Short and a Little Sweet

Today was a typical running around Mom day. Volunteered at my 8 year old's school to do Passport club. I was only planning on staying for about 30 minutes so I could make it to my spinning class. 90 minutes later I was walking out the door, feeling like I was running behind.

Workout:

20 minutes on the treadmill at an incline from 5% to 12%. I need to get more treadmill time in. I am doing a race with a friend in June and need to actually start training for it!

Back machines: seated cable row, lat pulldown

Wow. I think that is all I did. That might be the most pathetic workout ever. I don't know if I can even call it a workout! Ha! I'm kidding a little. Some days aren't going to be all that you want them to be.

I was there. I went to the gym, even if I didn't really feel like being there. I showed up. Sometimes that is enough.

Sugar is My Gateway Drug

In my eternal quest for the perfect diet for me, I have made yet another change. I don't think there is necessarily a "perfect diet", but I do always strive to do better. And by diet I mean, the way I eat, not some restricted low carb, low fat, low food crazy thing. I use the word in the meaning of my daily food intake. Got it? :)

So, as of January first, 2011 (I still have a hard time writing 2011, anyone else?) I officially cut sugar out of my diet. Best thing I have ever done for me. I could easily become addicted to sugar and have in the past. Sugar is my gateway drug. When I have it I want more and I'll eat it until it makes me sick. For some reason "moderation" does not work for sugar and me. It makes me feel ill after I eat it and then I eat more crappy stuff, so I don't get my workouts in and basically sit around like a big slug. Ok, not really, I have two little kids that don't let me sit around, but you get the general idea. It makes me feel like crap, so why eat it?

What I have cut out is processed sugary treats, like cake, cookies, candy, doughnuts, ice cream. Things like that. I still eat fruit and love it. I don't eat a lot of processed foods so that's not a huge issue for me. After I go about a week without sugar it is a non-issue. I don't crave it or even think about it. I've never been all that big of a chocolate eater, so I don't really miss that. I used to love ice cream, but now I make myself a chocolate protein ice cream in the summer that I LOVE and tastes better to me than the sugar loaded one that gives me a sugar hangover in the morning. People are always surprised that I have cut this stuff out of my life, like I am depriving myself, but it doesn't feel that way to me. If it makes me feel ill, then isn't cutting it out then taking care of myself? Yes. That is how I look at it.

I just had a birthday and it wasn't a big deal that I didn't have a birthday cake. We took the kids to New Seasons for a treat so they could feel like they were celebrating with me in the traditional way. They still get to have cake for their own birthday, don't worry. :) I did have dark chocolate almond butter. I don't count that because it's dark chocolate, not milk chocolate, and the sugar content is fairly low. This is my thing and I make up my own rules. ;)

I've been doing the no sugar thing off and on for about 18 months now. I would go about a month then feel like I needed a treat, and have a treat for a couple days then go back off. This has worked great for me. 2011 has been my longest stretch, 46 days (if I don't count the chocolate almond butter). Feels good and I will probably keep it going for awhile.

When you make changes to your diet or lifestyle, you really don't need to do everything at once. That could be overwhelming. Make small changes such as:

1. Cut out fast food
2. Drink more water
3. Cut out sugar
4. Eat more veggies, best to be specific about this, as "eat more veggies" is so vague. How about "Eat 5 servings of veggies a day"
5. Eat more fiber
6 Workout 3 times a week
7. Walk 30 minutes everyday
8. Eat a healthy breakfast
9. Stop drinking soda
10. Walk to work

Can you imagine if you tried to do all of these things at once? I'd be looneytunes. One thing at a time is totally doable, not overwhelming at all. When you feel comfortable with that one thing, when it has become a part of your life that you don't even give a second thought to anymore, then it is time to add another thing. This has been my thought this week. Time to add something new. My goals are probably different than yours. I'll let you know tomorrow what I changed, as of Monday, and how it's been going.

So, what are you going to change?

Good Eats

My home workouts have not been good the last few days! Non-existant actually. So, if they don't exist, they can't really be bad right? Ugh!

I worked out hard at the gym last week then had a few busy days at home where I didn't make the effort to fit in a workout. Now it's Monday and I did something to my neck and I'm not sure I should try to workout. I don't want to hurt it worse. Don't get me wrong, I am not a wimp, but I have issues with my spine and when it's out of alignment I need to either put it back in place myself or see my physical therapist. I usually can't do much with my neck myself. I need to come up with a workout that I can do at home that will still challenge me but won't tax my neck at all. So I probably won't want to lift weights, or do any crazy jumping around. Here's what I've got so far:


5 one minute planks
100 bridges
lunges: stationary lunges and walking lunges

Food today has been GOOD! Delicious and healthy:

1. Green monster smoothie for breakfast. Made mine with 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk, 1 scoop Dymatize chocolate whey, 2 huge handfuls of spinach, a banana. All whipped up in the Vitamix.

2. Before running off to take the girls swimming I knew I needed something quick but protein loaded to keep me full so I mixed up some "eggs and oats" in the microwave. This recipe is from my friend Kim who does fitness shows and looks amazing.
1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup egg whites
1 packet of Truvia
Cook in the microwave for about 2 minutes so whites are fully cooked. I add a little sugar free maple syrup after cooking.

3. Had about 1/3 of a red pepper with artichoke hummus while I made the girls lunch. Was going to have the whole pepper but my 4 year old ate most of it.

4. Stuffed salmon. Found these in the freezer. Bought at Costco. These are delicious. They are stuffed with more seafood/brown rice mixture. I mostly eat the salmon with a little of the stuffing part. I probably won't buy these again as they are farmed salmon, not wild.

Not sure what meal number 5 will be. After the salmon I won't be hungry for awhile but will want to get more protein in for the day.

Workout Wherever You Can

My original intention in creating this blog was to share the workouts that I end up doing at home most days. Lately, I've been able to make it to the gym quite a bit. So, let's just workout wherever and whenever we can get it in!

I've been doing spinning classes a lot lately, which I love. One hour on the bike, riding hard, hills, pushing myself, gobs of sweat, love everything about it. I made it twice this week. My first love though, is lifting weights. I just love that strong feeling I get from lifting heavy and hard. The "heavy" part is relative, as we are all different shapes and sizes. I like to challenge myself and push myself, enough so that I get a good sweat on when I'm lifting.

My Saturday workout was:

20 minutes on the treadmill. Half of that was at a 15% incline. Love doing that. I really feel it in my glutes and I feel like I'm pushing myself. My speed at that incline is anywhere from 2.5 mph to 2.9 mph. I'm working up to faster.

After that, I worked legs, did some chest and a bit of abs:

Hanging leg raises 3 sets of 8 - 10
Hammer Strength Incline Press, 3 sets of 10 - 12
bench press 3 sets of 12 - 15
Cable kickbacks, side kicks for outer thigh, and inner thigh. Did about three sets of these on each side, with extra reps on my left leg as it is less strong than my right.

I had worked legs on Thursday, hence the short leg workout. I wanted to try my new ankle torture device I bought to do these:



Love this exercise! I haven't done it in awhile because my gym doesn't have the ankle wraps so I had to buy my own, lame yes? Other than that I am pretty happy with my gym. Brooke likes the daycare, which makes my life easier, and is the reason I've been able to go so much lately.

At home, I ended up doing 5 one minute planks, and foam rolling later in the day. I have back issues and foam rolling has helped a lot. I had planned to do pushups at home as well, but sometimes that sweet life gets in the way! Have to go with the flow people.

How was your workout today?

Nutrition - Carbs

Oh carbohydrates, how I love thee...

Carbohydrates are the building blocks of any diet, good or bad. They are the source of most of your energy. Many have tried a low carb diet and it is considered an easy way to lose weight. A low carb plan is a hard plan to stick to, and you will typically gain any weight back once you start eating carbs again, and maybe even gain more than you lost in the first place. Try to eat a moderate amount of healthy carbohydrates made up of vegetables, fruits and whole grains. What you're trying to do is make healthy eating a normal part of your lifestyle, not try another diet.

Fiber is a part of every plant and is a very important part of your diet. Fiber refers to the part of the plant that can't be digested and therefore helps food move at a faster pace through your intestines. You don't want a bunch of food sitting around in your intestines! Adults need about 20 to 30 grams of fiber every day. Most people do not get that much.

I try to get my fiber from whole food sources like fruits and vegetables. I also like lentils, beans, brown rice, nuts, and oatmeal. I am trying to be more adventurous in the cooking and eating department this year, it's a goal and I'll let you know how it goes. I really like Fiber One and Fiber One Caramel Delight, but try not to eat it too often as it's not "real food". It is "really good" though. I haven't tried these Honey Clusters but may have to soon. I stocked up on the caramel when it was about a dollar a box at Winco, usually they're over 4 dollars - CRAZY! So when they're all gone, maybe I'll venture to the Honey Clusters, or maybe I will have learned how to make some kind of amazing quinoa salad by then, we'll see.

Nutrition - FAT FAT FAT!

With all of the millions of diet books out there you would think that eating right has got to be the most complicated thing in the world to do, yes? Not so much. Eat real food, in small quantities. That's it, pretty simple stuff.

Today we are going to talk a bit about FAT. Not your fat or mine, but the fat found in food.

People tend to be fat phobic, but you shouldn't be. The body needs fat to survive. Fat is a part of every cell membrane in the body, it helps transport nutrients across the cell membrane. Basically, we couldn't survive without it.

Fats are generally saturated or unsaturated, based on the amount of fatty acids present. Saturated fats are typically found in animal products and processed foods.

Unsaturated fats are what you want to include in your nutrition plan:

• avocado
• salmon or other oily fish
• nuts
• olive oil, sunflower oil

If you're counting calories, fat counts for 9 calories per gram, while carbs and protein count for 4 calories per gram. So, yes, fat calories do add up quicker, but in moderation will help your body work like the well running machine that it wants to be.

As a general rule, I would suggest avoiding most, if not all, diet books. A diet is a temporary bandaid. To get positive, longterm results you need to change your lifestyle. Not all today, not even tomorrow, but you must make changes if you expect to see something different. There are several healthy eating books out there that I like, most of the Clean Eating books by Tosca Reno are great. Her recipes are a bit on the fancy side for me, but her eating ideas are spot on. I bought the Recharged book a few months ago and really like it. Am still working my way through Your Best Body Now by the same author, and am thinking it might not be necessary to get both.

Do Something, Anything!

A lot of people use the excuse that they don't have enough time to workout, can't fit it in, blah blah blah! Seriously people?

If you watch any tv at all then you have time to workout. Get your butt off of the couch and get moving!

Even if you haven't any equipment at home, ie. free weights, you can still get a fairly decent workout. One of my favorite things to do when I can't make it to the gym is a workout I call 100s. If you are new to working out, start with 20s.

My Super Amazing TV Workout (the super amazing part is that you are off the couch!)

Warm up for about 5 minutes by walking in place, kickboxing, simple wide legged squats.

1. 100 pushups. These can be done on your knees in sets of 10-15 with a 30 second rest in between sets.

2. 100 squats. A wide legged ballet squat will work the inner and outer thighs, while a typical shoulder width squat will focus on quads and glutes. Try both.

3. 100 lunges. Stationary lunges are great for beginners.

4. 5 one minute planks. Love planks, better for your neck and spine than crunches. Hold form for as long as possible, work up to 1 minute.

That should get you through an episode of Survivor!

Youtube is a great resource for exercise video descriptions and ideas.

What workout did you do today?