How I fit Workouts Into My Crazy-Busy Schedule

I have a confession to make…as much as I preach consistency and sticking to a routine as part of your fitness & weightloss journey, I have NO consistent routine! Being a single-mom with an unpredictable workout schedule, a 12-year-old boy who is active in sports, an extremely demanding extended family, and (not to mention) tons of other household/adult responsibilities…I just CAN’T rely on every day being “cookie-cutter” so that I can work out at exactly the same time each day.

I’m sure many of you can relate. You get all excited to start a new workout program, buy all the DVDs, carve out a specific time in your schedule, manage to stick to it for a week (2 if your EXTRA lucky), and then all hell breaks loose. One of the kids gets sick, your work schedule changes, summer comes up and the kids want to be in the living room watching TV when you want to workout in there and that TV is the only thing that’s gonna keep them outta your hair long enough for you to workout, etc. It happens…that’s mom life for you.

I struggled for a VERY long time trying to consistently workout every day. I tried waking up at 4am to work out. I tried getting straight to it after work. But, my schedule just changes up too often for me to be able to count on sticking to any of those things. 4am workouts turn into 4am cleaning sessions or me just crawling back to bed from sheer exhaustion. Evening workouts get wiped out during football season because that’s when practice is. Summer workouts stop because lil’man takes over the TV. I’ve learned that if I force myself to rely on a rigid schedule & location to complete my workouts all I wind up doing is giving excuses a way in to block me from reaching my goals.

So, what is it that I do to make sure that I workout daily? I use Beachbody on Demand. I hate to sound all infomercial-ish, but that app has legitimately wiped out any excuse that I used to let get between me and my workouts. I can stream just about any Beachbody workout from my laptop, phone, or tablet…even link it up to the chromecast if I’m lucky enough to get to use the livingroom TV. That means, if I don’t wanna wake up the kiddo at 4am by busting out a workout in the living room, I can just stream it in my room; if my only downtime of the day is at 6pm football practice, I can stream it on my phone and get my workout in while my kiddo gets his done too. I absolutely love it! I really can workout anyplace, anytime!!!

The absolute BEST thing about this new app is that Beachbody offers a 30-day Free Trial! That’s right, for 30 days you can have FREE access to thousands of Beachbody workouts and be able to do them anytime you want, anywhere you want!

I’m so excited to share this with other busy moms that I’ve decided to run a FREE 2-week Trimdown Challenge Group where we will all be working out using the app. If you are interested, just click here to sign up for your Free 30-day Trial of Beachbody on Demand and email me at conniedln@gmail.com so I can get you set up in our private Facebook group. I’d love to have you join!!

Chicken Florentine with Whole Wheat Pasta

I found this recipe on The Pioneer Woman's blog and tweaked it a little to make it just a bit healthier. Hope you enjoy it!


Total Time: 30 min.
Prep Time: 10 min.
Cooking Time: 20 min.
Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 pound Whole Wheat Penne
• 4 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
• Salt And Pepper, to taste
• 1 Tablespoons Butter
• 1 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 4 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 2 cups Low-sodium Chicken Broth, More If Needed
• 1 bag Baby Spinach
• 2 cups Grape Tomatoes, Halved Lengthwise
• 4 ounces grated Parmesan Cheese

Instructions:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

2. Cut chicken breasts into chunks and sprinkle on salt and pepper.

3. Heat butter and olive oil over high heat in a large skillet. Add chicken chunks in a single layer and do not stir for a minute or two in order to allow the chicken to brown on the first side. Turn the chicken and brown on the other side. Cook until done, then remove chicken from the skillet. 

4. Turn heat to medium. Add garlic and quickly stir to avoid burning. After about 30 seconds, pour in broth, stirring to deglaze the pan. Allow the liquid to bubble up, then continue cooking until it's reduced by at least half (most of the surface of the liquid should be bubbling at this point.)

5. Turn off the heat. Add spinach, tomatoes, chicken, and cooked pasta to the skillet. Toss to combine; the spinach will wilt as you toss everything. Add plenty of Parmesan and toss to combine.

6. Serve with extra Parmesan and Red Pepper Flakes.