Due to the fact that I've been a vegetarian for 13 years you were probably surprised to see that I am posting a recipe for pork chops...am I right?  Well that's because I am going to modify the recipe by using "Chik'n" cutlets instead of actual pork chops.  I will still post the actual ingredients and the instructions used to cook real pork chops, but for my own purposes I will be using fake chicken.  

Surprisingly, I didn't find this recipe on Pinterest.  Shocker, I know!  I saw a picture on Instagram that looked absolutely delicious and the person who posted it indicated that they had found the recipe through a site called The Pioneer Woman.  I immediately went to the site and found the recipe because I knew I had to make it for myself.  Not only is the website full of amazingly delicious recipes, I also really enjoyed the "voice" of the author, whose name is Ree.  So here's a link to the original site so you can check it out for yourself.  

And here is the recipe that I am so excited to make for myself.  {As a side note, the person who posted the recipe on Instagram commented that she cuts down the soy sauce because the first time she made the recipe it was too salty.  So take that how you will and adjust according to your own tastes.}

 Ingredients:

• 1/2 whole Pineapple, Cut Into Spears And Skewered
• 2 cups White Or Brown Rice, Cooked
• 6 whole Pork Chops
• 1 Tablespoon Butter
• 1 Tablespoon Peanut Oil Or Canola Oil
• 1 whole Large Onion, Sliced
• 6 Tablespoons Soy Sauce (more To Taste, Or If More Liquid Is Needed)
• 1 Tablespoon Rice Wine Vinegar
• 2 Tablespoons Honey
• 1 Tablespoon Sriracha, Or Other Hot Sauce
•  Salt To Taste
• 3 cloves Minced Garlic
• 2 whole Eggs
• 1 jar (small) Drained Pimentos
• 1-1/2 cup Frozen Peas
• 2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce (additional)

Instructions:

Cook rice according to package instructions. Set aside.

Grill or saute pineapple spears until they have good marks/color on the outside. Slice, then set aside. 

(Note: soak wooden skewers in water for a few hours first.)

Heat butter and oil over medium high heat, then add the pork chops to the pan. Saute on both sides until they have nice color. 

Throw in the sliced onions and work them into the crevices between the chops. Shake the pan and move the onions around and let them cook for a good couple of minutes. 

When the onions are starting to soften, add soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, honey, and hot sauce. Shake the pan, stir it around, and let it cook and bubble up for a good couple of minutes until the pork chops are completely cooked and the sauce is thicker. Remove the pork chops to a bowl, then let the sauce bubble up and cook for another 30 to 45 seconds. Pour it over the pork chops. Set aside.

Add a small amount of oil to the same pan (without cleaning it) and return it to the stovetop over medium-high heat. Add garlic and stir it around, then crack in the eggs and immediately stir them to scramble them a bit. Add peas, pimentos, and a couple of tablespoons (additional) soy sauce. Add cooked rice and stir it around to cook for a couple of minutes.

To serve, pile rice on a plate, then top with a pork chops and onions from the sauce. Drizzle a little bit of sauce over the top.

Doesn't this look amazing?  I am so excited to make this and I hope it tastes even half as good as it looks!

As much as I try to be consistent and really stick to my fitness goals, there are definitely ups and downs along the way.  

For example, last week I was so excited to increase my hand weights from 3 pounds to 5 pounds.  I felt so strong at the end of my upper body workout and was really proud of myself for pushing my limits.  Yesterday, however, I started having some serious pain in my ribs which turns out to be a consequence of that upper body workout where I really pushed myself.  So now I have to be smart and give my body a break so it can heal itself.  See what I mean about ups and downs?

Another great moment this past week was when I weighed myself and saw that I had lost a total of 17 pounds from my heaviest weight.  It's so amazing to see proof that my hard work and dedication are paying off.  And now I have a cruise to go on at the end of April, so I've got even  more motivation to really buckle down and work hard!

A few weeks ago I shared some of my tips & tricks for staying motivated and losing weight.  It seemed like you guys really enjoyed hearing the tips I had to offer, so now I'd like to open up a discussion and ask you if you have any questions I can try to answer.  Maybe you're not sure of how much water you should be drinking or whether you should focus on cardio or weight training.  Those are things that I can try to help you with!  So if you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments below or send me a direct message so we can have a private discussion.  I've learned a lot in my journey, so I would love to pass along some of my knowledge and try to help you see some great results!

​I have decided that my word for this year is going to be "fearless".  Not because I plan on living without fear, but because I want to embrace my fear and let it push me out of my comfort zone.  I want to do things I never thought possible and that usually only happens when you've got some level of fear.  Hopefully you will see a theme in my posts for the next year where I talk about doing things I never thought I would do or overcoming a certain fear by facing it head-on.  So stay tuned to see where this takes me!

Also, I wanted to give you an update on my 21 Day Fix progress.  I weighed myself this morning and have lost exactly 16 pounds since the middle of October.  I am really happy with these results and am proud that I got through the holidays without gaining it all back!  

Out of curiosity I looked to see how long it had been since I weighed this much and it turns out it was almost exactly a year ago.  Part of me was actually kind of frustrated because in a way it feels like I wasted a whole year.  If only I had stayed on track this time last year then maybe I'd weigh much less instead of the same.  But, with the helpful advice of an amazing friend, I realized that I need to look at this as an inner growth and know that I have learned a lot about myself in the past year to get me where I am today.

I almost lost that motivation this afternoon when I realized the day had mostly gone by and I hadn't worked out yet.  The "old me" would have told myself that I could just workout tomorrow, but the "new me" knew that I'd be frustrated with myself for not doing something I told myself I would do.  So I turned on my DVD player and a short 30 minutes later I was done with my full body cardio workout and proud of myself for finishing it.

It's nice to see that with the right attitude and the right support system, we really can accomplish anything we set our minds to!

That's it for tonight, but stay tuned for more!

Today I am starting another round of 21 Day Fix, but because I'm doing things so differently I feel like I'm actually starting over.  I was really successful with my first round and ended up losing 11 pounds in 3 weeks, so I was very happy with those results.  I posted the picture from above after finishing my first round and was surprised to see how much change I could see in my face.  The biggest difference I noticed was how much happier I look in the picture on the right.  It's amazing how much can change in such a short amount of time, both physically and mentally!

The second round I completed was in December and I didn't do quite as well.  I basically stopped trying mid-month and didn't even finish out the 21 days. At first I was really disappointed in myself, but then I remembered that I'm trying to not be so hard on myself, so I gave myself a break until after the holidays were over.

The round that I am starting today will technically be considered my second round "do-over" since the last time didn't go so well.  I plan on doing things differently this time around, so I'm going to go over some of those changes to give you some tips & tricks that might work for you if you're trying to get healthier.

Meal Planning:

Before the Tone It Up Bikini Series last year I decided I wanted to write myself encouraging letters to read each week along the way.  That's what you see in this picture.  I'm going to do the same thing for this round of 21 Day Fix so that I can give myself pep talks before I start each week.  They're basically all going to say things like "you can do this" or "don't give up", but I'm hoping that reading them each week will remind me why I'm doing this and help me to stick to it.

Workout Tracking:

This is an idea I got from Pinterest.  Basically you use page flags to write down the number of days you want to workout and then stick them somewhere so that you can peel them off each day you complete a workout.  In my example above I did five days a week and each week is a different color.  

​I've found this to be highly motivating because it makes me feel good to peel a flag off every time I workout.  It's also a nice visual reminder because it gives you an idea of how much further you have to go.  I'll be doing this for the next 16 weeks before my next cruise, so I'll have 5 flags a week for 16 weeks.  I'll probably do them separately for each round of 21 Day Fix so that it doesn't feel so overwhelming!

Cheat Meals vs. Treat Meals:

When I first started 21 Day Fix I decided that I would have one cheat meal every week where I could eat whatever I wanted.  It actually worked out pretty well because it allowed me the freedom to dream about eating something unhealthy all week and then enjoy it on Friday night.  The only thing I'm changing about this is that instead of thinking of it as a cheat meal I'm going to start referring to it as a treat meal.  Because technically I'm not cheating by eating something outside the plan, I'm actually making a logical decision to eat something I've been craving all week and therefore "treating" myself.

And so those are some of the ways I'll be changing my approach to following 21 Day Fix.  Let me know if any of these ideas were helpful or if you have any tips or tricks of your own that you would like to share!

This is going to be a fairly short blog post.  Basically, I wanted to check in and let you know that I finished my second round of 21 Day Fix yesterday.  Due to a number of reasons, I had some issues with staying motivated during this round, so I definitely didn't do as well as I would have liked to.  

My main goal after this round is to take a break for the holidays and come back in the new year feeling refreshed and ready to kick some butt in 2016!  Like the quote above says, I know I CAN do this and that means I WILL do this.  

We all know that nobody is perfect and it's impossible to do things 100% right all the time.  In the spirit of being completely honest, this has probably been the hardest week I've had since starting the 21 Day Fix.  My motivation has been lacking big time and I haven't felt nearly as dedicated compared to how I had been feeling.  

I think a big part of it is that I've been so busy with the holidays coming up and I basically just don't have the energy or time to focus as much on my health and fitness.  That probably sounds like an excuse, but it really is the truth.  I've been so overwhelmed trying to get through the days that I feel like I can't even focus on following a strict nutrition plan or working out every day.  

Part of me does feel disappointed in myself, especially because my weight loss journey is so public and I feel like I'm supposed to show everyone how hard I can work and how successful I can be when I put my mind to it.  But in all honesty, I know that I am doing my best and I am trying not to beat myself up too much for falling short of my goals.

And overall, I know this is a temporary setback.  My company closes on Friday for two weeks, so pretty soon I will have a lot more free time to spend on working out and making meal plans.  And then once the holidays are over I am planning on getting back in full swing.  I've already made so much progress that I am determined to keep going and prove to myself that I really can do anything I set my mind to.

I hope this is a good reminder that we all fall short of our goals sometimes and that the best thing we can do when we fail is to pick ourselves up and try again.  

Now I'd like to hear from you.  What are some ways that you re-charge your motivation when you're having a hard week?  Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Today is the beginning of my second week doing my second round of the 21 Day Fix, otherwise known as "week 7".  I've officially been doing the 21 day Facebook challenge group for a week now and it's really going well.  Each morning we get a post about something motivational or informative and each night we check in and rate our nutrition and workout for the day.  It's been a great way to stay motivated, especially knowing that I'll be checking in later that day to report how my day went.

Today is also the first day of the clean eating challenge I'm running on Facebook.  There are 7 of us total in the group and it feels like a good number of people.  Not too many where it's overwhelming but just enough to keep the posts interesting and give people a chance to interact with each other and motivate each other.  I will be running a free group every month and they won't always be clean eating groups.  I'll be switching it up and making them different each month so that there's always something new for the people who have done one before.

As far as my own personal progress goes, I feel like I'm still noticing a big difference in how I look and feel.  I'm not working out 7 days a week like the schedule says, but I am still happy that I am getting a lot more exercise than I was before I started this whole thing.  

I'm also eating SO much better.  It's amazing that I don't actually crave junk food anymore.  The first couple weeks of my first round I indulged on pizza for a Friday night treat, but lately that hasn't even been sounding good to me.  It's nice knowing that I can treat myself if I want to, but also a great feeling to know that it's not something I need to do unless I really want it.

Another bonus is that I'm actually looking forward to getting weighed at the doctor for my annual physical coming up in January.  It will be nice to see the number go down for a change instead of stressing about how much it went up!

I decided to start counting the weeks of my 21 Day Fix transformation instead of days because it was getting too hard to keep track of which day I was on!  So today is the beginning of my 6th week doing the 21 Day Fix.  Instead of doing this round on my own, I have decided to join a challenge group.  I will continue to blog the whole way through this round so that you can follow me and find out what it's like to be a part of this type of group.

Since you might not know what a challenge group is, I wanted to spend some time today explaining their purpose so that you understand what I am doing and how this is affecting my weight loss transformation.  Basically, I am in a group on Facebook where I am working with other people who are also trying to lose weight and get healthy.  The  accountability part comes in because you usually do a daily check-in where you rate your workout and your nutrition for the day.  

To me, the best part about being in a challenge group is that I am not alone in this journey.  It gives me a place to go where I can talk about what I'm going through (good or bad) and get advice, support, and motivation from the other people in the group.  Sounds nice, right?  

It gets even better because the challenge group is totally free as long as you already have a Beachbody fitness program and are on a home direct order of Shakeology.  If you've already invested in these things, you might as well connect with other people who are on the same wavelength as you, right?

In order to give a sneak peak into what a full 21-day challenge group looks like, I am going to be hosting my own free 5-day clean eating group, starting on December 7,  You don't need to have purchased anything from Beachbody to join this group, so let me know in the comments below if you are interested and I will reach out to you so we can talk about your goals.  You can also sign up here: Beside Beth Clean Eating Group.

It has been a while since I updated you on my progress with the 21 Day Fix.  I finished my first round a little over a week ago.  After finishing that first three weeks, I decided to take a small break before starting another round of 21 days.  I knew that with the holiday coming up I would probably not be able to stick to the plan as closely as I would like to, so I will be re-starting again next Monday, November 30.  

In between rounds, I am still continuing to keep up with my workouts and have still been eating as healthy as possible.  I haven't been measuring food in my containers, but I feel like I have a good idea of how much food I should be eating, so I'm sticking to that and only eating when I'm hungry.  

I am excited to start another round next week, especially because I'll be joining an accountability group on Facebook with other people who are also following the same program.  We will be holding each other accountable and helping anyone who needs extra support or motivation.  Overall, it should be a great experience.

Throughout the challenge, I will be blogging to let you know how it's going and how I am feeling.  Like I said in my last post, I won't be weighing myself throughout the next round, but I will post my total weight lost at the end.  Instead of dwelling on a number on the scale, I am hoping to focus on how I feel and how my body is changing as I continue to push it through the workouts and provide it healthy fuel by eating well.

If you have any questions or would like to find out how to sign up for the 21 Day Fix, please feel free to leave a comment below and I will get back to you right away.

This is it...I've officially reached day 21 of the 21 Day Fix!  I'm going to keep this short and sweet, but didn't want to ignore such a momentous day!!

Last time I wrote I had lost 12 pounds.  When I weighed myself this morning that number had changed, so now I have officially lost 11 pounds from my heaviest weight.  After weighing myself I also checked my measurements against where I was 21 days ago.  Overall, I lost 10 inches around my body!!  And 2 of those inches were from my waist!  So I would definitely say that I saw some great results, wouldn't you?

Now you might be asking what the plan is moving forward.  I'm still going to continue with the 21 Day Fix, but I'm going to change up how I've been doing it.  On November 30 I will be joining a challenge group (also known as an accountability group) on Facebook.  This group will help hold me accountable and give me encouragement along the way.  

As I do this challenge group I am going to stop focusing so much on the number on the scale and instead focus on how I'm feeling.  I want to make sure I'm not obsessing over a number and letting that determine my happiness.  Instead, I want to spend time making sure I feel like I've done my best and that I'm proud of the work I've done. I will be blogging the whole way through the challenge so you can hear how it goes.

I hope this all makes sense and that you stick with me during this next phase of the program!

As always, if you have any questions please feel free to ask them in the comments below and I'll do my best to answer them.