How are you all doing on your New Year fitness goals? Are you seeing any progress? Feeling better? I'm excited to hear! My eating has been really good. Sticking to my whole foods hasn't been too difficult and I'm already feeling a lot better. I don't feel heavy or bloated and my, ahem, system is getting back to normal (if ya know what I mean!). I'm working out more and starting to increase the intensity of my workouts. Yesterday, I did 30 minutes of intervals on the elliptical and worked up a nice sweat before I headed to the weight room and did a quick shoulder circuit. Here's what I did:

3 sets of 12 reps:
     - Lateral raises
     - Shoulder presses
     - Bicep curls
     - Front raises

3 sets of 12 reps:
     - Lat pulldown
     - Underhand cable pulldown

I'm feeling pretty sore today! I know women worry that lifting weights will make them bulky, but it won't! Strength training with weights will only accelerate your weight loss and tone your muscles. I love lifting, and lifting heavy! I especially love working on my shoulders, arms and back (leg day, however, can suck it!). Give this circuit a try!

I've also been doing yoga everyday. I follow Yoga with Adriene and love her videos on Youtube! She makes yoga really easy for beginners like me. Right now she has a a Yoga Camp and there's a new video every day for all of January. If you're never tried yoga before, or are intimidated by the idea of folding yourself into a pretzel, I really encourage you to try her videos. She simplifies the process and makes it all about you, what feels good, whatever level you're at. I do yoga because I'm a very anxious person. I can't shut my mind off...ever.. and yoga helps to stretch me out and actually relax without thinking of my to-do list or school stuff. It's amazing!

Today's recipe is a quick, easy one. I love to have homemade granola around to put in my yogurt. Also, I like to make it myself so I can control what's in it, especially the sugar content. This is a really basic recipe so feel free to add any other nuts, seeds or dried fruit you'd like. Here is everything you'll need:

Nut Butter Chia Granola

Prep: 5 min. | Total Time: 20 min.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup natural peanut butter (or almond, cashew or sunflower)
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 cups old-fashioned oats
2 tbsp. chia seeds

Preparation Instructions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Combine the nut butter and maple syrup. You may need to heat it either in the microwave or on the stove top to melt the two ingredients together. Stir well. Add cinnamon, and vanilla to mixture and stir well.

Add oats and chia seeds to nut butter mixture and stir all together until the oats are coated. Spread oats on the baking sheet and bake for 8 minutes. Remove oats from the oven and stir around to prevent sticking. Bake for another 5 minutes. Remove oats from oven and let them cool completely. Enjoy!