Tone It Up Frisky Fall Challenge First Weekend and Color Run Tips

Well I made it through the first week of the challenge and overall it went well. I just got a bit off track on eating on Sunday and I think this is mainly due to not having groceries in the fridge plus not having time to go to the grocery store.

The main part of the weekend I want to share with you is that I did my monthly 5k race. I talk more about my monthly 5k races in a later post. The race I did this month was Run or Dye, which is a color run. If you haven't done a color run, I definitely recommend doing one. They are a lot of fun. However this one was not my favorite mainly because it rained like crazy which caused a lot of disorganization with the race.

Here are some tips I learned from doing this race in the rain. These would also apply even if it does not rain.

1. Be prepared for anything and keep a positive attitude.
2. Have fun.
3. Do the race with friends, family or coworkers. However if you do it by yourself, talk to other people and enjoy yourself. It will make it more fun.
4. Wear sunglasses. I did not for this race because of the rain but tried to keep my face covered by my hat when they threw the powder. 
5. Do not do this race before a special event. You will have color on you even after showering.
6. Bring a change of clothes. Your change of clothes will still have color on it from your skin but it will be better than your covered outfit.
7. Bring towels and garbage bags and clothes that you do not care about if it calls for rain.
8. Cover your car seats with the towels and plastic before the race. I did it after and still had color all over my car.
9. Wear old shoes. I always wear a pair that I am getting ready to get rid of because then I do not care what they look like at the end of the race.
10. Grease your hair up with conditioner or oil. The color will come out easier. However I wore a hat and hair band so my hair really did not have color in it. Plus I have a really cool hat now.
11. Keep baby wipes in your car. Your hands will be a mess.
12. Keep your phone in a plastic ziplock or bring a camera you do not care that much about getting dirty. Designate one photographer in your group so not everyone gets messy. If you take pictures with your phone in a ziplock, make sure you pull the ziplock tight over the lens or your pictures will be blurry. 
13. Shower with a body scrub. It will help get most of the color off but you will still have some on you for several days. 
14. Bring water and a snack. Usually these races run out and do not provide any food at the end. 
15. Last tip. I will say again, Have Fun!

Tone It Up Frisky Fall Challenge Day 4

Today my eating and exercise was pretty much the same so this post will be short. I do want to share with you my favorite fall breakfast, pumpkin oatmeal. I actually did another post about this dish and you can find it here. I will say the more I make this I realize I like it as it sits in the refrigerator for a couple days. It gets really creamy. Plus it is so easy to make because you do it in the slow cooker. Hope you will try the recipe.

1 can pumpkin or 3 cups fresh pumpkin (peeled, seeded and cut into chunks)

5 cups water

1 and a 1/2 cups steel cut oatmeal

1/4 cup agave syrup or sweetener of your choice

1 TBS brown sugar (I omitted this time because I do not like my oatmeal sweet)

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

Mix all ingredients very well in slow cooker.  Cook overnight for 6- 8 hours on low.  Will come out very creamy and delicious after stirring in morning.  I added unsweetened coconut and pecans. This recipe is 4 points on Weight Watchers and with the added toppings a total of 6. This is based on how much I added to mine.

This recipe makes a lot, around 8 cups so cut in half if needed but I am going to try and freeze some for later use.  I also am going to try freezing in an ice cube tray to add flavor to yogurt.  Will let you know the results in a later post.  Enjoy!

Tone It Up Frisky Fall Challenge Day 3

So far, so good. If you are just reading, check out my first Tone It Up Frisky Fall Challenge post.

My eating was really the same as yesterday except I did not want to eat the same thing for dinner so I fixed a bowl of tomato soup, small salad, and a grilled ham and cheese on a whole wheat thin. It really hit the spot.

One thing that was really great yesterday was I got to swim laps at lunch. This is always relaxing and a great workout for me especially because I have been having lots of issues with my right knee.

I also want to share the hashtags you see in the above picture. They are the main Tone It Up Frisky Fall Challenge hashtags. I use them mostly on Instagram. You can find me @kisstastic2. The #friskyfall one is obvious but the #100byhalloween one is Katrina and Karena want you to log 100 miles by Halloween. I love this part because it really makes me accountable on my exercise goals and gets me moving. I also follow some of the TIU girl's leads by making a board to track my progress. It is a great motivator because it is in my office.

One last thing I want to mention is that after my walk with Chloe I had a craving for something sweet and I enjoyed this Mango Banana Popsicle I made. I will share the recipe in a later post. Really yummy.

Tone It Up Frisky Fall Challenge Day 2

Yesterday I talked about Tone It UP's Frisky Fall Challenge starting and how I want to be more accountable. So I am going to try and post every day during this challenge. If you would like information about the challenge, you can find it here. 

My focus yesterday was on eating. I had prepped my food for the week on Sunday so everything was already made and portioned out into containers. This made it really easy on what to eat and was a life saver when I came home last night from work. I was too tired to cook so I just pulled out my container of food. Here is what was on my plates yesterday.

M1 peach and low fat string cheese

M2 perfect fit protein pancake

M3 spaghetti with brown rice pasta and green beans

M4 sugar snaps and hummus

M5 parmesan turkey cutlets, rice and roasted veggies

M6 (not pictured) pumpkin spice pudding made with almond milk

The wonderful drink in the ball jar is my favorite now. It is a mixture of pineapple juice, coconut water, and club soda. So refreshing.

Also I joined Weight Watchers yesterday. I have had a lot of success with tracking so I am going to use the Tone It Up plan for eating and exercise but use Weight Watchers for accountability. I really like the social media interaction that Tone It Up offers and I love the meetings and tracking that Weight Watchers offers so lets see what happens.

Tone It Up Frisky Fall Challenge

Wow! It has been forever since I have done a post. I am going to try and be better at posting especially because Tone It Up just started a new challenge and I think it will make me more accountable if I blog. Check out their Frisky Fall Challenge post it will give you basic information about the challenge. They are really encouraging and have weekly workout schedules.

So in order to set a good tone for the challenge, yesterday I set some goals and created a new journal. I am going to try and write in it everyday. I have been seeing a nutritionist and she told me weight loss and healthy eating are about feelings just as much as what we eat so I am trying to give the feelings area more attention. This is hard for me so I will need encouragement.

Here are my goals:

Get rid of 15 pounds

Finish 2 5k races

No gluten

Positive daily attitude

Ask for support

Motivate others

Try a couple new recipes

Journal, journal, journal

SMILE!!!!!

What are yours?