A Beautiful Mess

I'm baaaack!

2010-07-19T08:23:00.000-07:00

Geeze it feels like I've been gone forever (yes I did just say geeze for the first time since the 3rd grade, don't run away though! Much crazier things come out of this mouth!) I've been out doin my thang, livin' life and having fun but I've missed the bloggy. Nevermind the fact that I keep finding awesome blogs to subscribe to and the Google Reader has reached over 300 unread posts, yikes! I'm thinking I need to trim it down a ~~lot~~ little.

I have copious amounts of pictures to share but as I get back into the swing of things (i.e. not being an internet hermit) I'm going to try to get on a posting schedule where every day of the week will be something different. It doesn't necessarily mean that I'll post everyday but when I do it will be on a specific thing. That way I can't use my guilt of not posting or a lack of immediate ideas as a reason not to post :O)

Today's post will be a workout tip. As I've become a gym ~~addict~~ rat, I catch myself watching other people as they workout and other trainers as they work with clients just to see how other people do things. Its become a great way to find new and innovative ways to work my muscles. I hate workout boredom and for me that means switching it up a lot. This move I saw my trainer do with another client and then we tried it together with hilariously painful results :O)

I bring you Windshield Wiper Abs!

Awhile ago in Women's Health I saw this picture talking about the "toughest ab move ever"

A move so tough, that they had have a person hold her up and then photoshop him out of the picture (kudos to WH for admitting it!)

It was a move that I never thought I could do. Ever. And I love me some tough ab moves. However, after I saw a modified version, I thought I should give it a try.

To start: This is done on a Smith Machine

You'll adjust the bar so that it's at about waist height. Put some weight (I use 25 pound plates) on each end so that it won't move. You wont be lifting the bar at all, it's just there to hang on to (and believe me, you'll need it!)

Procedure:
1. Position an exercise ball underneath the bar and lay down on it. Your butt should be off or almost off the ball.
2. Now kick your legs up vertical.
3. While hanging onto the bar, tilt your legs as far as you can go to one side, without sliding off the ball, then bring them back to center.
4. Tilt your legs to the opposite side as far as you can go and bring them back to center.
5. Tip your legs straight out (Ideally your body would make a straight plank resting on the exercise ball) and bring them back up to vertical.

That's one rep. Killer I know! Start with as many as you can (I do about 10) and work up to multiple sets of 10-12 with plenty of rest in between (at least 1 minute)

Variations: Not quite up to it yet? here's some "easier" versions... I use quotes because, well, they're all hard.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6TM2vL1w04- Flat on the floor, legs straight up.
-Easier: Knees bent
-Harder Put exercise ball between your feet (hands straight out to make a T for stability)

Working up to being able to do this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pFY_TQ1400

Crazy I know! Ps. Sorry for the YouTube links... I don't quite know how to embed a video from YT onto here. Let me know if you try it! I've personally done the exercise ball method and my abs were so sore the next day. It was awesome!

Something to think about:
*What's your favorite ab move?
*Ever get tips from watching other people (exercise or non-exercise related) that you just loved?

Goals update

2010-07-10T13:09:00.000-07:00

To help me stay on track with my goals, I am going to post weekly about how I'm doing on them for the remainder of July and then I'll start all over again with August. So far, I love monthly goals. I feel more motivated to stick to them, since it's only a month. It also helps that the goals I've set for this month are very doable and fairly easy to stick to.

1. Pick a running program- well this is kind of cheating but I already had one pretty much picked out. It's the Runner's World "FIRST Run Less, Run Faster" program by Bill Pierce, Scott Murr, and Ray Moss. FIRST stands for Furman Institute of Running and Scientific Training. The theory behind the program is 3plus2 which means that I'll run 3 times a week (doing a variety of types) and then strength train/cross train 2 times a week. Their theory is that by pushing harder on the 3 run days, race times will go down while endurance goes up. Disclaimer: I haven't finished the book yet, but what I've read so far has been scientifically researched, and fully tested on a wide range of individuals. I haven't started it yet but I'm excited to get going!

2. Hike more frequently (at least once a week)- The day I posted my July goals, my brother and I went on a bangin hike up a local trail. I burned over 1,000 calories in less than 2 hours, got to hang out with my brother, and take my doggies too. Now I know why I bought the Polar HRM, working out outside is a blast!

Me and my brother at the top

The beautiful view

Hot puppies :O)

3. Beef up the weight routine- I haven't done as much with this one yet. I've stuck with 3 days a week of weight training for this week but I definitely upped how many exercises I'm doing and have increased my resistance on a couple of them. Right now I'm thinking of doing one week of weight training every day (focusing on different body parts) and then one week of 3 days a week for awhile to help get used to it.

4. Get on the job hunt- I've done really well with this one! I applied for several teaching positions in the area and have an interview next week for one. As well I have another job offer for a position with Starbizzle (hello cheap coffee!) so we'll see how it all plays out. I'm still going to keep looking until I know for sure if I have a teaching position or not.

5. Less snacking, more eating- I've been trying really hard to work on my grazing habits this past week and it's getting much better! I've been trying to focus on eating at least 4 mini meals, preferably 5. 6 times a day works great during the school year when my schedule is planned out to the minute, but in the summer it just doesn't happen. I'm also going to start tracking my food a couple days a week. It helps me snack less, and it will also make sure that I'm hitting my macronutrient ratios (protein, carbs, fat) and eating enough to fuel my workouts.

6. Do Yoga once a week- I actually tried the yoga class at my gym. Truthfully, it sucked. She was an amazing Yogi but not a very good instructor, especially for someone with basic skills (like me!). So it was not a success but I'm not giving up! I'm going to do some searching for yoga podcasts of iTunes and hit up YogaDownload for some workouts. Plus I've got Bob (a la Biggest Loser fame) to work me into a sweaty yoga mess with his Weight Loss Yoga DVD which is actually a lot of fun.

After doing the update, I feel much better about my progress towards my goals. I'm going to keep working on them and see how much more progress I can make in another week. I hope you have a wonderful Saturday. After my super long (over 2 hours!) sweat sesh this morning, I'm off to enjoy my (other) brother being home from college and do a whole lotta this:

Toodles!

july goals

2010-07-06T09:31:00.000-07:00

All around the blogosphere, I've seen lots of people posting mid-year goals. Some do it like a check up on those dreaded New Years resolutions, and others just post goals for the month. These wonderful posts have got my inspiration button buzzing and itching to do my own goals. Because, let's face it.... I suck at resolutions. I make them (in my head), I don't write them down, and I forget them by February. I generally make them unattainable and boring, which sure doesn't help. However, I can do monthly goals; that's only 30ish days I have to remember them! So without further ado

July Goals

Pick a running program- I am still a newbie runner and I think a running program would really help me get my 5k time down, raise my endurance, and increase my confidence in my ability to run.
Hike more frequently- At least once a week I want to take my doggies and/or siblings on a hike
Beef up the weight routine- I would like to see an increase in how heavy of weights I can lift and start training specific body parts every day
Get on the job hunt- I need to start checking for teaching jobs and getting all those apps in order
Less snacking, more eating- sounds like an oxymoron huh? I need to work on how much I much between meals or instead of meals (as is more likely to happen) and instead plan out what I'm going to eat every day. I need to put more thought into what's going in my mouth!
Do Yoga once a week- I have the ability to do it at home and I need to work on my flexibility.

So there you have it , what I hope to accomplish (or at least start on) in the month of July. I'll try to update the bloggy with my progress and see how it goes.

Something to think about.... Do you set goals? If so, how often? Ever find inspiration from other blogs?

battling the binge

2010-07-03T20:55:00.000-07:00

Today was just one of those days. It wasn't particularly bad, just... off. Yes, "off" is a good way to describe it. I've been housesitting for a friend and had grand plans of laying by their huge pool all day but the wind definitely ruined that. I ~~forced myself~~ went to the gym this morning for one of my beloved Saturday workouts... and it sucked. I just didn't want to be there, I had to force myself to complete every rep, and even though I got a good sweat on I didn't feel much better at the end of it.

But the worst part of the day is that I completely binge ate. It's been so long since I've self sabotaged myself, and it hit today. I wasn't in a terrible mood, I wasn't emotionally eating, I was just eating crap. And lots of it. I was at my friend's house which is filled with (gluten free) junk food... (Side note: who knew so much junk food could be gluten free??? I thought that was code word for healthy but never would have put Cheetos, potato chips, chocolate covered peanuts, and m&ms in that list). Out of curiosity, I tried a couple bites of a lot of things (foods I don't have at my house) and then proceeded to keep nibbling on the good stuff all day long.

The old Christina would be sitting here right now, stuffed to the brim, and beating myself up one side and down the other. I would be calling myself ten kinds of horrible names, obsessively weighing myself, and planning a ridiculously low calorie meal plan and an intense sweat sesh for first thing in the morning.

But (yes there is a but!) I'm not stuffed, I had lots of little bites, licks, and nibbles, and a few too many handfuls of Cheetos, but I'm not stuffed to the brim. And tomorrow is my rest day from the gym, and I'd rather sunbathe and hang out with my family than get up for a 6 a.m. pre-church run. So for the first time ever, I'm going to let this one slide. I'm going to try to learn from it and then move on.

What I've learned:
* I need a game plan for unfamiliar settings. It's different at my house, where we have very little junk food and I have a set routine, this wasn't the case in this situation.
*I need to learn its okay to relax the rules (a lot) once in a while. I've been trying to "eat intuitively" and have been relaxing my strict eating rules a little bit, but I'm trying to learn that one day of crazy eating isn't going to undo all of my progress.
*Don't keep Cheetos in the house. I will eat the whole bag, yes even the family sized one. Nuff said.
*Have a portion, not a bunch of small bites. If I want a treat, I am the type of person that needs to measure out a portion of 1 or 2 treats and have that be it. All of my small bites add up to a whole lotta food throughout the day.
*I feel better when I eat healthy. No longer is it a chore to pre plan meals and eat veggies when my friends are eating chips. My body craves these things, and right now it is not happy with me for ignoring what it wants.
*Even after a binge, I will be okay. This one is MAJOR! Right now, I'm blogging instead of beating myself up. I'm relaxed. I still put on my bikini this afternoon, even after eating all that junk (I never used to do that). When I'm done blogging, I'm going to go sit by the fire with my family and roast marshmallows. And yes, I'm even going to eat a couple.

It's okay to let yourself off the hook once in awhile, so long as it doesn't become a habit. Tomorrow, I'll be right back on track, and in a few days this binge will be nothing more than a blip on the radar. This is being healthy to me and one binge isn't going to ruin all of that.

life is worth living

2010-07-02T12:39:00.000-07:00

Confession... I haven't thought about A Beautiful Mess at all in the last week. Not beyond the passing thought of "I should probably sit down for an update." It's not for a lack of post ideas- I've got those coming out my ears. These past couple weeks, instead of being glued to my computer screen for hours a day, I've been out living life. And it's been wonderful. In fact, I wouldn't change it for the world.

So instead of blogging I've been spending lots of time out here:

Doing lots of this:

Gettin my tan on (with suncscreen!)

Playing with this adorable duo

Eating lots and lots (and lots!) of these:

Those are fresh from our garden I might add :O) The mass amounts of strawberries, pineapple, apples, watermelon and veggies I've been consuming are not, however, they are deeelicious :O)

I've been helping out my momma with her garden and flowers

Spending lots of time with the momma

Isn't she perrrty? Plus she's my official gym buddy now :O) Workouts are so much more fun with someone else there, even if we don't usually do our workouts side by side.

I've spent lots of time sweatin it out on this:

Source

And lifting lots of these:

Source

And spending incredibly large amounts of time goofing off with this little monkey (aka my sister)

There have also been copious amounts of hiking, running, sweatin it out with the trainer, eating, guzzling water & ice tea like there's no tomorrow, laughing, and drinking vino. To me, this is what summer is supposed to be like: living, laughing, and having fun. So while this means irregular blog posts, it's all worth it. The blog will still be here when I have time to update. My Google Reader will still be full when I get around to it. I'm finally in a place where I am happy and confident enough to enjoy my life, and I'm not going to take this time for granted. Right now, I'm off to hang out with my siblings and spend some time out in the garden before likely ending up doing the same thing in the last picture :O) I hope that you are off enjoying your summer as well! Happy Friday :O)

i've been googled

2010-06-24T14:47:00.000-07:00

Well Google Reader'ed that is. I've been a little low on energy the last few days, so I've been majorly slacking in the blog reading department. It probably doesn't help that I have over 40 subscriptions, most of which update regularly. I've basically left it alone for the past 2 days (except for my daily dose of ~~crack~~ info from my faves) and now i have 102 new posts! That's gonna take a while to get through :O) I think an afternoon of laying bed with Gilmore Girls (best show evaaaa!) and Google Reader might be in order!

Yesterday was a blasty! I went into the gym and did 30 minutes of HIIT (high intensity interval training) on the treadmill. I walked at 4.0 mph for 1 minute and then sprinted at either 7.0, 7.5, or 8.0 mph. All at 2% incline. Plus 5 minutes on either side for warm up and cool down. In all honesty, I only ran at 8.0 mph 2 or 3 times because 1 minute is a long time to sprint that fast! By the time I was done I was a sweaty mess but I'd burned about 700 calories! Not bad at all for 40 minutes total. I'm usually the one that's in the gym for 1 1/2 hours, sometimes longer by the time I stretch and foam roll so it was nice to get in a quick but super sweaty workout.

Yesterday afternoon, I went hiking with one of my badass bootcamp chicas. It was a super steep climb, completely covered in loose slippery rock. My core must have gotten a bangin workout from trying to keep my balance! And of course my legs were practically jello by the time we got to the top.

I have to say that I adore hiking. I think it's a great workout and a lot of fun to get outside. I am blessed to live in an area that has tons of trails within a short distance. However, I am used to trail hiking. This "hike" was more like scaling the side of a rocky mountain- no trail whatsoever. For trail hiking, I just wear a pair of good tennis shoes. I've had hiking boots, but they were too ugly and uncomfortable to go anywhere near my feet. Which brings me to the interesting part of my saga. The hike was fine on the way up, if a little treacherous at points. However, on the way down, we slid almost halfway down the hill on the loose rock. It was actually a lot of fun until we hit really hard ground barely covered in loose gravel. My feet hit a slippery spot and whooshed out from under me, planting me straight on my heinie. It hurt (badly) but I kept on going thinking I was fine. When I got home and was getting ready to jump in the shower, I noticed a little bruise forming and it hurt a little. By the time I went to bed last night I had a giant black and blue bruise covering about 1/2 of my left butt cheek. TMI? probably, but it's so painful I had to share my misery with someone! I wanted to post pics but there is no way to do so without major exposure, so I won't! Not quite ready to get that personal with the bloggy :O)

Needless to say, I went out and bought hiking boots today :O)

pancake adoration

2010-06-22T08:48:00.000-07:00

So here's a ~~not so~~ secret confession. I adore pancakes. Growing up we rocked the Krusteaz like it was nobody's business. My momma regularly bought the Costco size. It was a typical Saturday breakfast, usually loaded with peanut butter and syrup. It was also one of the first things to go when I started eating healthy. I don't know if you know but that stuff is pretty much nutritionally deficient.

Imagine my absolute delight when I found a recipe for healthy pancakes. My friend made them for me one weekend and it was love at first bite! They were moist, fluffy (ish), and absolutely delicious. They were the closest thing I'd ever found to my former Krusteaz love. The updated version is packed with protein and no white carbs of the devil.

These have become a major breakfast staple for me. I'll make up a batch on the weekend and it will last me at least a week, sometimes longer if my pancake cravings are low that week (which rarely happens :O)) The ingredient list is a little odd, but you just have to trust me, they absolutely come out looking and tasting like a real pancake. They won't be taking down IHOP by any means but are way more nutritionally stacked.

The recipe was mildly adapted from SparkPeople's Recipes

Cottage Cheese Oatmeal Pancakes
1 cup uncooked oatmeal
1 cup low fat cottage cheese (I use 2% because it's what Costco has in the jumbo container)
2 eggs
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. vanilla
2 pakets Stevia (I use Truvia)
2 scoops protein powder (I use Muscle Milk 100% whey protein powder in vanilla)

Throw all ingredients into the blender and blend until smooth. I usually have to take a spoon and stir it around to help it all start to mix. If the batter is too thick or won't mix, just add a splash of water to help it along. Cook and enjoy!

I love to eat mine topped with almond butter and syrup, some organic jam, or with a little yogurt butter and a sprinkle of stevia and cinnamon.

This usually makes about 10 good sized pancakes.
Per pancake: 93 calories 2.3 g fat 6.7 g carbs 1g fiber 11 g protein

Tips:

Cook over medium heat to avoid burning. Mine frequently turn a dark color on top but are still moist inside. These are pretty hard to ruin!
Add in fruit, coconut, or chocolate chips to make them extra special
I use a small ladle, pour about half the scoop in and let it sit for a minute and then pour the last little bit on. It seems to help make them a little fluffier.

Another pancake recipe I've come to adore is Gina's Perfect Protein Pancakes... although I'm still tweaking the recipe to get them to be less cake-y and more light and fluffy. These are perfect if you're trying to refuel from a workout. They are super dense and really fill the belly for a decent amount of calories.

Alright, I'm off to hang out with my cousin and enjoy the nice summer weather that's finally here! And maybe start to catch up on my reading??

I need to quit abusing my library's mail order system :O)

Dear Trainer

2010-06-21T22:30:00.000-07:00

Dear Super Awesome Trainer,

I would just like to take a moment to thank you for all of the hard work you've poured into me, errr, worked out of me. Without you the gym floor would stay much cleaner since I would be watching tv instead of sweating it out on the stairclimber. I would be much richer (training sessions, classes, supplements, heart rate monitors, food, etc. all really add up!) but also much fatter (which makes all of the above so much more worth it). I would like to say thanks for showing me that it's not impossible for me to do a push-up from my toes (or 50 depending on your cruelty level for the day). I would like to say thanks for giving me the evil eye when I told you my favorite beverage was Diet Pepsi and making me do push-ups because I weighed myself in spite of what you said. And as a suggestion, I would like to ask that I never hear the words, "I'm going to time you" again while I'm sucking air on my 3rd set of reps. You have no idea what kind of torture that brings me. Thanks for all the "sweat equity" you've helped me put into that gym, by now there should be enough to build another one dontcha think? Oh by the way, the fact that you're not bad to look at sure makes it a little easier to survive those ~~torture~~ training sessions, although when the evil eye comes out all bets are off.

Sincerely,

Christina

Okay so 95% of that would never come out to my trainer (ha! Blogging anonymity at its best) it's still kind of funny to read. Truth is I adore my trainer. I've made no secret of my adoration for him. In fact, with some mad Google skills you can find a video testimony that I did for him awhile ago where I sing his praises for 3 minutes straight. I will have you know that all that praise did not get me out of a seriously brutal workout afterwards!

My trainer has not only pushed me further than I ever thought I could possibly go, but he's also showed me how to push myself. For the first time in my life, I am healthy. I am well within a healthy weight, bmi, and body fat percentage. I am eating. I am eating enough, I am eating healthy, and most importantly I'm eating. I've never been able to say that before when I was losing weight. I have learned so much since I started training with him. My brain is a wealth of knowledge about all sorts of food and fitness related tips, tricks, websites, articles, and other various information. I have started to create my own workouts and adapt old ones in new ways. I am starting to figure out how to use what I know to inspire and push my friends and family to become healthier and more balanced. Who would have thought that I, the princess of disfunctional eating habits, could be a healthy resource?

All of these good habits have combined to help me lose a total of 15 lbs. since December 2009. This has equated to over 30 lbs. of fat. Wow, that's a lot of ~~nasty~~ fat to come off of one body! I've dropped over 15% body fat since I started training with him, including 4 inches total since I started his bootcamp class in February. I have never, ever, been proud of my results until today. I've never taken the time to slow down, and listen to my body and do things the slow and steady way. Throughout this experience, I have become more in tune with my body and what it needs. In doing that, I lost any need for the latest diet fad or exercise craze. I know me better than I ever have before both physically and emotionally. I know what I'm capable off, and exercise has released a powerfully confident girl.

The best part? I'm not finished. The trainer told me once that until I can stand on an exercise ball, on one leg, while doing kettlebell presses (or something wacky like that) that there is always room for progress. I love that mentality, because while I am incredibly proud of my progress, I want to keep pushing myself further. I am standing at about a 25% bodyfat and now that I know I can go there, I want to see if I can hit and maintain 20%. I want to keep getting stronger. Instead of going to the gym because I feel like I have to, I go because I want to; because my body craves it.

Fitness for me was a life changing experience. When I started to figure out the physical stuff I had the confidence to take charge in other areas of my life. Now that I've got that, I'm not stopping until I've pushed myself as hard as I can. It's going to be quite the journey, but I'm finally healthy enough to be up for it :O)

me vs. the stairclimber

2010-06-21T15:59:00.000-07:00

Fyi... I won :O) ohhhhh yeah! This morning brought a serious sweat sesh with the momma. That's been one of my favorite things about this summer (aside from the copious amounts of fresh fruit I've been consuming)... working out with my momma :O)

Reason number 6,983 why I adore her... Today she told me I'm her go to girl for fitness info and advice... aww! Good to know all that research is helpin someone besides myself :)

Me n my momma last summer

Today we started with a brief foam roller sesh (this thing saves my muscles during my runs!)

Then did about 15 ish minutes of warm up on the Treadmill. I walked at 4.0- 4.5 mph and 1.5% incline. I've found that walking and running at a little bit of an incline has saved my knees, calves, and ankles from pain. Bonus: inclines burn more calories.... To start I did 8 minutes of walking, 5 minutes of running at 5.5 mph and then walked for about 2 ish minutes.

Then we went on to do the ab circuit of doom.

Ab Circuit of Doom

Figure 8's: Using a cable machine (like the one pictured below) hold onto 1 of the handles (with cable up at top of the post just like in the picture). Bring the handle down to the side of one knee (you'll be slightly bent over) and then around and up over your head in a figure 8 motion.

Do for 30-45 seconds.

Cable oblique crunch on ball: Lie down on an exercise ball so your shoulder blades are resting on the ball but not your entire head. Grasp handle with both hands extended over your head. In one smooth motion, pull cable over your shoulder towards your opposite knee until you are in a crunch position. Relax back until extended but not so far that the weight touches the stack (maintain tension through the entire exercise)

Do for 30-45 seconds.

Tips:

I use the rope attachment for this one but it could be done with any handle. Make sure the cable is positioned all the way at the bottom
I know it sounds complicated but it's not that bad! I use the other side of the cable machine (since I did it with a partner) but you could easily just move the cable to the bottom.
Make sure you get good diagonal motion to really hit that oblique.
You will move around on the exercise ball a little bit, that's okay! It just means you're a little unstable and your core is working harder.

Planks: Start with 30 seconds of plank up/downs. Then hold a regular plank position (on forearms) for 30 seconds.

Medicine ball crunches: Hold a medicine ball overhead and simultaneously bring arms and legs up together. Same as a V Up except with a medicine ball in your hands. Do for 30 seconds. Then, lay flat on the ground with hands (holding med ball) over head. In one smooth motion sit up into a crunch and bring 1 leg up. Drop medicine ball around the back of the leg that's up and then lay back down. Rotate between each leg for 30 seconds.

We did 2 sets of each exercise split into 2 circuits. 2 sets of the first 2 exercises and then 2 sets of the last 2. By the end we were both in major abdominal pain! Next time, I think we'll switch it up so that we aren't doing 2 back to back oblique exercises, that was way too tough.

I followed that up with 20 minutes of HIIT on the stairclimber. I did 40 seconds at 60 steps a minute and 40 seconds at 140 steps a minute. By the end I was one majorly sweaty beast. Me and the stairclimber, we have a love/hate relationship. I love it at the end when I'm all sweaty and exhausted but in the middle I absolutely hate it. It's one of those machines I would NEVER do without tunes.

I finished up with 10 minutes of HIIT on the treadmill. I did 40 seconds @ 7.5 mph and 1 minute 20 seconds @ 4.0 mph... the entire thing at an incline of 1.5%. I cooled down with a 5 minute walk and then dragged my sweaty body over to do the foam rollin and stretchin thing before bustin outtta the gym.

For today's workout we were at the gym for almost 2 hours, whew! I burned a massive 1418 calories with a max heart rate of 181 and average of 151. Not bad at all :O) It always feels good to get a super sweaty gym sesh in on Monday mornings; it helps me set the week off on a good foot. Plus after today's workout I didn't feel bad indulging in a couple of these bad boys

Homemade oatmeal raisin cookies... yum :O) And since it has oatmeal AND raisins, they are totally healthy right? Yup I thought so too :O)

Happy Monday!

vino

2010-06-20T21:26:00.000-07:00

Ahhh Sundays... I am thoroughly enjoying ending you with a large glass of riesling and a movie with my daddy. Happy Father's Day!!! I have to say that I am exceptionally spoiled by my daddy, he's pure amazing :O)

Today was very enjoyable and spent honoring my wonderful father. We started off going to church, then came home to a huge barbecue with steak, chicken, homemade potato salad, fresh watermelon, corn on the cob, cake and fresh brewed ice tea. This afternoon I played fetch with the puppers until they were too exhausted to run, went on a walk with the fam, cooked dinner, and then brought out the vino. Overall, a great day :O)

Tomorrow's plan looks like back to normal, ie: no more cake. I am rather proud of myself because I have enjoyed a regular sized piece of cake as well as a large glass of wine today and no food guilt. Reading that sounds a little silly, but this is a big step for me and I'm proud of it :O) Who knew a little glass of vino could mean so much? Tomorrow will be back to normal eating and exercising. The trainer has encouraged me to work on adding more activity to my day outside of the gym, so that means I'll have an excuse to play with the puppers and go on more walks. No complaining here!

I'm off to make some not so vegan overnight oats ala Oh She Glows (I use fat free milk, skip the vanilla-because I usually forget- and use vanilla Muscle Milk whey protein). In the morning I usually mix in about a 1/2 ish teaspoon of cinnamon and sometimes some fruit (frozen the night before, fresh right before eating). Sooooo yummy!! I'll try to post pics sometime.

I think that's my body's way of saying "yup cake was nice but lets get back to normal okay?" In spite of the massive sweet tooth I used to have, a lot of sugar and "off" eating really messes with my system and my body just can't handle it anymore. Weird how things change huh?

I'm also going to try planning my lunches for the week. My momma is super organized and plans out our dinners at least 2 weeks in advance (helps cut down on her grocery bill) but since school's been out our schedule has been a little bit wacko. Sometimes that means no lunch till 1 pm (Ack!!!) and lots of Cliff Bars to satisfy hunger. Not the best nutrition or foods. So this week, we are going to try to plan out our lunches in advance to help us stay on track with eating healthy, whole foods. I'm hoping it avoids the way I've been putting off eating until I'm dizzy and weak... not good!

Alright bloggy, I'm off to finish the glass of vino and hit the sack for an early morning devotional time and then a serious sweat sesh at the gym. Peace out yo!

blogging accountability

2010-06-19T22:32:00.000-07:00

As is very obvious from the lack of consistency in posting, I've been having some issues with maintaining this blog. Often times I'll sit down to write an entry and nothing will come out. I don't want anything I write about here to feel forced or contrived so I'll bail after a few minutes and head to Google Reader for "inspiration" aka to waste hours and hours of time being immersed in other peoples blogs.

Tonight while I was on a mission to conquer my Google Reader and read ALL of the posts (I had over 150) I came across an old post from Jack Sh*t, Gettin' Fit. It's from awhile ago (here if you're curious). It's all about what would happen if you did certain things and one of the bullets was "What would happen if you blogged to hold yourself accountable?" Of all the points in that post that I related to (and there were many) that one hit close to home.

I didn't start this blog to have millions of readers who come to me for all things health and fitness. I started this blog to share my journey, to hold myself accountable, and to use it to help push me towards my goals. Just putting that down on "paper" feels like a weight has been lifted. I don't have to find interesting topics to post about. This is my space. I don't have to post everyday, this isn't supposed to be another thing I can beat myself up over. I can change my mind about what goes up here and most importantly, have fun with the bloggy.

I really do love blogging. This is completely different from my personal blog that I've had for years. It's new, and fresh, and fun. I love sharing things even if nobody else reads them and so I'll be doing just that whenever the urge strikes me :O)

trusting myself

2010-06-18T23:16:00.000-07:00

All I can say is HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!!! Seriously I love Friday's (especially now that I'm done teaching for the year, ha!), not as much as I love Saturday's, but that's okay. A couple glasses of Polka Dot Riesling (Side note: I only bought it because I collect cute/unique wine bottles but this stuff was actually good! Two ~~large~~ glasses worth :O)) I'll just use that as my excuse if anything in this post doesn't make sense!

I've been putting this post together in my head all week now and it just hasn't been coming out right but it's something I need to have down so that I can read it over and over again in the future. I've been talking a lot about listening to my body lately and trying to figure out what that means exactly. I'm pretty sure if I let it, my body would "require" lots of Reeces peanut butter cups and lengthy midday naps in the sun.

However, this past weekend I was proven wrong. I was out of town for a girlfriend's birthday fiesta and ended up staying with her for a few days. It was a blast! Buuuuut, she doesn't eat the same way I do. She's perfectly fine having a bowl of fresh fruit fuel her workout and skipping meals. Her body just works with it. Mine doesn't. Last weekend I fueled my body with a lot of processed crap. No I'm not proud of it, it's just how they eat and I didn't want to be rude and say "ewww, no" plus I was in splurge mode and ready to loosen up my eating habits.

Something funny happened over the weekend though. My body revolted. I was rarely hungry, even though I was eating only 3 times a day (and not large meals) and occasionally munching on a few things here and there. When I did eat, it was usually processed foods or foods that I don't normally eat (cookies, desserts, etc.). By the time I left Monday morning, my tummy was very angry with me. I was craving veggies and grilled chicken breast. Tuesday, I ate normally and was surprised at how hungry I was all day. It was literally like I couldn't fill my body up with enough good food to satisfy it.

My epiphany came that afternoon. My body knows what it wants and what it needs to be healthy. Think about that statement, such a small sentence but for me it was earth shattering. My body craves fresh, organic, unprocessed foods. It craves fruits, veggies, nuts, and lean protein sources. It does NOT crave junk food and processed crap.

I need to trust my body more. For years I've been telling it to eat this, don't eat that, starve, run faster, eat this many calories, ban this food, blah, blah, blah... only to find out that it actually knows what it wants. I am giving calorie counting a break. I have been to obsessed with hitting my macronutrient ratios and only eating certain foods. I am truly committing to listening to my body, letting it tell me when its hungry, when its full, when I need to ease back on the workouts a little.

I've done this all week. My SparkPeople account has been very lonely this week. And in doing that, I dropped the 2 lbs. that all the crap food put on my body. I feel more relaxed about food and about my body. I feel mentally and physically healthier because I am letting my body dictate what it needs and not my mind dictating what it thinks I *should* need.

Truth? I'm a little scared. This is the most I've ever *let go* of control with food. Ever. I'm afraid I'll gain weight. I'm afraid my body fat will go up. I'm afraid my body wont know what it wants. In spite of all that, I'm committing to finding out. Because for the first time, I feel like that controlling OCD eating disordered girl is just a little bit further away from me. And that feels good.

Recuperating

2010-06-15T22:44:00.000-07:00

Hello bloggy! I've missed you so :O) I took a few days ~~longer than planned~~ off to visit the bestie for her birthday. I had a blast staying up way too late, running, playing, pedicuring (is that even a word? Don't know but my toes look perrrty!), eating way too much junk food, and just generally having a good time.

This trip took me through not 1 but 2 birthday parties which means double the party food. Plus being at her house I didn't want to be my usually picky self. To me nothing says rude like "nope I won't eat that because it's not organic/vegetarian/flour free, etc. I gave myself leeway to relax the eating rules and be okay with it. It was easier to say at first because I was only planning on staying 1 night but that quickly turned into 2 plus a whole day :O) What can I say, I love me some Lizzy time!

Even though I was out of town, I managed to get some good workouts in! We went and played beach volleyball for a couple hours Saturday afternoon which was actually a lot of fun! I made the best of my new running shoes and her cute neighborhood to get in a good run Sunday morning. I ran the better part of 3 miles and then walked 2 just because it was too nice to be inside. And then Monday we hit the gym for a nice sweaty treadmill sesh and some brutal ab moves that left me hurtin. It helped me feel a lot better about what I had ate :O)

We did a bit of shopping, got our toes done (pics to follow!), and spent hours on end talking about anything and everything. Somehow by the end of it she had me almost convinced to move down there! I left laaaaate Monday afternoon and it felt so good to sleep in my own bed last night!

Today started off with a sweaty bootcamp sesh with the super trainer, it was tough after the weekend but so worth it at the end. After he finished us off and left us in a pile of sweat and ab pain on the floor, he told us to go do a 20 minute stair challenge to see how many floors we could do in that time. Man it was brutal! But I hit 124 floors which is 4 more than last time woohoo! It was so tough mentally, but helped me switch over from splurge mentality to normal mode. I already feel better and more energized after the weekend.

I could definitely tell my eating had been off this weekend because once I started putting good food in it, I was starving all day long. I literally felt like I couldn't eat enough, it was crazy. And all I was craving was veggies, fruits, nut butters, and protein. I filled my belly with lots of whole, raw foods and maybe a chocolate chip cookie :O) It's like my belly was saying "Hey, remember when you used to feed me good food last week??? Yeah lets go back to that and never stop okay? Thanks, your tummy" Yup, my tummy sends me messages... especially when I don't fuel it properly.

I had a lengthy post all planned up in my noggin but even after a day of recuperation (including a nap!) I am still exhausted so it will have to wait until tomorrow. Coming up this week (hopefully):

My epiphany from this weekend
Foods I can't live without
Giving my body a break/ My life as a cardio addict

facing fear

2010-06-12T08:19:00.000-07:00

Fear is a funny thing isn't it? It's completely intangible and yet one of the most crippling things possible. I must admit that even though I am physically strong, I am still mentally weak and often plagued by fear. I won't go into my list of ~~quirky~~ irrational fears but trail running is one of them.

I have not the slightest clue why I was scared to run outside or even if fear is really the correct term for it. Several times this spring I've planned to hit the trail for a run outside and break away from the treadmill for awhile. I love me some treadmill runs and get a great workout on them, but when the only thing there is to look at is the sweaty guy lifting weights in front of you, it gets boring quick. Especially because no cute boys work out at 5:30 in the morning. I've been excited to try running outdoors and even bought cute new running shoes and gear but for whatever reason could never make myself actually go out and do it.

However, today that all changed :O) I had a free morning and it was beautiful and sunny so I told myself that I could either go for a trail run or I would have to go to the gym and workout. Running outdoors won by a long shot. Instead of heading out around my neighborhood where I could quit at anytime I went down to the trail that runs by the river, warmed up and started running. I was shocked at how easy it was right off the bat, much easier than any treadmill run. Before I knew it, I had run 2 miles without stopping. I thought I would have needed to walk a lot but I took my time pacing myself and slowing down when I needed it. I had been hoping to hit 3 miles total but 2 miles in I still felt good so I went another 1/2 mile before turning around.

The second half was definitely more mentally challenging. I knew what was ahead of me this time and by now, I was starting to get a little tired and very sweaty. I kept pushing through and told myself walking breaks were okay but whenever I stopped to walk my legs just kept pushing me forward. Kind of like that feeling you get when you don't slow down on the treadmill before jumping off? My legs always feel like they should still be moving much faster, that's how it felt. So I kept running and hit 5 miles right at the trailhead. I walked another 1/4 of a mile to cool down and then stretched out and headed home.

I felt so good afterwards. It was definitely very mentally challenging on the way back. I never wanted to give up because my lungs were burning or my knees hurt, only because I felt like I would never make it back or just started freaking out about the distance. I am definitely going to keep working on my mental toughness as I increase my mileage and speed.

Things I learned:

I could be a runner and I love running
Trail running is better than treadmill running- the scenery distracted me and made it more enjoyable
I am tougher than I thought
Fuel properly- first thing I did when I got home was make a HUGE salad best loaded with protein and veggies followed by a Clif Bar. I was starving to the point of dizziness- not good at all
Hydrate properly- I am definitely going to have to start bringing my water backpack. I guzzled my water bottle (I had it in my car to free up my hands) by the time I was out of the parking lot and proceeded to drink at least 7 more within the next few hours (without a bursting bladder I might add). Thats 192 oz of water!!
Good shoes make all the difference- a day later and no foot or knee pain at all
Cardio can be just as effective outside as on a gym machine- I burned 1218 calories in 1 hr 8 minutes! That's insane (and also explains the ravenous hunger)
I don't have to live my life in the gym to be healthy- greatest revelation of all :O)

Post run/pre-crash happiness

Happy Saturday bloggies! I'm off to celebrate my girlfriend's birthday out of town so I'll be MIA for a few days.

love love love :O)

Sometimes...

2010-06-11T23:21:00.000-07:00

Sometimes things just hit a little to close to home for my comfort... I had a great post started about my first ever outdoor trail run today but truthfully, as I was finishing it up I just wasn't feeling it. Today was a day that I broke through some mental barriers. It felt great at the time but it left me feeling a little raw and unsettled, like I don't quite know where to go next.

"What if I told you that I was going to not let you judge yourself on
the scale number
what food you ate
how much you exercises
what your inches are
what clothes you fit in
Then….what would be your focus? Where would you find validation? Where would your happiness come from?"
Mish @ Eating Journey

As I was reading this post (quoted above) @ Eating Journey, things just kind of hit me. I've had such a complex (about a lot of things) but especially about running. See even though I'm physically strong now, I'm still mentally weak. I'm still often crippled by self doubt and negative self-talk. I'm working on it, but it's a tough battle. Today I broke through one of those barriers in running 5 miles straight. And I loved it, it felt good to feel so strong. But pushing through that block, left me feeling a little unsettled. I kept thinking "what now? I've been so wrapped up in "I love to workout but I'm not a runner" and various other "I can't" statements that now that I can't say that, what am I? In the past I've spent so much of my life wrapped up in disordered eating habits, compulsive exercise, binge eating, dieting, failing, getting healthy, and exercising that my mind instantly started searching for something else to identify with. Not just anything, but something negative; something else that I couldn't do.

After seeing that post, I do wonder who I would be if I wasn't ruled by the scale. If I could live by how my jeans fit instead of that number. What could I do if I wasn't ruled by the desperate need to only consume healthy, whole foods? How much more relaxed would I be if I wasn't consumed by trying to lower my body fat percentage or by dropping inches each month? How much more enjoyable would shopping be if I didn't have to judge my happiness by the pants size? Where would my anchor point be?

There's a fine line between control and obsession and I've been dancing on that line for awhile now. Friends and family say my 6 day a week gym habit is dedication but they don't see that it's the fear of being overweight again that drives me there every day. I'm applauded for my meticulous healthy eating habits, but nobody knows that it's driven by an irrational need to distance myself from the girl who binged herself to 30 pounds overweight in 6 months. I have friends who gape over my salad love at restaurants but they don't know that it's only because I'm terrified of what's really in whatever they're eating. I am struggling to find a balance between becoming healthy and becoming obsessed with becoming healthy. And yes, it is a struggle.

Who would I be if my life wasn't ruled by irrational fears and an insane need for control? I really don't know... yet. But I am going to find out. Because I am tired of letting these fears eat away at my happiness. Because life is more than food and exercise and being healthy. Because none of this means anything if I can't enjoy it. Because I deserve more. Even if I don't believe that right now, I know it's true. I'm on a journey to find freedom in a healthy lifestyle and I'm strong enough now to know that I can't let these demons beat me. This time, I'm fighting back.

exercise and illness

2010-06-10T20:38:00.000-07:00

Tonight's post brought to you courtesy of The Fitnessista's bootay kicking butt and back SSU workout (day 3 if you're looking at that page). Yowza, my heinie is going to be in pain tomorrow... so happy :O) Last week, I tried to do both of her week 2 strength routines, together. Yes I am crazy in case you were wondering. And while it brought great results, it was seriously difficult to make it through 2 sets. Today, I knew very well that my slightly sick body just wouldn't have that so I did just the butt and back (which is per usual on Thursdays). I played it smart and listened to my body and went in this afternoon when my energy was better than this morning.

However, I did a running warm up and was sucking air after running for only 10 minutes. I had intended to do a 5 minute walking warm up and then 15 minutes of HIIT but after 1 interval I was seriously winded. I brought it down to a jog and sucked it up for the next 10 minutes and then walked the last 5. I checked my heart rate monitor, and the numbers were good, definitely nothing high enough to exhaust me. I continued on with my weight workout and everything just felt a lot more difficult. I was getting frustrated but kept pushing through and ended up having a great workout.

I know that my workout was so hard because I'm still not physically 100%. I still have many cold-like symptoms but nothing contagious at this point. I know that being sick just sucked out all of my energy and that I should be patient until it returns, but its so frustrating to attempt a workout that I did just a week before and have it be way more difficult this time. I probably should have listened to my body and lightened up the weights a little but I was so gung-ho about being back in the gym on a regular basis that I just pushed through.

Was I healthy enough for a workout? absolutely. Should I have pushed myself that hard for that long? Probably not. Is it better to stay home or get a good sweat sesh in when you aren't feeling 100%? Truthfully I don't know. I take it on a case by case basis. 2 weeks ago I had a bit of a head cold and managed to sweat it out in the gym (until I lost my voice). This time, I knew that I needed a break to rest up and heal. I've heard people who swear by both methods. I'm trying to listen to my body and let it tell me what it needs but sometimes that is way easier said than done.

why i believe in personal training

2010-06-10T11:36:00.000-07:00

Before I jump into the goodness of my love and adoration for my personal trainer, I just have to give a big WOOHOOO because I am finally feeling better! I'm still a little congested but my energy is picking up and very little coughing still left, thank goodness! In fact, I was feeling so good last night that I decided to hit the gym for some light cardio. Well apparently, my "I'm feeling better" hormones kicked into overdrive because I started off with a 20 minute treadmill run and finished it off with a 35 minute "bike blast" spin class... aka how much can you sweat in 30 minutes of fast and furious spinning. I tried not to push myself too hard, and could definitely tell that I hadn't been in for a few days but I still burned 918 calories! I was really hoping to hit maybe 400 total so I was thrilled to see this number. I'm headed in again today for some much needed strength training, but I'm going to wait until this afternoon when my energy seems to be better.

Another bonus, the cracker binge of 2010/ being ridiculously pitifully sick helped me lose another 3.5 lbs! Which means that I am exactly 1.6 lbs from my lowest weight ever! Pretty excited about that, I never thought I would be able to get down that low the healthy way :O)

Which leads right into my post topic of why I believe in personal training. My super amazing trainer is directly responsible for how great I feel and look today.... However, I haven't always had the best experience with trainers.

When I was going to college, I joined a gym nearby the restaurant I was working in. I thought it would be easy and convenient to hit the gym there since I was working so much that I wasn't making use of my free membership to the campus gym (stupid mistake!!!) So I signed up for a membership with Oz Fitness. I was sweet talked into a pretty expensive membership with a very expensive training package by a tanned, heavily muscled, sweet-talkin sales rep. I started working out there and it was a really nice facility; I actually enjoyed working out there. I started on with a trainer who was very nice and genuinely cared about my goals. He put me through workouts so rigorous that I nearly passed out on several occasions. Keep in mind that I hadn't been working out regularly or eating very healthy at this point; I didn't really know how to do either very well. No matter how nice the trainer was, the workouts were so intense, that I physically couldn't get through them on my own. I really wanted to get healthier but he gave me no tips on what to eat, how to workout on days when I wasn't doing the strength routines of torture. Ultimately I spaced out my sessions further and further to put off the torture and ended up not using half of my sessions when I canceled my membership (I was moving out of the area).

Fast forward about 6 months later, I was even more overweight and unhappy. I still didn't really know how to workout effectively. Actually, I wasn't working out at all. I was in the midst of a stressful internship for the last part of my degree and didn't think I had the time to exercise. My wonderful parents intervened and offered to pay for my membership at Gold's Gym where they had just started working out.

I loved it, everbody was so welcoming and supportive! Plus I had both of my parents by me for support. I took this quote to heart every single time I walked into the gym...

Because for me, my journey started there. I tried group exercise classes

Pictured above is BodyPump but my favorite was a brutal Functional class and Zumba :O)

And sweated my way through many hours of cardio (not all at once!) I dropped about 5 pounds instantly, but I was nowhere where I wanted to be. Enter super trainer #1... He came along and listened to my frustrations, understood and took to heart what my goals were, and gave me strength routines that helped me push myself. He was gentle and caring, and very concerned with my progress. It was the first taste of exercise success that I had and I loved it. I did ST #1's workouts for a couple months but eventually stagnated and didn't know what to do next.

Enter Super Trainer #2 :O) He saw me working out one day and walked up to me and just said "hey, I saw you working out the other day and I think I can help push you to the next level, are you interested?" I said yes (not knowing AT ALL what I was getting myself into) and said that I was frustrated and if he could promise me results I would do whatever he told me to do. He looked at me and told me "good, that means you're ready and if you do what I say, I will promise you that I will get you into the best shape of your life." And I never looked back. His workouts were intense. More intense than Oz Fitness Trainer's were but he told me every step of the way how each exercise was working my muscles and why it was beneficial for me. He told me exactly what to eat and why it was good for me. He told me food to avoid and why I didn't want them in my body. He gave me homework assignments to research food, make my own meal plans, research exercises that I wanted to try, find fitness inspiration. He didn't just give me killer workouts, he armed me with knowledge about my own body. He empowered me and showed me how strong my body could be. He pushed me harder than I've ever been pushed, but saw when I went from exertion to failure. He kicked my butt when I was slacking, motivated and encouraged me when I was defeated, and supported me in every way possible to make sure that I met my goals. With him I gained 11 lbs of muscle and lost 15 lbs of fat in one month. Results I never thought possible.

Since then, he convinced me to do a bootcamp class that I never would have even contemplated before. I tried it, and loved it. It pushed me in ways I never though possible. He's taken me and 2 other badass chicas on for group training in the kinesis room-- a lot of smooth functional movements.

Looks unassuming doesn't it? I can assure you, it's not :O) It's about 1000 calories an hour brutal. Full of enough rows, lunges, plank crawls, bear crawls, burpees, pushups, ab moves of death, and squats to make you want to puke. But I love it.

My experience with personal training has empowered me. I feel like there is nothing I can't do, and that is all because of my personal trainer. Even though I'm in great shape now, I keep going to him because he keeps pushing me. He told me until I can do one legged kettlebell swings on an exercise ball (yeah try to picture that! Craaaaazy!) that there is always room for improvement. I now know how to push myself harder even without him, fuel my body with the right foods for me, and enjoy a healthy lifestyle.

So if you're thinking about personal training, try it! Don't be discouraged if the first one doesn't work out, it's like the perfect pair of jeans... sometimes you have to go through a few duds before you find the perfect one. Believe me, it's worth it :O)

bring out the violins

2010-06-08T17:51:00.000-07:00

because I'm ready for a pity party.... I'm sick. With another rotten cold. You heard me right another cold. I'm not one to get sick very often but this is the second time in 2 weeks that I've been down for the count with a cold. Last time it was a stuffy nose and sore throat turned laryngitis while substitute teaching in a busy classroom of 54 kindergarteners (not all at once thank God!). I mean you try teaching a bunch of active, busy, talkative 5 year olds when all you can do is whisper... not fun.

Now, I'm down with the stuffy nose, watery eyes, sneezing, cough ~~from hell.~~ It is no fun, no fun at all. And ironically, I'm still substitute teaching, but in PE (hello, whistle!). I don't tend to get sick very often but when I do, I'm usually down for awhile. Last time, I pushed through and managed to sweat it out with multiple ~~torturous~~ sessions on the ~~death machine~~ stair climber. This time no such luck, I even had to miss bootcamp for the second time ever :O( (First time was because of vacation, since I know you're wondering :O)) All that means, that I haven't been in the gym since Saturday's killer strength training workout ala The Fitnessista and I'm a little cranky about that. I'm trying to "listen to my body" because it is screaming at me that it's not ready to go back yet. Mentally, I need a good workout. Physically, I still need daily naps to make it through the day. I try to keep telling myself, "you've only missed two workouts, you'll be fine" but there's a ~~not so~~ tiny part of me that is dying to get back in there and make up for lost time.

So I don't know about you, but when I'm sick, my appetite goes to zero. I am rarely hungry and when I am, all I want is carbs. So I've been fueling my sick body with Ezekiel toast, whole wheat wheat thins, pancakes, graham crackers, and ice cream; with some peanut or almond butter thrown in for some fats and proteins. Oh yeah, and I had some overnight oats this morning. That's it. That's been 90% of my diet for the past 2 1/2 days. Gee, I'm sure the trainer would looooove to hear that. Funny thing was, I stepped on the scale today (fully clothed) and am down 2 lbs. from my lowest (non-clothed) weight. I can't quite decide if that's because I'm not eating as many calories as I usually do, or if my body is trying to tell me that I need to be incorporating more carbs from grains than I am now, (usually most of my carbs are from fruits and vegetables with about 1 to 2 servings of grains a day). I'm chalking most of it up to being sick. I definitely don't think I'm one of the lucky ones who needs to eat ice cream and crackers all day to lose weight. I wish!

Which brings me to today... I got off work (half day woohoo!!) and wasn't completely exhausted (like yesterday) so I stopped by Fred Meyer to pick up a prescription. I was told that it would be ready in 20 minutes. Now I didn't really need anything (especially after my natural foods splurge last week) but I swear the pharmacists know that if they leave you hanging for 20 minutes, you will buy something. Plus I can't be left alone in a store when I'm all sick and pathetic, bad things happen... And of course it did.

First thing that caught my eye (and the attention of my very sore throat) was the ice cream

I've heard ammmmmazing things about this ice cream so I decided to give it a shot. And it was so worth it! I don't really like the milk-y taste of dairy ice creams and this was perfectly sweet with tons of cookie chunks, without that milk-y taste. Perfection! Plus they donate to help save sea turtles... yummy, organic, and eco friendly!

mmmmmmm!!!!

Doesn't it look delicious? And no, I didn't eat half the

container by myself... My momma helped me too!

But ice cream alone wasn't enough... plus I found that in the first 5 minutes... So I kept looking, and found this...

All natural mango sorbet... the first ingredient is

mango puree :O) And all the ingredients were

pronounceable and recognizeable... oh and did

I mention it tastes like heaven????

Look at that yumminess :O) Yes I had help here too,

from several people (since I know how worried about my

waistline you are :O)) I don't count sick calories anyways :O)

Mmmm.... I took 2 test shots of me eating the sorbet

just to make sure I had it perfect :O)

But that's not all... I mean Fred Meyer has everything... so while I was wasting away the last 10 ish minutes, I headed over to the beauty department in search of some adorable pink/coral nailpolish (couldn't find anything I couldn't live without) and then peeked into the workout clothing area to see if they were sporting any good sales, and oh boy were they ever!

I found my all time favorite Nike workout capris, in my size, on sale for 40% off!!!

Source

They look pretty much like this. Fairly generic looking,

but they fit so amazing! It's like giving my lower half a hug,

in breathable fabric of course!

I also found these adorable shorts, also from Nike

I've never been one to workout in shorts, but these

were so comfy and fit so well that they were worth it,

even if the were only 20% off :O)

And also these super cute shorts from New Balance.

They were on a super sale for about $15 which totally

made up for the fact that the Nike ones.... weren't :O)

And after doing some damage to my bank account and sufficiently doing my part to support the local economy, I picked up my prescription and headed home to indulge in enough ice cream to ensure that those shorts won't fit tomorrow :O) All in all, not a bad "sick" day at all.

Lazy Sundays

2010-06-06T14:46:00.000-07:00

Today was one of those unplanned lazy Sundays that I didn't realize how badly I needed it until it happened. Yup, try saying that sentence three times fast :O) I woke up around 7:30 (woohoo for sleeping in!) and laid in bed until about 8:30 before dragging my heiny outta bed to get ready for church, only to discover that it was pouring down rain here... So much for the sunny, warm weather we were having!

I haven't been feeling good (again). I just had a cold/laryngitis 2 weeks ago and never 100% healed from it, and now it's back as a head cold, so I decided to stay home from church and rest up. I crawled back in bed, popped in some Gilmore Girls (Best show ever!), and proceeded to spend the next 3 hours Facebooking, catching up on Google Reader, and enjoying some mindless TV entertainment... all while in bed. It was a pretty great morning, and desperately needed as I am exhausted from teaching all week. Only 1 more to go until summer break!

I am a bit curious if part of this was attributed to my monster workout yesterday. I was feeling really brave so I walked to the gym with my daddy and then did both of The Fitnessista's week 2 SSU strength workouts (Days3 & 6). In my defense, I only did two sets of each exercise but it still took over an hour. When all was said and done, with the walk there and back I had burned a whopping 1,584 calories!!! In 1 hour and 53 minutes.... CRAAAAAZY!! That is most definitely a record, and the highest number since I got the Polar HRM. It was amazing, and I felt so good; exhausted but good.

This morning, I was SUPER sore. My inner thighs are dying thanks to the sumo deadlifts, my chest/arms are completely sore from chest fly's on the exercise ball and pushups. Side note: Post workout, they were still shaking 2 hours later, so badly that I couldn't blow dry my hair because I couldn't lift them up! Now that's what I call a good workout. I am totally in love with the renegade rows... I feel like a badass doing them! Overall, the workout was amazing (obviously) but I definitely won't attempt to do both strength days at once again. That was pure insanity!

I'm off to bake butterscotch cookies with the sister and play with the puppers. Toodles!

New Loves

2010-06-05T21:58:00.000-07:00

So I'm having one of those days where I just need a reminder of all the good things that I have in my life. I've been feeling kind of "off" today and like my cold that rendered me voiceless two weeks ago is coming back, blech. As I was thinking about what to blog about today while simultaneously trying to come up with something for dinner (barbecued chicken and bean salad it was!), I was thinking about how there are many things that I absolutely ADORE now, that I didn't pre-healthy. So here, in completely random (ie: however they pop into my brain) order, are things that I absolutely love right now.

My puppies.... oh wait, I've always loved them

so I suppose that doesn't count :O)

But really, who couldn't use a little more adorable puppy???

And yes, I did buy them Snuggies for Christmas :O)

1. Protein Powder (This is the brand I'm using right now)

Before, I haaaated protein shakes and would never eat them

Now... I drink at least one a day, and use the powder in

everything imaginable.

source

2. Fish- Gotta love Costco's jumbo pack!

Before- I said I hated all seafood

Now- I adore fish and try to eat it 1-2 times a week. I enjoy a

variety of seafood (that I've tried) except...

Shrimp... bleck!! It's a texture thing

source

3. Trying new recipes- even interesting ones like "sweet potato

pancake with strawberries" (pictured) from Healthy Tipping Point

Before- I stuck to the same old boring recipes out of fear

of trying something new in case it wasn't healthy enough

Now- I love trying new recipes! They are all from amazing

blogs on healthy eating, or from cookbooks I love.

I know so much more about what's good for me now, that I'm

more confident in cooking with those yummy nutritious foods

3. Hiking

Before- I wasn't in good enough shape to go on long hikes,

especially not in the heat.

Now- I do it almost every weekend, and it's a breeze.

In fact, I've decided to take up trail running and will hit up

these same hiking trails this summer for running instead

of walking :O)

4. Water- This is my adorable pink waterbottle that I am never without.

Before- I rarely drank water, preferred beverage of choice

was Diet Pepsi

Now- I drink at least 16- 8 oz. glasses a day and haven't had Diet Pepsi

in months... in fact I think it tastes yucky now.

5. Bread- I am in loooove with Ezekiel bread these days!

Before- Years of low-carbing it had ingrained in my brain

that bread was the devil and to be avoided at all costs

Now- I eat Ezekiel bread as part of my daily amounts of healthy

whole grains. I also eat cream of wheat, oats, and some crackers.

I'm not scared of bread anymore! Welcome back toast :O) I've missed you!

6. My Protein Shaker (From GNC in case you're wondering)

This thing has become a staple in my life now that I workout at 5:30 a.m.

I would be lost without it, perfect for toting protein shakes anywhere.

The blendy-ball (really scientific name!) makes sure there are no nasty

protein chunks (ew) and it's not a HUGE shaker either which I love.

7. Clif Bars- Especially in the carrot cake flavor... YUM!!

Before- I never would have eaten anything with this many calories in it

Now- I use it for a quick snack when I need something to get me through

between meals. I adore them!

8. Super cute workout clothes (sorry no pics... it's laundry day)

Before- I worked out in baggy men's t-shirts and black cap

Now- I love wearing cute t-shirts and tank tops and more form

fitting things. Plus I've found it helps me move better during a workout.

And great motivation too :O)

9. Exercising- It sounds simple, but it's taken me a long time to enjoy

working out.

Before- I worked out so I could eat more and because I hated my body

Now- I work out because it keeps me sane, and helps me feel at peace with myself.

Plus, I love doing something that's good for me, and I'm addicted

to the endorphins :O)

10. Vegetables- cauliflower and bell peppers are my faves :O)

Before- I didn't mind veggies, but rarely ate them, usually doused in ranch

Now- My favorite way to eat them is raw, sometimes with hummus.

I eat at least 4 servings a day and really enjoy it. In fact, when

I don't eat enough, I start to crave them!

11. Running- I NEVER EVER thought I would say that I loved to run.

As a child, I haaaated it and avoided it at all costs. About 3 months, I decided to

give it a shot and I can't get enough of it now. It's my favorite way to do

cardio.

It makes me feel strong, and confident, like I can do anything if I just keep running.

There are many more things that I love now but my stuffy nose is getting the best of me, and I'm just about relaxed enough to fall asleep. This was the perfect way to end a very busy day. Night bloggies :O)

And breathe...

2010-06-03T22:11:00.000-07:00

What a week. It's been one of those exhausting weeks and even having Monday off didn't seem to help. I am so exhausted but in such a need of some good happy things that I had to come back to the bloggy. I purposefully stayed away from posting this week because I didn't really have anything positive to say. I was having what my mom calls a "Thumper Moment." Thumper (from Bambi... remember? :O)) said if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all.... So suffice to say:
Hormones: 1
Christina: 0

But I'm baaaaack, and instead of posting about what I like to eat, I've got pictures to share! Much more exciting than talking about the ~~ridiculously boring~~ informative Paleo diet book I'm reading.

Fresh pesto from the other day.

I used this amazing recipe.

I had it on Ezekiel toast with two scrambled eggs... yum!

I have also been obsessed with overnight oats!

I didn't think I'd like them but I've ate them every day this week... nuff said.

Ps. This version has cinnamon, fresh strawberries, and almond butter

All mixed up... looks a little bit like baby food, but makes

my insides dance and sing :O)

It was pouring down rain here yesterday so of course that means I need to go shopping! I hit up two of our local natural foods stores in search of a couple things that other bloggers have been raving about.

All thanks to Heather Eats Almond Butter and her yummy sounding

recipes with these ingredients!

Check out what these are all about here

I am in love with Chia seeds! They are so yummy!

So far I've put them in overnight oats, can't wait to try more!

I also bought some nutritional yeast, I've heard its amazing.

Haven't tried it but will tell ya when I do :O)

Organic blueberry jam.... wow, my tastebuds personally

thanked me after feeding this to my mouth.

Yup, it was just that good.

I'm ready for more overnight oat making!

Millet & Flax crackers... seriously, one of my best food finds

EVER! I adore these things so much.

In fact, I may or may not have eaten half the bag of cinnamon

chips in one sitting... I'm just saying

Cocounut spread... I tried a little bite and wasn't impressed

which is a bummer since it was a little spendy.

I'm going to try it on a few different things and see how it fares.

Overall not bad finds at all... I am seriously getting addicted to buying all of these healthy obscure items only found in natural foods stores... I just can't help it, they are so yummy!

Once I did the food shopping then it was time for the shoe shopping. I was out in search of a good pair of running shoes (never bought them before) and found some pretty cute ones that also feel like I'm hugging my feet. Sweet sweet lovin for the tootsie :O)

Oooooooh loook!!!

Too bad it looked like this outside:

I know it's impossible to see, but it was pouring hard when I was taking this picture.

Crazy weather we're having!

Also sucks because it means no outdoor runs :-(

The puppers don't care that it's raining, they still want

to go for a walk... silly dogs!

Happy Thursday!!!

Remembering the Fallen

2010-05-31T08:48:00.000-07:00

Happy Memorial Day!

I will say that I am extremely excited to have another day of rest and relaxation. In fact, this will be a short one because as soon as I'm done posting I'll be downing my morning protein shake and headed for the gym. Nothing says relaxation like getting to go into the gym at 9 am instead of 5:30 :O)

Plus, it's the unofficial beginning of SUMMER!!!! I have waited for this, since about mid-September of last year :O) I am a summer girl without a doubt. Barbecues, days by the lake, tanning (with sunscreen), shorts, flip flops, margaritas.... you name it, I love it!

But in the midst of all of my relaxation and fun, I am not forgetting why I have this glorious day off. In the midst of it all, I am remember all of our service men and women who are currently serving, have served in the past, or have fallen while on duty. Their sacrifices and those of their families are the reason that I have the rights and privileges that I do. I am eternally grateful for them and all that they do every day.

I am especially grateful because of the service of both my grandfathers. My dad's father served in the Air Force flying planes for many years, and has glorious war stories to tell. My mom's dad served in the Navy and is such an amazing person. I love both my grandfathers to pieces :O) I also have several friends who have fathers, brothers, friends, and significant others serving or who have served and I am remembering them and all of their sacrifices today. Those who serve are amazing, selfless people and their families definitely fall under that category as well. So thank you, for all that you do, all that you have done, and all that you will do for this wonderful country.

Sunday morning kinda feelin

2010-05-30T22:55:00.000-07:00

“Sunday is the golden clasp that binds together the volume of the week” -Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Sundays for me are a day of rest. Its the day I spend the morning with my family in church, worshiping God. Its the day we sit down and eat a meal together. Its the day we spend the afternoon doing miscellaneous things around the house or out and about, together. Since I've returned to church, it has become one of my favorite days of the week, made all the more special because the brother is home from college right now. I am one happy girl :O)

I love my brother :O)

This afternoon we went on a family hike. It was one of those times that I realized how blessed I am to live where I do. Within 10 miles, there are at least 25 (possibly many many more) trails perfect for walking, trail running, trail biking, and hiking of all intensity levels. It's wonderful :O) Over the past couple months, we've tried out quite a few new ones, and now I'm itching to start trying out some trail running.

Got the bladder ready to go! (my nickname for the

Camelback, since mine's a High Sierra)

Other brother being very silly... sister in

the background.

It was the perfect day for hiking, about 65-70F... warm enough to be enjoyable, not so hot you are dying. The trail wasn't very hilly which was nice, plus it was lined with many pretty flowers and weird bush looking things.

The doggies couldn't wait to get a move on... they've gotten used to hiking without being on a leash (shhhh! Don't tell!) but there were too many people out today so they had to stay leashed the whole time.

I used my new Polar F11 HRM today... It was amazing! I didn't worry about hitting the right zones, I just wanted to see how many calories I burned. I hit 628 calories in 1 hour and 20 min. This is exactly why I bought this! I got an amazing workout in on my rest day! Now I don't have to feel guilty at all when I skip the gym this summer in favor of an outdoor workout.

I also grabbed my pedometer to track mileage and we hit almost 4 miles in that time. It was a nice leisurely hike :O)

This is home :O)

This evening was nice and relaxing too. My padre went and got pizza from Papa Murphy's, he even got a deLite pizza for me and my mommy to help us eat healthier :O) I started off with a turkey burger to fill me up and followed it with 2 slices of pizza. Then I made pesto! I just got a fancy schmancy food processor for Christmas and have hardly used it (it's great for shredding cheese, yum!). The other day when I went shopping, I picked up some fresh basil. I followed this recipe @ Girl Heroes except I cut down on the olive oil and cheese by about half. I probably should have made it exactly like the recipe, but it sounded like a calorie bomb so I eased up a little. I'm going to try it on my Ezekiel toast in the future.

Not tomorrow though because I made another batch of Overnight Oats! (the first were consumed this morning). I loosely followed this recipe from Oh She Glows except that my recipe went like this:

1/3 cup Oats (I used quick cooking because that's all I have at the moment)

1/2 cup milk (this morning I used 1 cup and they were too watery, so I'm cutting it down for round 2)

1/2 scoop when protein powder

I mixed it up and left it in the fridge. In the morning I'll add 1 packet Truvia, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 tablespoon Almond Butter and enjoy the creamy sweet deliciousness as a post-workout recovery breakfast. I can't wait to dig into it.

I'm off to continue slugging through Jackie Warner's "This is Why You're Fat" and enjoy the last of my Sunday laziness :O)

Total Body Workout #1

2010-05-29T23:03:00.000-07:00

So here's the ~~killer~~ workout that I did this morning. I love it because it is tough, but completely different than standard lifting weights, even in the ways that the trainer had me do it.

Disclaimer: This workout was made for me by my trainer. He is an expert on exercise, I am not. You should always consult your doctor before starting an exercise regimen. Be safe, don't be stupid.

Note: All exercises are performed on a pulley machine. Weight amount really depends on the pulley machine itself, there are 2 different pulley contraptions in my gym and my weight varies on them by about 20 pounds (weird I know). It should be hard to complete 10- 12 reps and your muscles should be screaming by round 2.

Note 2: All exercises are performed using a "tricep rope"

Except for #5 which is done using a metal bar of some sort. I usually use one that looks like this:

Image source

#1. Woodchop to knee- 10 reps each side
*I do it this way, but I also start in a lunge position and bring it down to my knee, that way it works a wider range of ab muscles as well as my arms (especially the triceps). Plus by the end my legs are slightly fatigued. Do 10 reps each side here too.

#2. Reverse Nazi Walks- 10 reps
*Seriously horrible name I know, and don't even get me started on what I found when I tried to see if there was a description on Google.
*To do this exercise, lower the weight to a point where you can hold onto the rope handles with your arms straight above your head. Make sure you are standing in a straight line as this will help work the abs as well as the arms. Take 8-10 steps out, with high knees (like up to your belly button high) and then do the reverse without turning around. Then do it again, that's one set.

Repeat #'s 1-2 in a circuit for a total of 3 sets. Cable cord should be set up as high on the bar as it goes (close to or above your head).

#3. Squatted Row- 12-15 reps
*Same motion but use the rope instead and make sure you stay in a squat position for the entire 12 reps, your quads should be burning as much (if not more) than your back/arm muscles!

#4. Reverse Woodchop- 10-12 reps each side
*Make sure your grip on the rope is the reverse of the other exercises. The grips at the end of the rope should be pointing towards your nose (as opposed to pointing to your toes in #'s 1-2)
*Fling the rope over your shoulder, using your abs and legs for momentum.

Repeat #'s 3-4 in a circuit for a total of 3 sets. Cable cord should be set to low (near your feet).

#5. Front Squat- 20 reps
*Remember: use the metal bar for this one!
*Resistance should be tough enough that your legs and abs are hurting by rep 10
*Save your wrists! Roll bar up onto collarbone area and stick elbows out at a 90 degree angle (words of wisdom directly from the trainer)

#6. Cable Oblique Crunch- 12-15 reps each side
*Keep the motion but extend arms and crunch up to one side of the knee. Aiming for the hand to hit the outside of the opposite knee.
*You're back to the rope on this one, use the switching time to recover!
*Yup this one's a doozy, it will cause you severe pain but also leave you with some seriously smokin abs :O)

Repeat #'s 5-6 in a circuit for a total of 3 sets. Cable cord should be set to low (by your feet).

And if you've got anything left after that...
#7: Full Body Thrusts- 3 sets (set 1: 20 reps, set 2: 15 reps, Set 3: 12 reps)
*I couldn't find an accurate description of this one either, boo to that. Grab a moderate sized weight (I use 10 pounds) and stand shoulder width apart with one weight in each hand. Squat down until the weight almost touches the ground and then rapidly fire the legs to propel you up and thrust your arms over your head (into an overhead press) while simultaneously coming up onto your toes. Do each set as rapidly as possible (to get the heart rate up) and then alternate with your favorite ab exercise... I did:

*30 crunches- bringing knees and head together simultaneously
*Leg scissors (That's my term- I don't remember what the trainer called them... torture maybe?) NOTE: I do mine a little slower and do them as a 4 count per rep. So I count in my head (as my legs move...well hopefully!) 1, 2, 3, and then the rep #... 1. And then 1, 2, 3.... 2. And I went until 15, so you do the math there, I'm too tired :O)
*Reverse Crunch- 20 reps... I do it on the bench and keep my legs fully extended the entire time, no bent knees.

And there you have it. By the end you should be a huge sweaty mess. Once I've survived that, I go grab a super amazing foam roller:

Source

And once I'm done rolling and stretching my muscles, I ~~collapse in a sweaty heap on the gym floor~~ head for home for a shower and a recovery meal. Enjoy :O)

Some days just don't go as planned...

2010-05-29T15:19:00.000-07:00

I know I mentioned earlier that I thoroughly enjoy Saturdays, but seriously I REALLY love Saturdays :O) I hit up the gym (nice and empty this morning!) and did a nice long warm up. 5 minutes walking @ 4.0 mph so the Polar could calculate my HR zones and then 5 minutes running @ 5.5 mph followed by 10 minutes of 1 minute intervals, alternating between 5.3 mph and 6.3-6.5 mph. This is what I did yesterday on HIIT day except much longer, and with additional sweaty cardio attached at the end and it has been a huge ~~sweat fest~~ success.

I haven't posted as much about my exercise history but about 3 months ago I decided I was going to take up running. Furthermore, I decided I was going to do it until I enjoyed it because at the time there were few things I hated more than running. So I downloaded the couch to 5k plan and (very) loosely followed it for ~~less than 2 weeks~~ awhile :O) I found that because I was already in good shape that running wasn't as hard as I thought it would be and in fact, I didn't suck ~~too bad~~ at it. I've been stuck at only being able to run at 5.5 for awhile (which has been a huge success for me) but in trying out these intervals, I've found that 6.3- 6.5mph doesn't feel that bad at all. Especially because I only have to do it for a minute and then I get to slow down to a jog for the next minute. I am definitely keeping these intervals in my routine to help boost up my speed consistently.

So I followed the 20 minute treadmill sesh with another hour of strength training. It was a routine the trainer had given me pre-bootcamp and I am very pleased to say that now (3 months later) I was able to up my weights, up my reps by a few, without dying. It was really great to see that I am showing significant progress. I'll post the workout later this weekend.

After coming home and taking a much needed shower, I was starving. I mean, "I need food NOW because I am getting dizzy" starving. I snacked on some peanuts while I made Gina's (The Fitnessista) Perfect Protein Pancakes. They were super dense (and not nearly as pretty as her picture) but so delicious and filling! Exactly what I needed post-workout. The recipe made 2 giant pancakes and I topped one with almond butter and sugar free syrup and the other with some yogurt butter and a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar. These are definitely going to become a staple in my diet. Not quite as good the cottage cheese, oatmeal pancakes but still yummy. On a side note, I am loving this pancake phase! I never thought I would be able to eat pancakes again once I figured out how terrible Krusteaz pancakes were for me.

So far the rest of the afternoon has been spent cleaning the house, playing with the doggies, and relaxing with the fam. Not quite the productive Saturday I had planned, but just as enjoyable :O)

Saturdays

2010-05-29T08:45:00.000-07:00

Truth: Saturday workouts are my favorites. I love that I feel so much more relaxed on Saturdays and that seem to translate into an amazing workout. It looks like it's shaping up to be a really nice (non rainy) day here and so I think I have to get outside for awhile.

I'm finishing up my pre-workout snack- Blueberry Crisp Mini- Cliff Bar

Source

And 1 large scoop (36 grams) yummy chocolate pure whey protein powder + water in my shaker. Truth: I used to hate protein powder. I was convinced that there was no way that would fill me up all morning and I didn't really love the taste. However now that I workout so much I drink at least one protein shake every single morning, and love it! Funny how time changes our tastebuds... It was the same way for fish for me, love that now too.

Okay I'm fueled up and ready to go...

Rufus is ready to play

Scooter's a little sleepy, as usual :O)

And I've got on my cute new workout tank (and no makeup- GASP!)

I'm off to enjoy my Saturday... I'm hoping to post later about some of my favorite things and some more updates about life with the HRM :O) Happy Saturday!

TGIF + New Heartrate Monitor

2010-05-28T21:51:00.000-07:00

Whew! What a week. I only worked three and a half days but man am I exhausted! It was just one of those weeks that really takes it out of you. On the positive note, there are many good things to post about!

*I am completely and totally in love with Ezekiel bread. In fact, I can't believe it took me this long to find it! I heard about it awhile ago but you can chalk it up with my low carb ~~bread hating~~ past that I wouldn't even consider buying it. However, I am loving all the protein and fiber and the fact that I just found out its sold at Fred Meyer!!!! So I stocked up with an extra loaf today plus I splurged on a loaf of the cinnamon raisin bread :O) I'm super excited to have that for breakfast tomorrow!
* I have also been eating a ridiculous amount of the millet & flax crackers (usually with fat free cream cheese or some organic peach jam on top-- yum!). I am definitely going to have to go back and try the garlic and cinnamon flavors. Please note those are two different flavors!!
*I am currently reading Racing Weight by Matt Fitzgerald and so far there is some really amazing info in there. It was a little dry for a Friday afternoon (I have to admit, I almost dozed off once... not because it was boring, I was just really tired!) It definitely seems to be geared towards people who are already extremely athletic but I've found some good running tips in there too. I'll do a full review post when I'm done.
*I have done 2 days of the Fitnessista's "Summer Shape Up 2010" so far and it is one butt kicking workout. I haven't been sore in months (except for when I pulled the hammy a couple weeks ago). I take a bootcamp class from the trainer once a week and work/sweat/~~die~~ for a brutal hour and I am more sore now than I ever have been from the class. I love it!

*I really wanted to post more about what I'm currently doing as far as exercise, nutrition, and supplements but that post went out the window as soon as this arrived on my doorstep yesterday afternoon!

My brand spankin' new Polar F11 HRM!!!

I was so excited, I squealed for a second. Once I got myself under control, I set out to figure out how it works. It was pretty user friendly but there are a lot of different options depending on how its being used at the time and what mode its in, so it's been a little confusing. But I love it! I took it out on a hike with the doggies and the brother and it worked awesome. I can definitely see that this will be my summer workout staple so I don't have to hit the gym all the time.

I also took it with me to the gym this morning and it was so motivating to watch the calorie count keep going up and up and up. I did Gina's day 6 workout today even though it's only Friday (IE: my day 5... and I've only done day 1 so far this week because of other workouts) . I would love to say that there is some logic in my choice but honestly, it was 5:30 a.m., there's no logic happening at that hour! So day 6 is speed aka HIIT (High Intensive Interval Training) or more commonly know as ~~death~~ a big stinky sweatfest all over the treadmill :O) I warmed up and then alternated running at a 6.5-7.0 mph for 1 minute with 1 minute at 5.2mph. I can totally see how doing this will make me a much better runner and help my speed and mile times. After finishing it off with 15 minutes on the arc trainer, I saw that I had burned almost 1100 calories!!! Way over double what the treadmill said, weehooo! Probably explains why I'm so stinkin hungry today.

Tomorrow will hopefully bring muscles recovered enough for Saturday strength workouts (usually the best of the week!) or at least some cardio and possibly a yoga class. If the weather holds up I may skip the gym altogether and take the HRM and the doggies out for a hike... Okay I'm off to paint my toes and then head to bed early; I love me some sleep :O)

Celebrations

2010-05-26T21:51:00.000-07:00

Today was one of those days where ideal met reality. It wasn't a pleasant meeting for either party. It was one of those long, stress-filled, never ending, just kinda cruddy days. Nothing really bad or major happened but I was just stressed, tired, and off all day; the kind of day that affects my eating. I'm coming off of a really good streak of healthy, organic eating so I should have been on the look out for this. It happens all the time, I eat perfect for a few days and then I self-sabotage with a day of junk. It drives me crazy because I feel like I can't stop the cycle even though I know I'm doing it, even while I'm eating what I shouldn't be. I've made major progress in that area, I hardly ever self- sabotage anymore or I do it in really tiny ways which is nice to see, but it still severely irritates me when I screw up my diet. Today it was red licorice and tootsie rolls. It wasn't a huge "binge" but it was enough to stress me out even more and make me feel like I failed my eating for the day, ugh.

In the midst of it though, there is a small victory... I didn't let that bad event earlier in the day derail my eating for the remainder of the day. Usually, once I've had one bad thing, I throw in the towel and eat crap for the rest of the day because I feel like my diet is already ruined. Not today! I had eaten perfectly healthy until mid-afternoon and once I got off work, I went right back to it. Part of getting healthy and fit for me is getting mentally and psychologically healthy and fit. For me that means not being so negative and hard on myself and this was a great learning experience in that area. All afternoon , I beat myself up over those 280 calories and how I would be over my daily limit but as soon as I stopped and really thought about it, 280 calories really isn't that much and so I'm trying to let it go and not stress about it. Now at the end of the day, it doesn't seem like a huge deal whereas usually I would be beating myself up for it clear until tomorrow.

Today was also my baby brother's 16th birthday :O) It was just the fam which was nice. The brother requested breakfast for dinner: biscuits, corned beef hash, bacon, fried eggs, & juice (he can eat all of this because he's 16 with the metabolism of a freight train, lucky kid!). Since none of that is within any sort of reachable range of my healthy eating goals, I used the time instead to make up a big double batch of protein loaded cottage cheese oatmeal pancakes (sounds gross but they are amazing!). I'll have to post the recipe sometime soon. I made up one large one for me and just had the one (usually its two) with almond butter and sugar free syrup plus some of the fruit salad my mom made to go with the fam's dinner. Afterwards they had angel food cake, strawberries (fresh but soaked in sugar) and spray whip cream. I am proud to say that I had just a bite of angel food cake and a spoon fool of strawberries and whip cream and I was fine. Beyond that, it didn't really taste that good and I realized I wasn't missing anything by eating it. I was really proud of myself for making positive choices throughout the remainder of the day and not feeling deprived by it.

But my question is, what should I do at family celebration events? Is it easier to just skip desert altogether, try (and usually fail) to have just one bite, or deem it a special event and go all out? I'm really not sure. Right now for me, it's better to just skip it, because there's no having just one bite no matter what I tell myself. What are some alternate ways to celebrate or partake in the activities? My hardest time is at large extended family gatherings (which we have frequently) where nobody brings anything healthy. It's another struggle in the battle to find the middle, somewhere between going all out and refusing it all. I'm still feeling out what that looks like but please let me know if you've got it figured out :O)

Natural Foods Loot

2010-05-24T21:47:00.000-07:00

Whew, what day! The outdoor run didn't happen, the bike class this morning was all I could handle. Although my mommy and I did get out and enjoy a nice walk with our doggies. My puppies are exceptionally adorable, they bring me endless amounts of joy. I'll try to post pictures soon :O)

I did however get out and do some quick grocery shopping. I hit up Fred Meyer, ours has a really nice organic/whole foods section. I think it's a little cheaper than shopping at Natural Foods (from what I can tell) and it's really nice to be able to buy all of my non-organic items at the same time. I didn't need much as I already have a nicely stocked fridge full of raw veggies, lean proteins, and most of the things that Morningstar Farms makes :O) Here's what I ended up with:

Fresh organic basil from Fred Meyer. I'm going to use it to make homemade pesto!

Roasted edamame and barbecue soy nuts for snacking.

These things are amazing in helping me keep my protein high!

Ezekiel bread. I've heard amazing things about this stuff so I decided to give it a try.

After buying it at Natural Foods, I found it at Fred Meyer but it was actually more expensive, score!

Organic peach jam & Millet & Flax crackers (hello 8 grams of fiber in 66 calories!!)

I put it (along with some fat free cream cheese I bought) together in this yummy snack:

deeeeeelicious!!

I also got some whole wheat flour (to help with my pancake addiction), eggs, and miscellaneous veggies. None of that's really exciting enough to be worthy of pictures, plus my camera batter died out after the snack photo. Yup that stuff was so good it killed my camera :O) I'm telling you, if eating healthy whole foods is this yummy, I'll never go back to anything processed again!

Coming up: Picture posts of some of my favorite things :O) I'm lovin this picture stuff!

Summer Shape Up!

2010-05-24T10:55:00.000-07:00

Alright, it's that time again... time to get ready for summer!! Now I've been ready for summer to be here since, well since about October when it started getting cold. However, my body sure was not. Truthfully I started prepping for bikini season when I got the super awesome trainer in December but I still have some jiggle I would like gone before July. So with that said it's time for The Fitnessista's amazing "Summer Shape Up" :O) And I have to say that while it looks pretty intense, I am ridiculously excited for this.

I just started reading her blog about two weeks ago, and I am in love with it. She eats clean and works out hard and is very inspiring. I'm just really starting to dedicate myself to cleaning up my diet and making it more natural and less processed so her posts are super helpful for that. Not to mention they are highly entertaining :O)

So in honor of my own summer shape up I hit the gym today and did a 15 minute (running!) warm-up then took a 45 minute bike class today which was pure sweaty awesomness. I'm really hoping to get outside and run a couple miles which will be my first outdoor run, ever (well besides a few very boring miles I logged at the track last summer). I suppose now would also be a good time to start using my Perfect Pushup contraption that's only been out of the box once :O) I'm also going to hit up one of my local health food stores to find some good whole natural foods to fuel my body for the next few weeks. Hopefully a picture post of my finds will follow this afternoon.

Hope you're having an awesome Monday!

I love to run

2010-05-23T22:08:00.000-07:00

About 3 months ago, I woke up one morning and decided I was going to become a runner. Along with push-ups on my toes and unassisted pull-ups, this was one thing that I could not do very well. I was partially ~~struck with fear~~ inspired by the trainer and his upcoming Special Forces bootcamp which he promised me would contain hill sprints till I puked. And partially because I just knew that even as fit as I was, I sucked at running. Sure I could sprint for a minute or two but that was it. No endurance whatsoever. So as I went for my 5:30 a.m. workout and the couch 2 5k plan, I was determined. Truthfully, those first few days weren't as hard as I thought. I found that I was more capable than I thought and that I actually enjoyed running. In fact, I loved to run. It was a huge stress reliever; the one thing I could do to block out everything else except the music in my ears and the movement of my body.

I've since started running on the treadmill about 4 days a week, depending on my workout schedule. However, I've peaked at about a 30-32 minute 5k which in my mind, is not that great. I've also peaked at that distance which is definitely not that great considering my half marathon aspirations. Occasionally I'll have a burst of motivation and go for longer, but 30 minutes/ 3 miles seems to be that milestone that I just can't break through on a regular basis. It's incredibly frustrating, because I know it's purely mental. It's not like I hit 3 miles and my legs suddenly give out or my lungs are on fire, which means that it has to be purely mental.

I've tried inserting sprints which has actually helped my speed a little but I'm stuck at 5.5 mph (@ a 2% incline). I'm not so much worried about going faster as I am about going longer. I'm really hoping that by taking my runs outside, the change in scenery will take away the mental block that I'm having. I love the feeling of running and its so rare to find something like that these days that I want to prolong that feeling as long as possible, and 30 minutes just isn't enough for that. I want to be able to just go out and take a 5 mile run or say that I woke up one Saturday morning and ran 10 miles.

I've also noticed that as fun as running is and as much as I love the runners high (I never say no to endorphins!) by the end of the week my knees are killing me. They get this dull ache in them that spreads down my calves that no amount of time spent on the foam roller (which I swear by to relieve sore muscles) can cure. I've stretched, rolled, iced, taken glutamine, tried different socks (hey anything might work!), altered incline & speed, altered pace, and nothing has worked. Come Thursday I still feel like an 85 year old woman with arthritis in my knees, and I'm no where near 85.

My last thought (at the suggestion of a friend) was to get custom running shoes. I currently use some adorable blue Adidas tennis shoes for all sorts of workouts both indoors and outdoors. They aren't specifically made for running and that's the only thing I can think of to change. As I've started reading more blogs from runners, they all talk about having good shoes. Right now I'm debating between custom running shoes (uh, hello expensive!) and regular running shoes from my local Big 5. Being so new to running, I'm not really sure which one is a better investment (especially to have to replace them in 300ish miles anyways) and even how to go about finding a decent running shoe. You know what that means??? RESEARCH here I come!

So just in case another set of eyes happens upon this page, do you have a preference? Or a recommendation for a struggling beginner? My knees would greatly appreciate it :O)

My Goals

2010-05-23T09:10:00.000-07:00

In order to fully understand the ~~crazy~~ logic behind my posts, I feel like it's good to talk about what my goals are. I'm always telling people that "I want to get fit and healthy." And they look at me and nod encouragingly and say "good for you!" I think they really mean it (I have some great people in my life) but what does "fit and healthy" mean to me?

I feel like I should say that first of all, my goal is not to lose weight. Well, not in the traditional sense anyways. Throughout all of my dieting ~~failures~~ experiences, I have been scale obsessed. To the point that I was weighing myself about 14- 20 times a day. Definitely not healthy. Especially because that number at any given point of the day, determined how happy I would be for the rest of the day.

So now I have banished the scale to a box, and weigh in on the same scale about once a week. This way I have a ballpark figure of what I weigh and my progress but it no longer defines me. It has actually been quite freeing. And sure, I would love that number to go down, realistically another 10 pounds, but that's not one of my goals that I am actively reaching for right now.

When my trainer first body fat tested me and told me that God-awful number, he said "we need to get this number lower more for your health reasons than for vanity." I took that to heart and am currently focusing on lowering my body fat and upping my lean body mass.

My current goals are:

Eat a well balanced diet with limited sugar every day (usually easier said than done in my world!)
Exercise at an intense pace at least 6 days a week
Stay within my calorie range (currently 1500-2000) and nutrient range (40% carbs, 30% protein, 30% fat)
Less body fat, more muscle

Why do I torture myself 6 days a week at the gym? What do I want to get out of this? I want to run a marathon. I want to be able to do pushups (on my toes) and pull ups (yes more than one). I want to lose a little bit of jiggly fat. I want to go rock climbing. I want to have kids and be an active mom. I want to wear a bikini without nitpicking my body's flaws. While all of those are worthy reasons of regular sweat fests, that's not why I do it. I drag myself to the gym 6 days a week at the ungodly hour of 5:30 a.m. because exercising helps me be more at peace with myself. It helps me like myself better. It helps me be okay with my flaws. And because its fun :O)

I'm a bit wacky

2010-05-22T20:17:00.000-07:00

"Everyone is an athlete. But some of us are training, and some of us are not." --Dr. George Sheehan

I am training. Training to be an athlete. Training to be healthy. Training to become fit. And along the way I am learning to laugh, enjoy life, celebrate the small victories, and push through tough times. I am training for life.

I am just a regular girl who is obsessed with health and fitness. It wasn't always that way but that's a story for another post :O) I'm a bit messy and emotional but I truly love exercise and have a sincere desire to share what I know with you. I have been inspired by some amazing bloggers and finally decided to branch out on my own. I hope you'll have patience as I try to figure this all out!

The other thing I love is cooking. I love to bake cookies and muffins and anything else I can think of just to see the joy it brings those who eat it. I love to cook healthy and satisfying meals and fuel my body with good food. This blog will have lots of recipes and my (often hilarious) stories of what works and what doesn't.

Beyond that, I love research. I am a sucker for numbers and statistics. If research says it, then I'll probably try it. I will try to find relevant health and fitness research and put it out here with my own two cents attached... because yes, I am a little opinionated at times :O)

This blog is a chronicle of all these things and more. I want to share my story with anybody who wants to hear it. I want to hear your stories, because they inspire me more than you know. I want to share some of the wacky things I've done so you won't have to do them yourselves. I want to learn from your mistakes and celebrate your victories. I want to inspire and be inspired throughout my journey. So if any of this sounds relatable to you, come join me for the ride. Tell me what works for you, tell me your stories, tell me anything at all. I promise I'll listen and together we'll train for all sorts of things.