protein – Jaclyn Grace

Samoa Steel Cut Oats

I love waking up early in the morning and having time to sit down with my breakfast and coffee before heading out for the day. Unfortunately, a lot of times my sleepiness gets the best of me and I end up rushing to get ready and out the door to my classes.

On the days that I am able to get myself out of bed a few hours before I have to leave, my favorite breakfast to make is oatmeal. It is so simple and can be prepared so many ways. In the summer, I love to load my oatmeal with fresh berries and cinnamon. This winter, I have been on a chocolate peanut butter kick. It is the perfect comfort food and cozy breakfast for those cold winter mornings.

Over the last few weeks, I have made this samoa inspired oatmeal every time I had the chance. I absolutely love it and it satisfies my sweet-tooth for the entire day. Nothing wrong with a little dessert-like treat for breakfast 🙂

Instructions:

1. Heat 3/4 cups of water on the stove-top until it comes to a boil.

2. Add 1/3 cup of steel cut oats and turn down to medium-heat. Stir occasionally.

3. While the oats are cooking, measure out your peanut butter and coconut in a regular serving bowl.

4. After ~5 minutes, or when the water is mostly evaporated by the oatmeal, add in the salt and cinnamon and mix thoroughly.

5. When the oats have reached your desired consistency, transfer them to the serving bowl and top with chocolate chips.

6. Stir up the oatmeal so that the peanut butter, chocolate, and coconut are evenly distributed and enjoy!

This breakfast goes along with my belief that everything is okay in moderation! For me, I enjoy having a little treat for breakfast and keeping the remainder of my meals mostly clean. This works because I don’t feel like I’m depriving myself of anything and I don’t end up craving sweets for the rest of the day.

Enjoy!

xo,

Jaclyn

Rest is Important!

Hi all!

Recently I’ve joined a new gym where I take 2-3 semi private lessons per week. They focus on a strength training with a mixture of cardio and HIIT thrown in. It’s really nice because there are usually only two of us working out with one-two trainers. It’s perfect for learning proper form and new exercises. I’m especially enjoying it because I know I will be able to take my newfound knowledge back to the school gym within the next few weeks!

Unfortunately, on Tuesday I injured my shoulder during a cross fit style workout. It consisted mainly of pull-ups and barbell thrusters. I was pumped to resume my workouts after vacation and went a little too hard. By the mid workday today I couldn’t even lift my right arm!

Even though I had a great workout planned for tonight, I decided to take it easy. It’s important to listen to your body and rest when you need it to avoid further injury. I took some motrin, applied icy hot, and am icing my shoulder as we speak. Hopefully it feels better by tomorrow and I will be back at it!

Have a great night 🙂

xo,

Jaclyn

The “Non-Runner’s” Treadmill Workout!

Sounds weird right? I’ve mentioned before that I hate running. My legs hurt, I can’t breathe, and one mile seems to last forever. This is the exact reason why I’ve decided to start incorporating running into my workout routine more regularly.

This is my go to workout that can easily be modified depending on your skill level. The short intervals help mix it up and make it much more bearable – all the while torching calories.

Give it a try! Trust me, if I can do it then so can you. 🙂

xo,

Jaclyn

HIIT Abs

It’s almost Friday and I have a great workout to share with you today. If you know me at all, you know that I hate running. I have tried time and time again to get into it, but for some reason I just can’t.

However, I do like the way I feel after I finish a long run (which is rare). In this workout, I incorporated it in intervals. It is much more bearable for me to run for a few minutes at a time and give it my all, than try to trudge through 30 minutes straight.

This is one of my favorite workouts that I have done in awhile, just because it is so different from what I am used to. The focus is on abs!

Let me know what you think!

xo,

Jaclyn

Q. What’s your favorite ab challenge?

Four Weeks!

Happy Monday everyone!

I made it through my first day of work after ten days off… and it was definitely a challenge. Luckily, all that is in store for me for the rest of the night is sushi, Netflix, and a nice big glass of green tea. 🙂

I’m extremely proud of myself today. As of yesterday, it has been four weeks since I implemented a “lifestyle change” – if you care to call it that – which includes working out regularly, eating healthier, and living a more stress free life.

During these past weeks, I have focused mostly exercising and creating a regimen that works for me. I have always worked out and kept in relatively good shape, but never like this. I made a commitment to myself and so far I feel great!

I’ve heard over and over that it takes 4 weeks for something to become a habit, which is why I am so happy with myself for reaching this milestone!

You may be wondering why all of a sudden I decided to make this change..

This past year of college was very difficult for me. I was extremely stressed out, anxious, and generally unhappy. My schedule was filled to the brim with activities and other commitments, the schoolwork was very difficult and time consuming, and I was living in a tiny apartment with a roommate who I did not get along with.

I was captain of my college dance team, held a position in my sorority, worked 10+ hours per week, and was pursuing classes towards both my bachelor degree and my masters. To say the least – I was in way over my head.

I didn’t make any time for myself or the things that I genuinely cared about. I wasn’t getting enough sleep and I wasn’t taking care of myself. Because of my busy schedule I rarely had time to go grocery shopping, never mind taking an hour to go to the gym.

I didn’t know how to handle it. I was frequently in a bad mood and lashing out at the people who cared about me. I knew I was doing it and felt awful about it, but for some reason I couldn’t control it.

When I moved home for the summer in May, I took some time to re-evaluate decided that something needed to change. I realized that no matter how busy my schedule gets, I need to make time for myself! I decided then and there that I was going to dedicate this summer to self improvement.

665d9ee745f89597ea65b105c370274e I first decided to focus on my health! I made a commitment to workout at home 5 days per week and to start drinking more water. So far so good. I have found myself with more energy and much less stress in my life.

My next task is improving my outlook and attitude about obstacles that come my way, while keeping with my workout regimen. I started this by keeping a Gratitude journal, as I mentioned last week.

Sorry for the long post, but hopefully it gives you a better idea of where I am coming from!

xo,

Jaclyn

Q. What do you do to handle stressful situations in your life?