give you money to exercise and eat right while tracking it. Set your goals for each week and earn! Now my problem with this is that I forget about it and there is no way to enter whatever you did. And if you workout, you cannot lock your phone because it will not count it. But I am figuring it out so it's getting better. Links directly to MyFitnessPal to make sure you logged your food for the day. I am saving all of the money I earn for my pedicures this year. Reward yourself with things that are NOT food. It's worth it. Now if I can improve my memory loss so I will remember to complete it every week...

Skinny Mom. This is a great place for motivation, clean recipes, and fitness tips. It is originally a blog then website and now they have their own app! Easy to access and always has something new. Love trying the recipes and learning more about a healthy lifestyle. 

30 Day Squat Challenge. This app is so simple, yet so convenient. You see all of those calendars with daily basic workouts on Pinterest right? This is almost the same thing but marks off the days you have completed and easier than printing those sheets off and keeping up with them. Also available in abs and push ups too. Get it now!

Hope you enjoy these like I do. Do you have certain apps you cannot live without? Let me know what they are so I may try something new!