Author: melodiealexander

It’s been a while! Life has been busy but great. Mallorie is going to preschool full time so that’s been an adjustment but she is loving it, and it’s amazing to see the changes in her already! I can’t believe she is going to be FIVE in February. Makenzie and I have been enjoying our days together, going to the Y so I can workout and she goes to tot watch and is getting better and better every time we go. She also has been taking a 2.5 to 3 hour nap every day so I’ve been able to get a lot of organizing and things done. Most everything is organized and set for baby number 3’s arrival. Baby is moving around, getting bigger and I’m looking forward to finding out if baby #3 is a he or she! We will not find out until baby’s BIRTH day!

On Monday I made a really tasty dinner, which I followed from my Women’s Health Magazine. I’ll share the recipe below. I did tweak the ketchup amount and didn’t use breadcrumbs.

And I wanted to touch base on this because I always get a lot of questions regarding using the Pruvit ketone supplements and if you have to be on a keto diet. The quick answer is no. You do not have to follow a strict keto diet to be on these supplements. The science and research that backs these supplements is amazing and that is why I use them. Click the link here to see the video on how they work!

I’m having fun creating meal plans for people and seeing people get results. If you’re interested in advice or have any questions, just let me know!

Here is the recipe for Sheet Pan Meatloaf & Cauliflower:
1 lb ground beef 80/20
1 large egg
½ tsp pepper, divided
3 tbsp ketchup
½ C. Sharp White Cheddar Cheese (grated)
1 head cauliflower, trimmed into small florets
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp lemon juice
½ tsp salt
2 Tbsp chopped parsley

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Lightly oil a large, rimmed baking sheet. In a large bowl, mix together beef; egg ¼ tsp pepper, ½ C. Cheese, 2 tbsp Ketchup. Shape into 4 small loaves and arrange on baking sheet. Bake for 10 Minutes
3. In a large bowl, toss cauliflower with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and remaining ¼ tsp pepper. Arrange in a single layer on the baking sheet, next to the meatloaves. Bake for 35-40 minutes
4. Brush on the remainder of the ketchup on top of the loaves once you take them out of the oven

Enjoy!

Nutrition Facts:
515 Calories per 4 oz of meat and 1 C. of Cauliflower
36 Fat 10 Net Carbs 31 Protein

I’m almost 17 weeks into pregnancy #3. I’m back to feeling more energetic, the first trimester I was fatigued a lot and obviously with two other little ones you don’t get to rest as often as you like, so my bedtimes were right around the time the girls went to bed, which is between 8:30-9 and I always like to stay up and unwind but not for the first trimester! Also, I always managed to get in those 20-30 minutes of a workout to release endorphins and give me SOME energy. Food hasn’t been my friend because I can never make choices because my taste changes all the time. The food I stay most consistent with is a shake every morning because I am SO hungry in the morning and that always sounds good to me! My shake consists of:

4oz Whole Milk
4oz Almond Milk
2 Scoops Vanilla Ketogenic Shake
1 Scoop Berry Fruits & Greens

Monday I did a 45 minute cycling workout which felt amazing! I’m still guilty of not wanting to initially start my workout but then as soon as you start moving, you’re like “oh yeah, releasing those endorphins feels amazing!” and you don’t want to stop!

Here is one of the meals we had last week:
Meatloaf Recipe:
1 lb 80/20 ground
1 Egg
Generous amount of salt and pepper
½ Tsp. Onion Powder
½ Tsp. Garlic Powder
12 Cut up green olives (optiona)
1 tsp ketchup (optional)

Cook @ 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes. We paired with a garden salad!

As always, thank you for following along and if you need any guidance, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me!

I thought I would share that I’ve been writing this blog post since July 22! Life sometimes can be so all over the place and busy and I don’t even mind, just thought I would share that with you all!

It’s so common for us to be our own worst critics, right? Especially when it comes to your body image. There is nothing wrong with being the best version of yourself and I always say as long as you are happy in your skin, that’s what matters most.

When you want to reach a certain goal or achieve that feeling of certain success, you have to put your mind to it and follow the person or program that is guiding you. We all are guilty of being the ones getting in our own way for success! When you are physically and mentally ready for success and get in a routine and balance of consistency with your eating and activity, it becomes that lifestyle change.

For me being pregnant again and being fatigued has gotten me to remind myself, it’s ok to just to 20-30 minutes of a workout and rest days are KEY! I’m so used to doing 50-60 minutes daily as I did when I was training for my marathon. You always have to remember, something is better than nothing. If you made an effort to use 15-20 minutes a day to take time for yourself to move and workout, your health would be benefited greatly.

Just think about goals you want to reach in the next 12 weeks or so and try to make a conscious effort. Need guidance? Message me! 🙂

I thought I would update and write about my marathon experience and share the couple weeks prior

The week I ran 19 miles happened to be the week I found out I was pregnant. I “felt” like I possibly could be and then I quickly found out that week I was.

Fast forward a couple weeks, I was confident I could still do it, of course. I got the okay from my OB and the advice was, stay hydrated and listen to your body. My body was very conditioned, I knew that.

At 6 weeks, 5 days we got to see the little one in our first ultrasound and the strong heartbeat. Week 7 with both girls was when the fatigue really kicked in, and marathon week was week 7. I was nervous, like I had been but now I had someone else to worry about too, so that was definitely a different feeling. I was still just “ready” to do it. I put in all the work, it was time to do it. The fatigue most definitely there but no matter what, I had one goal, to finish.

My initial goal was 4 hours, 30-45 minutes. But after I found out I was pregnant, I didn’t have a set time goal because I didn’t know how my body would react, how often I would have to stop to go to the bathroom, what I’d feel like, and I was okay with that.

Race day was here, I woke up, prepared. Sat at breakfast as I was about 45 degrees thinking, “this is it, today you’re going to run 26.2 miles.” I was, no matter what, if I had to walk a ton, I was going to finish, in the end what mattered to me was that I finished.

The support from Travis through all of this was absolutely admiring and amazing. The moments when I’d say, “do you really think I can do this?” He was always there reassuring me, I ran the first 13.1 in 2 hours, 16 minutes. I then had to stop to for a bathroom break, I drank water/powerade at every opportunity. At mile 15, I was COLD so I texted Travis to bring me my sweatshirt and I also told him that my glute was giving me issues so he rolled me at the next spot. When I saw him, his mom and the girls again, I had walked prior to that and then was able to start running again once I got my butt fixed! 😉

After mile 16, I ran for two miles and then I started to do the fast pace walk more, and then just plain walk. Each mile went by, I did think about just walking off a couple times, my mind definitely was harder to control than my body. I’d see Travis and the girls and that would pump me up majorly!

Once I got to mile 23, I started running again and then there was more people and my adrenaline picked up and I felt ready to finish and that’s just what I did! I finished in 5 hours, 20 minutes.

Some of the signs that made me laugh the most were:

“Smile if you peed a little!”

“RIP toenails!” to which I’m proud to say, I did not lose any!

Post race went a little like this, eat a hot dog, drink a coke, take a cold bath, eat pizza, drink lots of water and Gatorade, lay in bed, take a nap, lay in bed, go to bed, wake up and low and behold I wasn’t’ majorly sore, I was very grateful for that!

I hope you enjoyed my race story because it was a journey but I’m excited to get out there not pregnant and do it again someday. I have continued running, shorter miles, of course because one thing I learned about myself through this journey was that I do enjoy the time running for sure!

Saturday is fast approaching! As I’ve had many “moments” of nerves and “oh shits, I’m actually running a marathon.” Monday was by far the worst nerve day, and then as the week has progressed I’m more at the point today like, “you’ve got this, you’re ready!” My confidence is there and I’m just ready to be at the starting line. Weather? Checks the weather forecast at least 3 times a day! 🙋🏼‍♀️ Guess what? Heavy rain projected! Oh, well. I’ve ran in 30-40 degree weather with wind and snow, I think I’ll be ok. I then looked closely at the hourly forecast, by the time the race starts, it’s projected to only be a 40% chance of rain, and the percentages drop moving forward. Now, do I want it to rain? No. I’d prefer it not but am I going to stress over the possibility that it might? Heck no! I have one goal and that’s to finish. The temperatures look to be in the mid 50’s to 60’s, my ultimate running weather. Let’s do this! Bib number 8886, download Grandma’s Marathon App, hit live tracking and type in my bib number to follow along!

So, Pruvit just released a sale from today at 5PM until tonight at 11:59. Seriously, go check it out. These keto supplements are a game changer. Click here to shop!

June is fast approaching and each week is a little closer to my marathon! I’m feeling ready, but nervous. It’s kind of funny, the past couple weeks, before my runs I’ve been getting the sick feeling before I run. I can only imagine what I will be like on race day.

I feel like summer is finally here so that is nice until you look at the weekend forecast for cooler temperatures! So last week I ran in Bark River and it was 70 degrees when we left at 9am, and 78 by the time we got back. The sun was beating on us basically the whole way. I had the privilege of Travis coming on my run last week as a biker with a speaker in his backpack filled with my gels, water and a towel. Do you think they would allow him to ride next to me race day? I could only wish. Looking forward to sharing the rest of my journey with you all!!

Happy Wednesday, all!! I feel like I have so much to share but I’m going to start off with just a couple things at a time.

So, one of my main supplements I use every day is the Pruvit Keto/OS supplements. I swear by them and enjoy the benefits of them daily. I was purchasing them off Amazon mostly, and then I researched a little more and realized you could become a distributor to sell them, I thought about it but then kind of thought, no, it’s not something I need to do but then a couple more people asked about them and I thought what the heck! Not sure what I’m talking about? Go here and click the orange HOW IT WORKS button and let this video give you a little background on what ketones are.

I also added a SHOP section on my blog. I’m offering monthly unlimited texting support and also you can SHOP my Keto/OS site and get all those products. As always, I offer meal plans and workout options, but I like to personalize those individually.

As far as everything else in our life, it’s been pretty crazy but in a good way. In April Travis accepted a new position at the YMCA of Marquette County as the Director of Personal Training and Fitness. It’s been so great.

My marathon training has been going well, we are a month out today. Last week I ran 16 miles and I used the gels and those really made a huge difference when I was feeling a little tired. Finally after my runs now my soreness is minimal, so that’s been good!

I just want to say thank you to everyone who follows along on my blog and as always, any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me via email, Facebook or Instagram.

Tuesday was my 29th  birthday and as I reflect on my life and my journey, life is so precious and I’m so fortunate to be on such a great journey with my family and friends!

This year, I signed up to do a full marathon, as most of you know. This has been one of my biggest times to reflect and think about my life moving forward on all my runs.

Travis is my biggest supporter, and I his. In life it’s not always the happy times that make you grow stronger, sometimes the biggest growth moments are when you have to work together to find what it is the both of you want in life. We have had a great year, and I think this is going to be our best year yet.

So as far as my runs are going! Good, for the most part. It always amazes me how much the human body can be put through. Continue following my journey and I will keep you all posted on my ribbon number if you would like to follow along on RACE DAY!

So last week my run was 13.1, a half marathon!! It was a beautiful 58-degree day with sunshine. I started out felt great and it was like each mile just got better and better. I did run on a path where I thought I was going to be able to run on the lake longer but it ended up being snowed in still so I had to turn around and readjust my route. But that was minor. I’m getting to know my way around Marquette really well, LOL! Travis helps me a lot too, I don’t want to leave him out. He is the trainer in the house 😉

I also had to call Travis at mile 8 and tell him I was going to drop my stuff on the side of the road by the bike path I was near because I started out with gloves, a headband and zip up and needless to say it had to come off! I really was happy with how these 13.1 miles went and I’m getting more and more excited every week.

As far as nutrition goes, I’ve been keeping it simple! Eggs, bacon, meats, veggies, nothing too crazy and obviously once in a while I splurge a bit! It’s always about balance!

As always, if you have any questions about meal plans, send me a message on Facebook or Direct Message Instagram or send me an email @ melodiemariealexander@gmail.com Links below. Thanks for following along! 🙂

Today was week three on my journey to 26.2 for Grandma’s Marathon on June 16^th! I am so excited and I’m learning so much about myself along the way. This whole week I discouraged myself for this run, I kept telling myself, “8 miles is a lot, I don’t think I can do it.” Then the forecast made me start breathing a little heavier and thinking maybe I’ll just run inside on a treadmill. (Something I said I would never do for a long run!) There’s something about being outside and feeling everything.

So, today I took the girls to the Children’s Museum, we had a blast, the wind was blowing, it was sunny one minute and gloomy the next. I sent Travis a text and said, “I hope these winds die down before I have to run later.” I looked at the weather and wrote back, “they’re going to die down two mph, maybe I should run 4 miles inside and 4 outside?” He said, “on a treadmill?” He knows that I’m not keen about running on a treadmill. I then responded back, “I can do this, if I start dying, I’ll call you to pick me up.” He responds with, “You got this babe!” And you know what? I did. I motivated myself, I got excited, I said, “you can do this!”

I left for my run, my pace was on point, on mile 4, I even hit a 7:56 pace, I was like, “this girl is on fire!” Now, let’s go to mile 6, I hit the shores of Lake Superior, with snow gusting across the bike path and major wind. I should of turned around at mile 4 and went back the way I came but I’m not a huge fan of turning around, I’m a huge “loop route” person. I had to stop by the Superior Dome on the bike path because there was so many drifts and ice, I had to turn around and take roads and finally I hit mile 8, but then I realized my run home was probably about two more miles. So, me being the determined person I am, I decided, “go for it, do it.” So I did, I got close to home and hit mile 10 and I was happy, I felt great, I was smiling, because I did it! I walked in the door and Travis, Mallorie and Makenzie were cheering. Travis said, “how do you feel?” I responded with, “I actually went 10 miles and I feel amazing!”

So long story short, there are moments in your journey when you don’t give it a chance before even trying it. I did that to myself this week, I gave up on myself before even trying. That’s probably why when I hit mile 4, I didn’t just turn around, it’s like I knew I was going to go longer and it ended up being the best thing for me. I feel accomplished and happy and so determined to finish 26.2 in June.

I hope all of you reading this, take something from it. There’s so much to be thankful for in life, be the best version of yourself, have balance in your life, set goals, and achieve them.

Xoxo,
Melodie 🙂