Finding Johanna

I have been to the gym three times this week! I am really proud of myself for trying to make it a priority and part of my daily routine. I have been walking for 30 minutes and then doing about 15 minutes of weight training. Right now I am just walking and haven't started jogging yet because last time I pulled a neck muscle. How do you hurt your neck jogging? EMBARRASSED  I have used myfitnesspal with dedication this past week and have generally been under my daily calorie goal for the last week.  Right now I am weighing in twenty one pounds less than my highest pre pregnancy weight so I have forty pounds still to go. I still haven't forgotten my rainbow asics. So goal one is forty pounds and I buy my shoes finally.   Oat Banana Nut Muffins  2 bananas -mashed 1 TBS honey 1 TBS brown sugar splenda 1/2 cup Almond Milk 1 egg white 1 TBS coconut oil 1/2 cup copped nuts 1/4 tsp baking soda 1/4 tsp salt 2 1/2 tsp baking powder 3/4 cup oats 1 c

I looked back at my old blog posts and totally inspired myself to be the old Johanna from 2012.  I seemed to have the healthy lifestyle down. The last two weeks I have really made an effort to make better food choices and I tried to make time to walk with Emma. (Ill be honest its been twice.) It's really crazy but I have already lost 8 pounds in just two weeks - and that included Memorial Day weekend where I didn't really make any healthy choices. It's obvious to me that even though losing the amount of weight I want to lose will take a long time, I clearly know the tools it takes to lose weight and frankly its not hard per say it just takes a lot of self motivation and some planning. As I said in my previous post I want to focus on eating things I want my child to eat and focus on teaching her a healthy lifestyle where she can be active and happy. Today for lunch we had the banana and egg pancakes you've most likely seen all over pinterest. It's super

 I can't stop singing this song! "STORY OF MY LIFE! Always doomed to fail?" I hope not! BUT I totally fell off the wagon. I got a bad toenail infection and couldn't work out and then I decided that I didn't need to watch what I was eating because I was breastfeeding and I would just wait until I had weaned. Well if you follow me on instagram you know that I had to wear maternity pants the other day. I tried on five outfits and finally just gave up and put them on. I felt like a whale and that day I decided I was done. I hope to start making healthy choices a habit like they used to be. No more crappy food and now that Emma is weaned no more excuses not to work out. I am not going to just give up because I keep falling down! Time to blog, time to eat right, time to get active. I started to hear my hypocrisy as I was talking to my husband about Emma eating food and not giving her certain things because ewwww. If I don't want my kid to eat it why am I eat

I feel like the only thing I keep sharing with you lately are muffin recipes, but I can't help but share this new one I tried tonight. These are so good you would think they were a guilty pleasure but there is absolutely zero guilt in these 108 calorie muffins.  Whole Wheat Carrot Cake Muffins  1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour  1/2 cup coconut sugar (you can use brown)  1/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts 1/4 cup craisins or raisins  2 tsp cinnamon  1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice  1/2 tsp ginger  1 tsp baking powder  1 tsp baking soda  1/4 tsp salt  1 1/2 cups unsweetened natural applesauce  1 cup shredded carrot  1 tsp vanilla  Makes 12 muffins (108 calories each WHAT WHAT)  Bake at 350 for 20 min  NO OIL, NO EGGS, NO DAIRY? How can these be good? I was worried they would have a weird texture or taste grossly healthy but they may be my favorite muffin of all time!  Just a few things to share on my progress for those of you who may

So my weight loss community is all a buzz this morning on the Biggest Loser finale. I didn't watch this season but after seeing the dramatic photos of the winners body last night and feeling a bit of a connection because we have the same starting weight and she is only an inch taller than I am, I have to weigh in.  The winner is 5'4'' with a starting weight of 260.   She's a super cute girl right?  Here she is kicking butt in a workout. From what I read from BL followers she was a pretty big fan favorite. Now in case you haven't seen here is the thing thats causing all the buzz.  She lost 155 pounds. Weighing in at only 105 pounds people are asking "IS THIS HEALTHY?"  My honest initial opinion was OMG she is waaaay too skinny.  Below is what she looked like when she left the ranch. After that they have several months to continue on their own.  Here she is last night at the final weigh in. 

 I am actually pretty surprised at how easily I have transitioned back into healthy eating. I actually forgot how fun it is to try and find healthy swaps and eat delicious and naughty tasting food without the guilt! Enter the date truffle....  As I told you last week I have become obsessed with Instagraming for support and tips. It's also keeping me accountable because I try to post everything I eat like a food journal. Yesterday I found a user and blogger called lipstick and berries who has some gorgeous vegan and raw food photos and I was inspired to make some date truffles.  I have made date fudge before and it is basically the same but you roll it in balls.  I didn't measure out but you simply need dates, cocoa powder, coconut oil, and a food processor.  Puree medjool dates and add in a small amount of coconut oil and as much cocoa powder as you want. I like mine really chocolaty!  Refrigerate so the paste becomes sort of firm and then roll int

The first day Chris is off of shift is always a fun day in our house. We wake up and I make breakfast and we have a DVR marathon. This morning I made my favorite banana flax muffins.  I decided to add blueberries this time and they were amazing. Here is the recipe just in case you're new to the blog.  3/4 Cup whole wheat flour  1/2 cup oats  1/4 cup coconut sugar  2 TBS ground flax  1 tsp cinnamon  1/2 tsp baking soda  1 tsp baking powder  1/4 tsp salt  1 egg  2 1/2 TBS coconut oil  1/4 tsp vanilla  1 mashed banana  1/2 cup almond milk  (optional mix ins: chopped pecans and blueberries)  I've been so inspired by the health and fitness posts on Instagram that after breakfast I decided I needed to take a trip to Tyler and hit up Brookshire's Fresh. We decided to eat lunch there as well since just like whole foods they have a huge chef prepared section and salad bar area.