Smoothies, soreness, and self-confidence - Oh my!

Hello there peeps!

Smoothies:
First, thank you SO much for your comments and suggestions on what you do to make the most out of your breakfast smoothies.  Two great sites that I've heard about (in case you're interested) are: Pimp My Protein Shake (although her recipes can be a bit complicated) and Green Monster Movement.

I have to say that I am super excited to try all of the things that I've found.  The thing that would make my life easier is to not have to blend the ice...mostly because we only have cubes available, not crushed ice.  My bullet is doing okay with it, it just takes awhile to blend, especially because I only blend for a minute at a time, so as to not overheat the motor.

I'm SO excited to tell you about my newest love.  I used about two cups of spinach, a cup of low fat organic chocolate milk, and a scoop of some whey protein powder (french vanilla creme) that Joe has.  I blended all the ingredients and then kept adding ice cubes as needed until I got this:

[Side note?  We totally need to get more light in our place.  It's like a cave which doesn't work well when taking pictures with my phone.]



Anyway, it was FABULOUS.  It was just under 300 calories and had a TON of protein in it.  Also?  It tasted like a chocolatey vanillaish milkshake. 

I know what you may be thinking - 300 calories is a lot.  And it is - or at least, it can be.  Someone could use a cup of fat free milk (at 90 calories a cup versus 190 in the chocolate milk for a cup) to reduce the calories to around 200.  But I enjoyed this yummy shake in the evening, after my 30 Day Shred workout, as a meal.  I wasn't super hungry after my workout, and I really didn't feel like fixing something intricate. So 300 calories chalk full of good stuff for me?  It was great and it fit my needs at the time.  I won't be having this often - or as a breakfast smoothie.  If something is chocolatey in the morning, I tend to crave sweets all day long after that. 

My next idea is to incorporate some sort of fiber into it to make it 1) even more filling and 2) even more deserving of the category "The Green Movement." 

Soreness:

Y'all... I'm not going to lie to you.   Doing the 30 Day Shred video every day so far has pretty much been horrible.  For the last three days, I wanted to grunt and moan in pain pretty much all the time.  I can't believe a) how sore I am - my quads ache from just walking! and b) how out of shape I am (hello!  My quads ache from just walking??). 

In fact, Joe commented on my pain yesterday morning when I got up to shred and grunted in pain.  He asked, "Why are you doing this again?"  I explained my pledge to myself and you guys - to do this Godforsaken video every day for 30 days.

And I meant it - a promise is a promise. 

This morning, I woke up and I was less sore than I have been - which means that I'm making progress.  Which means that I'm less likely to complain about my sore muscles (note: I said less complaining, I'm not a robot, people!) :) 

I'm proud that I've decided to jump into this plan wholeheartedly.  I'm accomplishing something - even if I have to switch to just one weight sometimes, even if end each workout with some not-very-happy-pants words directed at her.

Self-confidence:

I had my second interview with a company yesterday.  I woke up a bit nervous, but after finishing the workout yesterday morning, I had gotten rid of some of my nervous energy.  I love how exercise can do that for a person.

The interview went pretty well.  To be honest, I'm not quite sure if I'll like the job or not...it's pretty much like the same stuff I do now.  Only instead of working with dirty piece of metal, I'll be working with another.  It is more pay and I hope if I'm given the job, I can negotiate more time off too.

I had a moment of panic when I realized that movement, in general, causes me to grimace slightly due to the soreness (we're out of ibuprofen and I never remember this until I realize I'm walking like a zombie).  How will that play to an interview board?

But then I remembered that by doing the shred, I've had a new found confidence in me - I've done something so far that few even attempt.  And I know I will be successful.

So when I walked in, I had confidence in myself.  I remembered that I don't need that job (which is a different situation than a lot of other people I know).  I have a job that most days I don't mind.  I like my life the way it is, for the most part.  So I don't need to sell myself desperately to them.  I just need to show them me.  They'll either recognize the quality or not.  We'll either click, or we won't.

Funny, but that was the same attitude I had when I met Joe at the speed dating event over a year and a half ago.

Confidence is pretty amazing stuff, no?