Nom nom Chocolate

What up.

Jumpin' right in today:

Breakfast: leftover sausage and hamburger with eggs and asparagus.

After breakfast I usually chat with Adam on the computer and when he's off to bed, I get my workout on.  This is usually how my workout goes if don't give the kids a project or barricade them in their room first:

She's all cute and innocent...

Looking at this little monster over my shoulder.

 Until she climbs on my back during plank work!  

And then I have this one sitting right in front of me, who insists that because I took a picture of Sarah I must now take a picture of her pretty, sparkly shirt. 

She's finally off my back and doing my yoga stretches with me, but I had to stop to get these pics.  I love when my kids workout with me.  Well, not exactly... not at all actually... but it makes me happy that I'm setting a good example for them!  As soon as I laid out my blue mat, Calliegh laid out a black and white blanket for herself.  But Sarah decided to take over my mat:

Sarah doing the cobra.

And now downward dog.

It really surprises me how well the girls, and Sarah most especially, can copy what they are doing on the tv.  Until the last few years I've always had trouble doing it myself!  I usually have the wrong arm up or I'm turning the wrong way or something!

I'd also like to add that while it is really tough to find the energy, alone time, desire etc... to workout with three kids in the house, it's totally doable!  Yes I often have to deal with added weight on my back or a kid wrapped around my leg or most often a bootie or two in my face, but I do it anyway.  And if I, this person who's skeleton is mostly comprised of lazy bones, can do it... then anyone can do it!  No excuses.

So my first workout with my new shoes was really great.  I felt grounded and stable and my balance was totally on point.  But it was only Cardio Recovery so there wasn't much jumping around and craziness going on.  There was a lot of plank work though and let me tell you these shoes were perfect for that!  They grip the ground and they also allow a lot of flexibility in the foot while still providing that arch support.  Love them!  I wanted to show you guys a few side-by-sides of my running shoes vs. my new minimalist shoes:

I'll let you guys know how Cardio tomorrow goes!

After my workout I'm starving, so I've timed it to where when I finish, it's time to make lunch:

Lunch: Chef Salad with sweet potato chips.

I've gotten into the show "Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition".  It's so inspiring!  It's about a trainer who empowers one person to lose weight and follows their progress over the course of a year.  I can't help but think that could've been me last year!  Hopefully it will be me this year though!  I am really seeing results in the way my clothes fit me but I have had to consciously not weigh myself because that scale is really, really creeping along.  I can't focus on that though, because it really doesn't tell me the truth: how much muscle I've gained; how much fat I've lost.  We can't forget what 5 lbs of fat vs 5 lbs of muscle looks like!  Check out this youtube video for a good visual.

Anyway, I was watching EM after lunch and I grabbed some chocolate from the kitchen.  I went to the commissary yesterday and passed right by the end-to-end displays of Valentine's candy and picked up these instead:

I have been munching on the 72% whenever I have a severe sugar craving and it really hits the spot.  I saw the 86% and thought I'd give it a try!

I had one square of each to compare the two.  The 86% is definitely not as sweet, but there is such a richness to it that it's very satisfying.  There is also, I don't know how but, a kind of fruity taste that immediately made me want to melt some and dip a cherry in it!  Low and behold I read the back where I found: "... with hints of dark cherries, dried plums and a roasted flavor from the high cacao content."  I was pretty impressed with my taste buds at that point.

Here's some numbers:  For every 44g. of milk chocolate you eat, you will consume 235 calories, 26g of carbohydrates, and 22.7g of sugar.  For every 45g of 86% dark chocolate, you will consume more calories at 250 however, only 15g of carbs, and 5g of sugar!  That is 1/5th of the sugar.  Pretty amazing, right?  You can still have chocolate.  You just have to choose the right kind!

Now, if you're new to dark chocolate, I definitely do not recommend starting with 86% or even 72% because likely, you'll be pretty put off by the whole thing.  Start with a basic dark and once you like that go up to 60% and so on.  You will soon find that your chocolate cravings can be satisfied by much less of a richer, darker chocolate.  In fact, I usually have just one square which only contains 1.25g of sugar!

Dinner: Chicken in mushroom basil cream, and roast zucchini.

See ya!