A Great Exercise Week!

K, although I had a few issues in the “food department” this week, I did well in the “exercise department!”  Woo hoo.

I’m very happy about that.  Here’s the 411.

Monday:  I decided to switch my beloved Boot Camp class for a different class.  It was a tough decision but I realized it had become mainly a cardio class.  I get enough cardio from my running, so I want my classes to be mainly “weights” based.  I also realized that my FAVORITE Saturday morning weights class was offered at 9:00 AM on Mondays at a Gold’s Gym a little further away.  I really really love the instructor.  Really.  She works us SO HARD.  I think it’s like going to TWO classes!  It’s amazingly awesome.  So, I think it’s worth it.

Tuesday:  I went on a 3 mile run.  I ran 2 miles with my 8 year old and the other mile by myself.  I would have gone further, but I was pushing the jogger and my little doggie was with us too.  It was a pain, so I cut it short.  Still a great run though.  BTW, I talked my 8 year old son into running a 5k with me!  He is such a great little runner.  I don’t know what race we’ll do yet, but I’m gonna find us a good one!

Wednesday:  I went to my fav Muscle Works class at the gym.  Crazy awesome and I loved it.

Thursday:  I went to another fav Power Pump class at the gym.  We did a bunch of burpees in slow motion and they were so tough!  We also did a bunch of pushups and then at the top of each pushup we pushed off and caught air (hands and feet off the ground.)  Hard to explain, but very insane.  Loved. Every. Minute.

Friday:  I went on a 3 mile run in the morning.  I didn’t plan very well or I would have gone further.  I had to get back to take my oldest to school (he goes at 9:50 on Fridays.)  Love it.

Heading out for a run. My legs have really ballooned this week. It's making me sad. Seriously, I will take another pic when I deflate and you will actually be able to SEE the difference. Scary.

When my kids got home from school, I went out on another run with my 8 year old son and 11 year old daughter.  It was fun.  My daughter only ran a mile with us (I was so proud of her because it was her first REAL run!) and my son and I ran another mile and a half.  So….2 1/2 miles total.  Very fun.

Just before we left on our run. I love my kids!

Today:  We had a crazy morning so I couldn’t go to my favorite class. 😦  I did go to another good muscle class though.  When I got home, I went on a 5 mile run.  It was so so so HOT though so it was kind of a crappy run.  I really self destruct in the heat.  It’s pretty pathetic.  I had to walk most of the last mile.  I thought it was better to walk than face plant on the pavement though.  🙂  It was probably about 80 degrees, but felt like 180!  I am a wuss, I know.  Still glad I did it though!

Well, that’s it.  I am very very tired today.  I’m going to go to bed early.  Fun.

Oh, I’ll share a couple more pics.  My daughter was in the school play this past week.  It was so cute and she loved every minute of it.  It was a play based in ancient times and she was a Greek Dancer/Chorister.

My daughter dressed in her "Greek Lady" costume. She loved all the make up and was thrilled when I asked if she wanted to wear my "ancient lookin'" dangly earrings. She is very much all girl!

During the play. So much fun!

Well, I hope to have another good exercise week next week!  I also hope to have a good eating week too!!  Yay!

Hope you are all well and happy! xoxo

Hunger Games + Exercise + Chocolate Mug Cake!

Well so far, it’s been a nice, relaxing weekend.  It’s been way better than last weekend (when I was SO sick!)  Blah.

Last night Kev and I went on a much needed date.  We went to see the Hunger Games.

Holy cow, what a thought provoking movie!

I’ve never read the book.  I really wanted to read it, but never made the time.  So, I really didn’t know what to expect from the movie.

First off, it was full of amazing actors!  Amazing!  Jennifer Lawrence was perfect as Katniss!  I really loved her.

I thought the whole premise of the movie was extremely disturbing, yet fascinating.  It is not an uplifting movie….at all.  However, I would highly recommend it to anyone.

Oh, and BTW if I ever had to participate in the Hunger Games, I would be a goner…probably the first one.  That would be my worst nightmare.

What a freaky concept.

Man.

Afterward, we went out to dinner at the Training Table.  Not good for me….but GOOD!

Regardless, it was a fun night.  I love my husband. 🙂

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Well, I’ve been pretty good on the exercise front this week.  I went on a quick 3 mile run yesterday.  My oldest son goes to school late on Fridays, so I thought I would take advantage of the babysitter!  Yay!

It was a great run, but near the end I felt my IT Band starting to bug AGAIN!

Auggghhh!

It was just a little twinge, but it stressed me out!

FYI, I injured my IT Band last fall.  I took  a month off from running and it still hurt, so I took another 2 months off from running and it’s been fine ever since.  Yay.  It BETTER not act up again.  I will be so sad.

So, when I got home I did a ton of stretching and then rolled the heck out of my IT band with my foam roller.  Yay.

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Today I went to a new class at the gym.  I couldn’t make it to my fav 9:00 class (my son had a soccer game), so I decided to try a different class.

It was actually at a Gold’s Gym further away from my house, but I didn’t care.  It took me about 25 minutes to get there, but I figured it was worth it.  I push myself 10 times harder when I’m in a class.  I love it.  I also missed my Saturday class last week because I was sick, so I decided to make it happen today.

I’m so glad I did!  It was an hour long “Muscle Works” class and it was great.  We worked every muscle and I loved it!

Afterward, I ran 4.6 miles on the treadmill.  I ran a little slower in hopes that my IT band wouldn’t act up….and it didn’t bug me at ALL!  Yay!

I’ve heard that most IT Band issues happen because a runner fails to warm up properly, runs too fast or too far.  I think I’m guilty of all 3!

I’m not a big “warmer-upper!”  It’s hard for me to take the time.  I also like to run fast….I love to push myself and I just like to GET IT DONE!

Soooo, I’m going to start warming up more and running a little slower….just in case.

When I got home from the gym, I plopped down on the couch and snuggled with these two cuties.

I love these guys so much! I could seriously eat them up EVERY DAY!

Later on, I made myself a very yummy LEGAL treat!  I saw the recipe in the February 2012 issue of Oxygen Magazine.  It was for a Microwave Cake in a Cup.  I’ve tried a few other similar recipes and this one was really good!

I was a little worried because it said you could add peanut butter and sweetener, but it didn’t specify how much.  So, I had to guess.  I think I got it right!

So, here ya go!

Healthy Microwave Cake in a Cup

1 whole egg
1 tsp Cocoa Powder
1/8 tsp Baking Powder
2 T Skim Milk
1 T Peanut Butter
1 T Sweetener (I used Splenda)

Mix the egg, cocoa powder, baking powder and milk in a mug.

Add the peanut butter and sweetener and mix well with a fork.

Microwave for 2 minutes.  Top with favorite toppings or enjoy alone!

Just out of the microwave! While it was cooking, it rose past the top of the cup. As soon as I opened the microwave door, it fell! Weird.

I topped mine with strawberries and strawberry yogurt! It was so so so good!

I really really loved this!  I was pleasantly surprised!

Looked a little gross, but tasted awesome!  I may be making this every day for a while!  Love it!!!

A Cheesy Thought + Healthy Food!

As I was driving to the gym yesterday, I had a very cheesy thought.

I actually felt overwhelmed with gratitude that I am able to exercise and that I have a wonderful gym to go to with wonderful instructors that I love!

Sounds cheesy, I know.

It really makes me happy though.  I’m just so grateful I’m able to go to awesome classes and surround myself with people who are all working hard and trying to improve in some way.

It’s energizing to me.

My instructors all push me so hard too!  I love it.  I know I could never push myself that hard on my own.  Never, ever, ever.

I know exercise is a sacrifice too though.  I always have so many other things I could be doing.  There’s always something to clean, someone to care for (which I love to do, btw.), grocery shopping to do, laundry to be done and a million other things constantly weighing on me.

My “to do” list is never done.

BUT….when I put all those things aside and take the time to exercise, I am a happier, better person because of it.  Yay.  It really is a stress reliever for me as well.  Love it.

So there’s my cheesy thought for the day. 😉

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I’ve been enjoying a lot of yummy, healthy food lately.  I can’t tell you how much BETTER I feel when I’m eating healthy food!  It’s amazing and I love it.  Here’s some of the things I’ve had the past couple days.

I changed my same old, same old breakfast up a bit this morning. 1/3 C. Oatmeal, 1/2 scoop Protein Powder, Strawberries and Chia Seeds! I had 4 scrambled egg whites on the side seasoned with Mrs. Dash and Low Sugar Ketchup! Yum!

Here’s a couple yummy snacks I’ve had:

Strawberry Chobani Greek Yogurt topped with 1 T.+ of yummy Pumpkin Flax Granola. This granola is SOOOOO yummmy! I really have to be careful or I’d eat the whole box!

A slice of toasted Ezekial bread topped with Dark Chocolate Dreams Peanut Butter, Banana Slices and Chia Seeds! YUM!

BTW, Ezekiel bread (made by Food for Life) is amazing!!!  It is so healthy, contains no flour, is a complete protein and is just so so awesome.  I’m so grateful for companies that make yummy, healthy products!  It makes it so much easier to eat well!  Click on this link to read more about it if you want.  I’m so impressed.  Oh, I bought this bread at Sunflower Market, but I know you can buy it at any health food store and I’ve also seen it at Harmon’s (for all you local Utah folk).

I bought the Dark Chocolate Dreams peanut butter at Sunflower as well.  It has no hydrogenated oils or high fructose corn syrup.  It’s still high in calories (like all peanut butter), but it is so so so yummy.  I’ve loved it as a healthy “treat.”  I’m just hoping my kids don’t discover it!  So far, I’ve been pretty stealthy in hiding it.  Hee hee hee.  😉

Oh, and as you can tell, I’m a little bit addicted to Chia Seed lately.  I really really love them and have just been adding them to everything.  So awesome.

I’ve of course, been enjoying my protein shakes lately too.  I usually try to have one a day.  I made a yummy chocolate one yesterday and today.

Just 1 C. Unsweetened Almond Milk, 1 scoop chocolate protein powder, 1 T. Cocoa, 1 T. Ground Flax seed, a little almond extract (love it!), spinach and ice.  It’s really really good.  In fact it’s so good that my baby commandeered it and would hardly let me take a picture of it!

 

For dinner last night, we had BBQ chicken, brown rice and stir fry veggies.  One of my favs!

 

I just marinated the chicken in BBQ sauce and cooked it up in a skillet on the stove.  For the veggies, I just pulled out all the fresh and frozen veggies I had and stir-fried them up with a little lite soy sauce and seasoned salt.  So easy, so yummy, and so healthy!  What’s not to love!?

Well that’s the latest!! xoxo

I Am An Old Lady!

Well, first off I gotta say I feel very OLD this week!  I’ve been going back to the gym a little bit and I’ve loved it!  It’s felt so good mentally to be there, but my body is dying.  I feel like an old lady!

I went to the gym on Monday and I felt very “wuss-like.”  I worked hard, but I had to hold back a little bit.  I think I was still recovering from my mega gargantuan cold.

So, on Tuesday I was changing the sheets on my son’s bed and I totally tweaked my back!!  I could barely walk the rest of the day and it started giving me headaches and things.  I self-diagnosed it as a pinched nerve.  Hello???!  Is my body falling apart???  I think so.

Thankfully, it was quite a bit better yesterday and then it was pretty much back to normal today.  So, I decided to go to the gym again tonight.  I felt better than I did on Monday, but my muscles were very rusty.  In fact, my quads are freaking out right now.  I’m a little concerned about being able to walk tomorrow.  Seriously.

Ya know, with the way my body has been acting, you’d think I hadn’t exercised in like 3 years!!  I only took off about a week and a half at the gym!  I’m so shocked at how weak my body has felt!  Psycho.  I’m hoping to return to normal soon.

Sooooooooo, after all of that…..I feel officially old.  My birthday is next week too.  Yay, but sad.  I would just like to stay 35 forever.  That would be nice.

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Anyway, on to other things….

I started off today with a great breakfast.  I’ve said before that I kind of go in spurts with my breakfasts.  I find something I like and then just have the same thing for breakfast day after day until I get sick of it.  Well, this is my current fav…

 

Oatmeal with a side of egg whites!  Yum!

I mix 1/2 C. Oatmeal with 1/2 chopped apple, cover it with water and nuke it in the microwave for 2-2 1/2 minutes.  When it comes out, I mix in 1 T. flaxseed and 1/2 scoop protein powder.  It’s very yummy and very filling.  I serve it with 3 scrambled egg whites topped with a little low sugar ketchup.  This breakfast takes me about 5 minutes to make and it’s very satisfying.  Yay.

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After breakfast, I went shopping with my two littlest kids.  I ran over to the Nike outlet and bought a couple pair of shorts that I LOVE!!!  Yay!  They are the Nike Phantom shorts and they are so awesome.  My sister had some that I borrowed a while back and I’ve wanted to buy some ever since.  I was so happy when I walked in the store and saw them for 40% off the already sale price!!  Yahoo!  They retail for $35.00 and I got them for $11.99.  Score.

I think they are the perfect length and they come with built in biker shorts underneath!  Perfect for the gym.  Love them.

Here I am getting ready to head to the gym tonight with my new little shorts.  I’m lifting the side up so you can see the bikers underneath.  Kev thought it was weird that the shorts and the bikers were two different colors of pink.  I thought it was cute.  🙂  I bought some turquoise ones with yellow bikers underneath as well.

 

Oh, and in case you want to buy some, I checked online and the best deal I could find was $14.99 from 6pm.com.  They have a ton of cute colors.  Here’s the link if you’re interested.

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On the way to the gym, I had a very yummy protein shake!

It really tasted just like a chocolate shake.  It was 1 C. Almond Milk, 1 Scoop Chocolate Protein Powder, 1 T. Cocoa, 1 T. flaxseed, a little bit of almond extract and vanilla extract and ice!  Yum!

Anyway, that’s the latest.  I hope I get over my little “old lady” spell soon!

10 Small, yet Significant Things you can do to Improve your Health!

Losing weight is tough.

Maintaining a healthy diet requires hard work every single day!!

Exercising regularly takes a ton of time, effort, discipline and motivation!

Dang.

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It is easy to get discouraged and overwhelmed when it comes to improving our health.

But, just because it’s hard doesn’t mean we should avoid it.

There are a ton of small, yet very significant things we can do EVERY single day.

You may already be doing a lot of these things, but here’s a list I came up with:

1. Drink buckets and buckets of water!  It is so good for your body and such a simple thing to do.  If you don’t like water, try to drink a little more every day.  Eventually your body will crave it.  I promise…really.
2. Eat more fruits and veggies!  Try to eat at least 5 servings every day.  The more, the better.  Chop and prepare things ahead of time so you will be more likely to eat them!
3. Healthify your food choices!  When eating/purchasing food, choose the healthiest option available.  Here are some examples:  Drink lite milk (skim, rice, soy, almond, etc.)  Only use lite or fat free sour cream/cottage cheese/mayo, etc.  Eat only healthy breads (100% whole wheat, spelt, Ezekiel, etc.)  Use natural peanut butter. Purchase low sugar varieties of jams, syrups, yogurts, etc.
4. Control your portions!  When you eat a meal, portion out your food and then don’t go back for more!  Even if you still feel hungry….just wait.  It takes a while (usually about 20 minutes) before your stomach communicates to your brain that you are full.
5. Reduce your salt intake.  Salt causes us to retain water and hang onto extra weight.  It can also cause high blood pressure and wreak havoc on your heart and body.  When purchasing food, look for low sodium options.  Also, try not to use a salt shaker on your food at all.  Your body will learn to adjust to the taste of less salt and it will thank you for it!
6. Get 7-9 hours of sleep every night.  This one is tough and I’m definitely not a good example of it!  However, our bodies need sleep to repair, renew and refresh our bodies.  When we are sleep deprived, we aren’t as productive, we don’t feel like exercising and we tend to eat more convenient and comforting (i.e. bad) foods.
7. Pack food/snacks with you.  When hunger strikes, having a healthy snack on hand will insure that you always have something good to eat!  Pack things like nuts, string cheese, protein bars, fruit, veggies, etc.  You can bring a little insulated lunchbox or cooler with you to keep things cold too.
8. Exercise!  This is a no-brainer, but it is so vital to our physical and mental health!  Even if you just workout for a half hour a few times a week, you will benefit a ton from it!  If you are short on time, exercise 15 minutes in the morning and 15 in the evening.  Take a walk on your lunch break or after dinner.  Lift weights and do pushups, squats and lunges while watching TV.  Whatever works….just make it happen.
9. Keep a food journal.  This is a hard one for me to do consistently, but studies have shown it is very effective in helping people to lose weight.  Keep a small notebook with you or record your food intake online.  There are a number of websites out there that let you track your food intake and provide information about calories, fat, fiber, protein and sugar content as well.  I used the Daily Plate on Livestrong.com for a while and it was very helpful and informative.
10. Avoid processed and refined food as much a possible!  Always read labels and purchase food items with the shortest ingredients list.  Don’t buy food containing High Fructose Corn Syrup, hydrogenated oils, MSG, trans fats or sodium nitrates/nitrites.  You don’t need to be gestapo about it, but just try to consume the most “real” and minimally processed foods as possible.

Well, there is my little list.

There are so many other things we can do as well!

As we commit to small, healthy changes in our lives, they will eventually become habits!

Yay!

We can all become natural little health nuts!

Fun!  😉