Monday, December 27, 2010

Back In Action


Ahem, so, well, it's been awhile since I've posted. :)

New Year's Resolution #1:
Post on Blog more frequently.

I have 2 big announcements!

First, I got second place in the Women under 40 Category in the last TT Contest (Contest #9). Very excited about that! The 10th TT Contest has already begun - you can read the rules HERE. Start your year on the right foot! :)

Second big announcement: I have signed up to run a full marathon. Not EXACTLY sure what I was thinking! But I do plan to post more about training, nutrition, etc. I think it will help keep me in line! :)

My "official" training will start near the end of January, so I might not post too much before then, but I'm going to try!


Happy New Year!


Please see my Disclaimer/Disclosure Statement.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

TT Contest Week 4 - Update and Really Exciting News

My Goodness, has it really been nearly 4 weeks since I posted?

[Hangs head in shame.]

Where to begin?

Well....on Sunday I will have completed the first 4 weeks of the TT Contest. I'm just finishing up TT for Meatheads V and loving it! Next week I will begin TT for Jacked and Lean Meatheads. I'm a little scared - one of the guys on the TT Forums has been saying it's a tough workout!

Speaking of the TT Forums, I've been really good about posting my workouts and nutrition in my contest thread, something that I didn't do in the last contest. I'd forgotten how much fun it can be to interact with all of the other contest participants.

Nutrition has been pretty solid. Only a few little glitches here and there. One of my goals for this contest is to eat vegetarian at least 2 full days per week. So far that has been going well. I got tons of yummy-looking recipes courtesy of the 21-Day Vegan Kickstart. I've made some of those and am looking forward to trying a lot more! Tonight for dinner I made a pizza using a crust recipe from Vegetarian Times, homemade meatless sausage, and Daiya vegan cheese. It was, in a word, AWESOME!

In minor news, I got a new haircut. It looks like a cross between Joan Jett and Jon Bon Jovi, lol.

And finally, in the Really Exciting News department, it's time once again for Tattoo Watch!! I got a laser treatment earlier today and I am hoping it works well. The place where I used to go doesn't do tattoo removal any longer so I had to find a new doctor and a new clinic. The laser they used today was a little different so I am excited to see the results! Hopefully I'll have weekly pictures as I have done in the past.

Have a great day!


Please see my Disclaimer/Disclosure Statement.

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Believe In Yourself - Be Your Own Audience

I will be one of the first people to champion social support. I have seen the benefits for myself and for many others (in TT Contests, for example). But even with social support, you first need to believe in yourself. I’ll demonstrate with 2 stories about my father (I’ll bet he doesn’t realize how philosophical he is!)

You have to want it.

My father smokes. Not as much as he used to, but he still smokes. Years ago, I asked him, “If you know smoking is bad for you, why don’t you quit?” His answer? “I don’t want to.” He knew smoking was bad for him, but he still smoked.

It’s exactly the same if you want to transform your body. “Why don’t you quit eating doughnuts/French fries/insert-vice-food-here when you know it’s bad for you?” Or, a more difficult question, “Why don’t you exercise when you know it’s good for you?” Is your answer “I don’t want to”? Probably not. It’s probably “I don’t have time” or “I don’t know what to do.” Stop making excuses. If you want it, go for it!

This is a perfect time to start the next TT Contest. Workouts are short, intense and laid out for you. Read the Rules here ==> TT Contest Rules

Be your own audience.

When I was in college, I interviewed my father for a paper I wrote while in a class about gender. He gave me his opinion on the differences in working with men vs. women. He said that you could tell a man to do something, and he would go and do it. If you tell a woman to do something, it will take longer because she’ll need to ask “How’s this” and then she’ll go check in with someone else “How am I doing?” The needing of constant reassurance was something my father saw as distracting and not a direct way to accomplish the task.

I think this can apply to lots of situations. I find that women in general do seek more approval, and their self-esteem relies on this approval. First, you need to be your own audience – make your own applause. If you don’t have the support you need externally, you need to be your own cheerleader. Don’t wait for external approval to begin your journey, start right now!

So join me in the next Turbulence Training Contest. Be your own advocate and start your journey! My start date is Monday, September 6th. When's yours? :)

(Note that you don’t have to actually buy anything to join the contest.)

Have a great week!!


Please see my Disclaimer/Disclosure Statement.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Lots of Randomness

It always seems like there is so much going on around here, and then when I sit down to type I can't remember anything, lol.

But one of the most important things is that I *might* have talked my husband into joining me in the next TT Contest. ;)

The half marathon went really well! It was a warm, humid morning. By 6:00am, it was 70 degrees. Not the most ideal running weather, but at least it was overcast so the sun was not beating down on us. I felt really good while I was running. I drank a ton of water in the days before the race, and had lots of carbs. :) My first mile was my fastest - about 10:45 - and my overall pace was about 11:15/mile. Total time was just under 2 hours and 28 minutes. So...not blazing fast, but I am proud to have finished! The first female finished about an hour ahead of me. She was racing. I was running, but she was racing. I'll do better next time! ;)

Last year I joined the 21-Day Vegan Kickstart. I didn't really take advantage of it last year, so I signed up again this year. If you are interested, you can sign up here ==> 21-Day Vegan Kickstart Starting September 6, you receive a daily email with tips and a vegan meal plan. I don't typically eat vegan, but I like to look at the meal plans for ideas. (The plans are posted for the week so you can shop and prepare ahead of time.) I have been trying to eat vegetarian a day or two per week.

This weekend we are finally going to start repainting the kitchen. We've had the paint for a while, lol. Speaking of painting, I think I remember typing here that my daughter picked out a color for her room that looked like a strawberry milkshake. Well, I decided I couldn't live with it anymore and we repainted her room a nice neutral color. :)

Have a great week!!

Thursday, August 26, 2010

TT Contest Winners!

Congratulations to all the winners!! You can check them out here:

TT Contest Winners


And the next contest starts September 5th. (There is also a Bonus 6 Week Mini Contest!) You can read the rules here:

TT Contest Rules


I am pretty sure I am going to join. I plan to start with TT for Meatheads V. Whoo-hoo! I usually prefer the "meathead" style workouts, and this one has 2 days with optional interval training. Come on and join me in the next contest! :)



Please see my Disclaimer/Disclosure Statement.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

TT Contest Voting

The TT Finalists have been announced and I absolutely cannot believe I made it to the finals ! If you would like to vote, here is the link:

TT Contest Voting

There are 4 categories to vote for:

1) Women Under 40
2) Women Over 40
3) Men Under 40
4) Men Over 40

(I'm number 7 in the Under 40 category) ;)

Be sure to check them all out! There were a lot of amazing transformations! The voting ends Wednesday at Midnight (ET) so hurry and vote, vote, vote!





Please see my Disclaimer/Disclosure Statement.

Sunday, August 22, 2010

TT Contest Final Results: Continuing To Learn

Well, this is a little late, but better late than never, right? :)

There are two main reasons I decided to join this TT Contest:

1) Over the past winter and early spring, I started trying new (non-TT) programs. In the past, I would have put them off and just continued using TT, but instead I decided to give them a try. While they were OK, they weren't nearly as fun, and my results weren't as great as when I have used TT. I knew going back to TT workouts was the right choice.

2) I knew that joining a TT contest would help me to focus my training as I prepared to run my first half marathon. And the training part did go off without a hitch (I ran my first half marathon in just under 2 hours and 28 minutes) but the nutrition aspect did not fare as well as I had hoped.

I decided from the beginning that I was not going to count calories. In the past, this has made me terribly neurotic. I wanted to achieve a more "natural" diet; not one that has been over-calculated. I concentrated on following Craig's Simple Nutrition for Fat Loss, but did not have quite the level of compliance I should have. However, I know I am making a difference in how my family eats. My kids are always asking whether or not a food is healthy, or if it is a treat. I learned that my actions speak to my kids, and they watch what I eat, and they, in turn, make decisions about foods. (Sometimes they decide they just don't like spinach.)

During these 12 weeks, I lost 10.2 pounds and 2.6% bodyfat. I went on vacation for a week and didn't gain any weight! Using my TT workout on vacation was fantastic - I even brought along my weights even though my husband gave me an odd look when he had to load them into the trunk of the car. I got to workout outside at sunrise, overlooking a beautiful lake. I learned that a week of no stress is good for the soul.

My results during these 12 weeks were not exactly what I had hoped, but don't count me out for future contests - I'm still working on fitness as a lifestyle and not a 12-week event. I love how the contests keep me motivated, and each one brings me closer to my goals. It may seem counter-intuitive to continue 12-week contests when I am working on long-range goals, but in every contest I learn something new, and I look forward to learning each time.

Workouts used:
TT Hotzone for Fat Loss
TT AAA for Abs
TT for Abs (original)

I have a "Back" picture as well, but didn't post it because I didn't realize that I must have sat in something. My rear end has a mysterious spot on it in my After picture. LOL

The half marathon actually went really well. It was warm and humid that day, but at least it was overcast. I'll have to post more another time!

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

TT Contest Week 10: Enjoying Summer

Wow, look at all the cobwebs around here. I've been a little neglectful. :) We've just been enjoying the summer, being outside, taking the kids on vacation, etc.

Workouts have been going well. I've decided to use the original TT for Abs for my last 4 weeks. (I only have 2 weeks left!) I'm not expecting a super dramatic transformation. I didn't gain any weight while on vacation, but I didn't lose any weight either. ;) Though I did complete all my workouts, so that probably helped. It was actually really cool. I was able to workout outside every day, just after sunrise. We were staying in a cabin that overlooked a lake and it was just beautiful to workout in that area. I even brought up my PowerBlocks (even though my husband gave me a weird look when he had to load them into the trunk) so I was able to complete my TT workouts.

One recent major achievement was my first 13 mile run. I actually had my husband follow me on a bike since it was my first time running that far. He would go ahead, and then drop behind, and then take a break, haha. I think he was more sore the next day than I was! My time was 2:22:27 (average pace: 10:58 per mile). I was very happy with that because a) I finished it without stopping; and b) I thought it was a good pace for me.

Finally, here are the promised patio pictures!

Here's the Before....

Looking one way:


And then the other way:


And here's the After (before the grass grew):


And another After (after the grass grew - the patio really isn't slanted, just took the picture at a funny angle):


Have a great week!

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

TT Contest Week 6: Something In The Water?

Half way done already! This week's workouts went well, but nutrition was sub-par. I was really busy with work and was off-site so I couldn't bring my lunch the way I normally do. I did bring some almonds for a snack, but there were a few things I just couldn't control. Workouts looked like this:

Sunday - 3.37 miles (34:20)
Monday - TT AAA, Workout A
Tuesday - Pace workout 6x400, totals: 4.3 miles (50:00)
Wednesday - TT AAA, Workout B
Thursday - 3 mile easy run (30:14)Friday - TT AAA, Workout C
Saturday - warm up, 5K "pseudo race" (29:25), cool down, totals: 4.29 miles (44:59)

RABBITS, SQUIRRELS AND FISH - OH MY!
As I was out running on Saturday, I noticed how many rabbits were in the neighborhood. They were all over! Usually it's the squirrels I see all over, but this spring it's been bunny rabbits. On the subject of squirrels, however, I have been seeing a number of blonde squirrels. Usually they are gray around here, but I've seen 3 or 4 blondies - and in different places in the neighborhood. So either there is something in the water, or somebody is spreading around the gene pool, if you know what I mean (wink, wink).

And speaking of something in the water, on last Wednesday my husband took the kids to the pet store for a new fish to replace Lily who passed away last week. Before they even went to the pet store, my son decided the fish should be named "Lily" and my daughter wanted to name it "Spots". So they went to the pet store and a picked out a silvery fish with one orange spot on it's head. And so "Lily Spots" was brought home and placed in the fish tank with Dorothy. On Saturday when I went to feed them, they were both dead. I was absolutely devastated. Even more than the kids, I think. Dorothy was a very hearty goldfish. Yes, she was 3 years old, but she was perfectly healthy! I have 2 theories:

1. Lily Spots brought home something from the pet store
2. We didn't have the air conditioning on, so maybe it got too hot and there wasn't enough oxygen in the water?

It's just very odd that they both died at the same time. I feel horrible about it!!

Finally, another water-related item. We got out the slip-n-slide this weekend and my husband had such fine form, I had to share a picture. Enjoy!

Saturday, June 12, 2010

TT Contest Weeks 4 and 5: A Moment of Silence

This past week we laid to rest our pet, Lily. She was 3 years old and really had become part of the family. My husband gave the ceremony with a tear in his eye, and as he laid her in her final resting place, my son asked, "Does she teleport to fish heaven?" After which my daughter asked, "Now she's swimming in pee-pee?"

You see, Lily is our pet goldfish. :)

She was named "Lily" because my son had trouble saying the "L" sound. Our other fish is named Dorothy. We got them both at a county fair 3 years ago. That's a really long time for a "fair fish" to live! I think we will need to buy another fish now. Dorothy is looking a little lonely.

The past 2 weeks have really gone fast. I began my half marathon training and Week 4 looked like this:

Monday: TT Hotzone Workout A, 2.3 mile easy run
Tuesday: OFF
Wednesday: TT Hotzone Workout B, short 2 mile pace workout
Thursday: 3 mile easy run
Friday: TT Hotzone Workout, 20 minute "High Intensity" run
Saturday: 5 mile long run
Sunday: 3 mile easy run

And that was the end of the TT Hotzone Fat Loss workout. During Week 5 I began TT AAA Abs workout (AAA stands for Awesome, Amazing, Axcellent) and I really like it so far. I chose it because there aren't any of the more formal intervals and so I thought it would be easier to fit in pace and stride workouts. Instead of treadmill/bike intervals there are a mix of bodyweight intervals, extra supersets and circuit training. And even though it's an ab workout, there are no crunches! So Week 5 looked like this:

Monday: TT AAA Workout A
Tuesday: 30 minute tempo run, total time - 45:00, 4.15 miles
Wednesday: TT AAA Workout B
Thursday: 3 mile stride workout
Friday: TT AAA Workout C
Saturday (today): 6 mile long run
Sunday (tomorrow): 3.5 mile run


Have a great week!



Please see my Disclaimer/Disclosure Statement.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

TT Contest Week 3: It's Tough Being An Ant

Week 3 ended for me on last Sunday. I'm a little late with this post; time seems to be moving in fast forward!

Week 3 went pretty well overall. Nutrition was decent, and workouts went well. I got a little off track over Memorial Day Weekend, but overall things went well. So far, I am down about 3 lbs and 1% bodyfat. I have made a few changes in the past couple weeks. First, I started eating lunch later. Then I started moving back my afternoon snack. Finally, we started eating dinner later. We used to eat dinner around 5-5:30; now it's closer to 7:00pm. This has really helped me cut down on my evening snacking.

This past Monday we grilled on our new (nearly finished!) patio. The grill actually came with the house but we never used it because it was filthy dirty. When we built the patio, we decided to clean up the grill and put it to use. I'm happy to report that the maiden voyage was a complete success! [Hopefully I'll have patio pictures soon - just waiting for the new grass to grow! :) ]

As we were finishing lunch, we noticed an ant making off with a crumb of hamburger bun that was at least the same size as he was. I was quite impressed with his tenacity. He headed off the patio due south and dragged this crumb off the patio, through the dirt, and finally all the way across the lawn to the other side of the yard. It took him 30 minutes of pretty hard work. (Yes, I watched the entire time.) At one point another ant came along and I thought I may have to help the ant fend off the intruder, but the other ant went away. I actually began to cheer for the ant to make it to his destination. And then when he got there, I promptly sprinkled Ortho Home Defense Max all over the ginormous anthill in the yard. Some days it's tough being an ant.

Have a great week!

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

TT Contest Week 2: Burning Down The House

Week 2 is complete! Once again I skipped my Monday workout because I was so sore from all the work on the patio over the weekend! :) I did the workout on Tuesday instead. Overall, my nutrition has been kind of a mess this week. Some days good, some days...not as good. But my weight did go down just a bit. I think it must be all the extra work I've been doing on the weekends. lol

I've been using the TT Hot Zone Fat Loss Workout. It's one that I've never used before. One of the reasons I chose it is because on Fridays you do a 20 minute "high intensity" cardio instead of the intervals that you do on Monday and Wednesday. I thought this would help me gear up for all the running I will be doing this summer. I officially kick off my half marathon training on May 31.

The last day to enter the Turbulence Training Transformation contest and still have the full 12 weeks is May 31. Come and join me this summer in the contest! (To my sister-in-law, if you're reading this, This Means You! lol) You can read the all the rules here ==> TT Contest Rules

On Saturday night I made a pizza using the pizza crust recipe from a recent issue of Cooking Light magazine (except I used whole wheat flour). The crust was a lot of work, but on the other hand, not a lot of work. Let me explain. ;)

First, the crust had to be made 24 hours in advance so it could sit in the fridge. However, the only ingredients in the crust were flour, water, yeast and oil so it was easy to throw together.

Second, the recipe made the pizza more of a "Neapolitan" style - cooked at a high temperature (550 degrees F) on a pizza stone. My pizza stone hasn't seen the light of day in a while so it probably should have been cleaned a little better, but I popped it in the oven anyway. Soon thereafter, smoke started pouring out of my oven! With 5 minutes left of a 30 minute preheat, I made a last minute decision to ditch the pizza stone. By now, the smoke was getting pretty thick. So instead, I popped in my perforated pizza pan. Well, that started smoking too! lol

I put the pizza on the perforated pan, threw it in the oven, and lowered the temperature to 440 degrees F. Finally, the smoking stopped! I had to open all the windows and turn on fans to get all the smoke out of the house.

So after all that work, how did the pizza taste? My kids deemed it "super-duper-licious" and we ate the whole thing. I'll make this crust again for sure, but next time I'm going to follow the recipe for Chicago deep dish. Same crust recipe, but you cook it in a baking pan at a lower temperature. :)

Have a great week!




Please see my Disclaimer/Disclosure Statement.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

TT Contest Week 1: Insomnia

TT Contest Week 1 is in the books and for some reason this week I have had trouble sleeping. This is totally unlike me. Usually I am out like a light and I don't wake up at all. A few nights during this past week I was awake every hour. As a consequence, I've been feeling exhausted all week.

Part of the reason may be that last weekend we started building a brick paver patio. It's a lot of work! Lots of heavy lifting. Both last Monday and yesterday I did not workout because my back was really sore. Instead, I did my Monday workout on Tuesday. (That's my plan for today as well. My back still feels tweaky, so I am going to try to take it easy.) Anyway, the patio still isn't finished. We didn't finish it the first weekend - let's just say someone (who shall remain nameless) miscalculated the number of bricks we needed. ;) Then it rained for much of the week so we couldn't work on it. Then this past weekend, we had all the bricks in place and realized it wasn't really level. (Bob Villa would not approve!) So it was back to the store for more paver base! We had to make 2 trips because the guy at the store feared our car would bottom out if we piled it all in. But we ran out of time again so the saga will continue this week. I'll post pictures when we are finally done!

Have a great day! :)

Monday, May 3, 2010

Love, Death And The Bike Anti-Theft

Wow, time flies, doesn't it? This weekend I finished up the Bikini Ready workout I had been using. My weight didn't change all that much, but my bodyfat dropped about 1% according to my Omron.

The workouts were starting to wear on me a little bit because they were big circuits and I always felt like I was hogging equipment at the gym. So I am taking this week off from workouts - except I am running a 5K on Thursday. LOL This particular race is the same race that was my very first 5K a year ago (and I ran it in 40:59). I haven't been training per se for a 5K, but I'm pretty sure I should be able to improve on that time! :)

....BIG ANNOUNCEMENT....

The 8th Turbulence Training Transformation Contest started this week...and I think I am going to join this one! (You can read the rules HERE.) My sister-in-law might join as well, so give it up for T.! [Hurray! :)] I'm going to use this contest to really focus on my training and nutrition as I prepare for the half marathon I am running late this summer. I plan to start Monday, May 10! :) I decided not to join the M&F Hers contest. I checked out the rules online, and just decided it wasn't for me.

...OTHER SILLY RANDOMNESS...

The past couple of weeks my back has been feeling tweaky. (That's a technical term, by the way; my chiropractor used it.) I made an appointment with said chiropractor and decided to ride my bike over after work. When I went to unlock my bike, I discovered that someone had locked up their bike next to mine, and had put their lock through a part of my back tire. It's a little hard to explain, but there's a straight piece that comes down from the "basket holder" and hooks into the pin that holds on the back tire. Luckily, 2 girls walked by and helped me remove my back tire so I could remove the idiot's bike lock. I was not amused.

A couple weeks ago I was on a Saturday run and I nearly witnessed death. Some poor squirrel was in the middle of the road and a truck was speeding toward him. I started yelling at the squirrel, but I don't think he could hear me. Or understand me. Or know why the heck I was yelling at him. I think the truck actually ran over his tail. Then the squirrel staggered over to the curb. He jumped up once and missed the curb, then jumped up again and made it. He limped over to his tree with kind of a dazed look. There was squirrel tail fluff blowing across the road, but I think the little guy made it.

Finally, on my Saturday runs, without fail, the song "Your Love" by the Outfield comes on. (You know the song - "I just wanna use your love, tonight") The first line of the song is "Josie's on a vacation far away" so we already know he's cheating on her, but I always thought it was with some underage girl. There's a line where he says "You know I like my girls a little bit older" which I always interpreted as him meaning "I usually like my girls older, but you'll do". After listening to the song so many times, however, I've decided that the woman he's talking to is actually "older". So now instead of being a pervert, he's chasing a cougar. Which makes me feel only slightly better. After all, he's still cheating on poor Josie.

Have a great week!!



Please see my Disclaimer/Disclosure Statement.

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Talking 'Bout Mo-Motivation

So, my diet of the past couple weeks has been pretty bad. I'll have a couple good days, and then I'll eat a big brownie. I'm not trying to follow any weird or complex plan, just trying to simply eat healthy foods. So I was considering entering the next Turbulence Training contest for motivation, which I think begins in a week or so. That was until....I opened the current issue of Muscle & Fitness Hers magazine and saw that they were having an 8-week transformation contest! I began weighing the pros and cons of this new contest:

Cons
1. Had been looking at joining next TT contest (more workout flexibility)
2. M&F Hers workout is 4 days/week (5 days/week during weeks 5-8)
3. Want to begin half marathon training at end of May
4. Contest ends in mid-July, which leaves a little over a month to complete half marathon training
5. Probably more contestants than the TT contest
6. Last day of contest is during my planned vacation, but....

Pros
1. ...I would look great on vacation! Great Motivation! :)
2. M&F Hers contest is only 8 weeks long
3. No essay ;)
4. Could potential work in my half marathon training as the workouts don't seem too long
5. Prize is a trip to California for a M&F Hers photo shoot

So I am quite torn at what to do. Any thoughts/advice would be appreciated! :) I have a couple weeks to make a final decision.

Have a great day!

Thursday, April 15, 2010

TT Contest Voting And Other Random Stuff

TT Contest Voting is up and ready - if you haven't voted yet, check it out here ==> Turbulence Training Contest Voting

Lots of great transformations!

In other news, if you can call it news (haha), I have a funny story. One of my new favorite workout songs is Lady Gaga's "Telephone". I have no idea why. It's about dancing in a club, and I have never been dancing in a club in my life. Wait, there was that one time - it was '80's night! (And I use the term "dancing" loosely. LOL) Anyway, I bought the CD and was listening to it in the car. I guess there's one too many "telephones" at the end of the song because all the sudden from the backseat my daughter asks, "Is this song over yet?" :)

One of my other current favorite songs is 10 Years' "Through the Iris". Why this band isn't huge I will never know. They are fantastic! In addition to the lyrics, I love the rhyming scheme - the way the song flows. One of my favorite lines is, "Please understand me, that now where you're standing, is closer than I'd hoped."

And in book reading news, I finished Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Good book! I recommend it if you are already familiar with the story. The language can be a little tough to read at times and you can get lost if you don't already know what's going on. There were a couple parts that were a little gory, but overall there wasn't nearly as much "zombie mayhem" as I expected.

Then I was shopping last weekend and saw Christopher Pike's Thirst 2: Phantom, Evil Thirst, Creatures of Forever. The first 2 parts were excellent. I liked them better than Thirst 1. But the last part got a little too supernatural at times. And I was devastated by the ending - I did NOT like it at all! I noticed there was a Thirst 3 coming out next fall so I am curious to see what it will be about. :)


Have a great day!


Disclosure: This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase the product, I will receive a small portion. I don't get paid for reviews, and I only review items that I actually own.

Monday, April 12, 2010

Bikini Workout - End of Week One

I have been sore all week. I love new workouts! :)

One particular exercise that made me really sore was in Thursday's workout. I had never done it before so that probably was part of the reason it made me so sore. Basically, you lay on a bench and then hold a stability ball between your feet. You raise your feet until your legs are perpendicular to your body and then you lower until your legs are about parallel with the floor. Not only were my abs really sore, but my legs were sore as well!

I forgot to weigh myself when I started this program on Monday, but I'm down a little over a pound since Wednesday. Of course, that could just be natural fluctuation, so I'm not reading too much into that.

On another note, there is a new Turbulence Training special that begins today. It's a brand new follow-along-at-home DVD set so you can actually "work out with" Craig Ballantyne. You get 12 TT for Abs workouts, plus 9 bonus workouts, and a Nutrition DVD. I used TT for Abs during my third TT contest and thought it worked great! You can check out the details here: TT for Abs DVD

The special price runs until midnight on Wednesday, April 14. I probably will not be buying the DVDs, mostly because I already own the TT for Abs program, and have completed it, so I don't feel that I need to watch the DVDs. But if you are someone that likes to "follow along" to DVDs, you may want to check them out and see if they are right for you.

Have a great week! :)


Disclosure: This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase the product, I will receive a small portion. I don't get paid for reviews, and I only review items that I actually own.

Sunday, March 28, 2010

End of Week 13 And Other Updates

It seems like forever since I have posted a weekly update. Between home and work, it's been so busy. I get home from work and don't even want to look at a computer. And the past few weekends have been packed.

One weekend we painted both kids' bedrooms - I let the kids pick what colors they wanted. My son wanted black, but I talked him into gray. He ended up choosing a color called "Platinum". It actually turned out really nice. It's a gray with a bluish undertone. My daughter, on the other hand, chose a color called "Rosy Cheeks". It really should have been called "Strawberry Milkshake" because that's exactly what it looks like. I don't know if I could sleep in her room, but she really seems to like it. :)

Then another weekend I ran in a St. Patty's Day 5K. I'm a little out of practice, but I came in a fairly respectable 88th out of 327 in my age division. I was hoping to make it under 30 minutes, but there were 3 pretty big hills I had not anticipated, and ended up with a time of 30:43.

I've also been reading like crazy, which cuts down on my computer time. I recently read all 5 of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians books (loved them), then I read Christopher Pikes' Thirst No. 1: The Last Vampire, Black Blood, Red Dice (just OK, will probably read Thirst No. 2 eventually), and I just started Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith (and Jane Austen). So far it seems pretty funny. Pride and Prejudice is one of my favorite books so I am getting a kick out of reading Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.

Today is the last day of Week 13 in the program I am using (the one from the Precision Nutrition forums). I am in Phase 4, which is supposed to be more of a fat burning phase. The problem is, the strength training part of the workouts takes me so long, I don't have time to do the recommended cardio. I recently began to look over my Turbulence Training workouts because I have an event I would like to attend in about 5 weeks and really need to lose a little fat! :)

However, when I went to the grocery store yesterday, I picked up the March/April issue of Muscle and Fitness Hers magazine and there on the cover was "Bikini Ready in Just 4 Weeks!" So I looked it over and it looks like a solid workout. It's circuit training 4 days a week, with other cardio on the remaining days. I plan to complete Week 14 to end Phase 4, and then I think I am going to start the "Bikini Ready" program. I'll let you know how it goes!

If you're still with me here after all my rambling (thanks!), I wanted to let you know I may not be posting very much in the near future. Things have been pretty busy, and will remain that way for the next few months. I hope to pop in when I can! :)

Have a great week!

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Tasty Tuesday - French/Catalina Dressing

I really like French/Catalina Dressing, but it's often filled with sugar. This recipe is adapted from Dana Carpender's 500 More Low Carb Recipes. I took out the Splenda, which I don't use so much anymore, and used an organic agave-sweetened ketchup and a few packets of Stevia. This dressing is quite flavorful, thick and rich. I only use about a tablespoon at a time and that's enough for 2-3 cups of salad greens. If you want a thinner dressing, you could add more vinegar or lemon juice.

French/Catalina Dressing

2 Tablespoons minced red onion or shallot
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons ketchup (preferably low sugar)
1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 Tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
4-5 packets Stevia
dash sea salt (please don't leave this out)

1. Blend everything in a food processor until mixed. Keep in an airtight container in the fridge.

Sorry for the bad picture. Dressing isn't very photogenic. ;)


This will make about 1 and 1/2 cups (24 Tablespoons). Each Tablespoon will have approximately:

60 calories
0g protein
5.8g fat
2.2g carbs
0.2g fiber

Enjoy! (Sparingly!) :)

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Tasty Tuesday - Chocolate Tofu Mousse

This recipe was created when the kids were asking for chocolate pudding and I looked around the kitchen to see what I had on hand. It makes a nice and light chocolate dessert. Plus, it's super easy to make!

Chocolate Tofu Mousse

12 oz package lite silken tofu
1 scoop chocolate protein powder
2 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup unsweetened chocolate almond milk
2 packets Stevia
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1. Blend all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor for several minutes until light and fluffy, stopping and scraping the sides of the bowl if necessary. Just when you think it's done, let it blend a little longer. :)

2. Pour into 4 pudding dishes. Each serving will be about 1/2 cup.


Each 1/2 cup serving will have approximately:

66 calories
8.5g protein
1.8g fat
4.0g carbs
2.1g fiber


Enjoy!

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Almost Forgot!

I almost forgot to mention that through this Thursday, you can get a free 21 day Easy Veggie Meal Plans Detox Diet when you purchase the Easy Veggie Meal Plans System here ==> Easy Veggie Meal Plans

I am considering giving it a try. I don't normally go for "detox" diets because I like to think I can just eat healthy. But too many of those candy-coated-chocolate-peanut candies have been sneaking their way into my diet. LOL So we'll see. Maybe I'll just try to stop eating the candy. ;)




Disclosure: This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase the product, I will receive a small portion. I don't get paid for reviews, and I only review items that I actually own.

Tasty Tuesday - Buckwheat Pancakes

We eat pancakes for dinner quite often, and there are many different kinds I like to make. These have a really nice texture and flavor. And, the kids love them! :)

This recipe is adapted from The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook.

Buckwheat Pancakes

dry ingredients:
1 cup buckwheat flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

wet ingredients:
1 + 1/4 cups unsweetened almond milk (plain or vanilla)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 Tablespoon extra virgin coconut oil, melted
1 Tablespoon pancake syrup (I used sugar free)

Optional:
1/2 cup blueberries
extra cinnamon

1. Mix dry ingredients in one bowl. Place almond milk and lemon juice in a small bowl. Add the remaining wet ingredients.

2. Pour wet ingredients into dry, and blend. Let sit for a few minutes while you heat up your griddle. Spray a little nonstick spray on the griddle, or grease with coconut oil.

3. Drop batter onto griddle with a tablespoon (one tablespoon per pancake). The batter will spread out. Place a few blueberries on the pancake at this time (if using).

4. When edges are dry and the pancake is bubbly, flip and cook on the other side. Sprinkle with extra cinnamon, if desired.


I made 16 pancakes. Without the blueberries, each has approximately:

47 calories
1.5g protein
1.6g fat
7.1g carbs
1.1g fiber


Sunday, February 28, 2010

An "Udderly" Random Post

See the end of this post for the "udders". :)

So this is totally random. I was riding into work earlier this week and Cyndi Lauper's "She Bop" started player on my mp3 player. When it got to the part when she whistles, for some reason I was reminded of some VH1 special that I had watched (either I Love the 80s, or Best Songs of the 80s, or something like that) and it had said that the Bangles' "Walk Like an Egyptian" was the only song with a whistling solo. I'm sure VH1 said that as a joke, but every time I hear "She Bop" I always think, "So there, VH1! The Bangles don't have a monopoly on whistling solos!" (I warned you that this was totally random.)

On that musical note, I saw this cool video the other day on YouTube and wanted to share it with any of you who are Michael Jackson fans. I think this guy was on Oprah recently.




And now the udders...My kids and I set out to build a snow horse yesterday, and well, it ended up looking like a snow cow. LOL


Also, my daughter kept sticking her hand in the snow about every foot. I asked her what she was making, and she said, "Mitten prints." :)


For Christmas she got a little toy baking set with an apron as a gift. One day she couldn't remember what the apron was called so she started calling it her "baking suit". I thought that was pretty cute, and the name stuck. We still call it her baking suit. :)

Have a great day!

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Tasty Tuesday - Hamantaschen

As I mentioned in the Comments of my last post, I'm not Catholic. I'm not Jewish either, but a gal I work with is, and today she brought in cookies to celebrate Purim (which begins this weekend). The cookies were traditional Hamantsachen, named after Haman, minister to the Persian King from whom the Jews fled persecution in the fifth century BCE. You can read more about Purim here: Purim History. The gal I work with said that the cookies are made in the shape of Haman's hat.

I found a recipe online and naturally I had to tinker with it. I'm sure these aren't completely traditional, but they got 2 thumbs up from both kids, even from my son, who says he doesn't like prunes. :)

Hamantaschen

dough:
1 and 1/4 cups brown rice flour
1/4 cup almond flour/meal
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 teaspoon baking powder

3 Tablespoons very hot water
1 Tablespoon flax, ground
1 egg white
1/4 cup buttery spread, softened (such as Earth Balance)
1 Tablespoon coconut oil, softened
2 Tablespoons pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 cup powdered Stevia (such as Stevia in the Raw)

filling:
1 cup pitted prunes (about 24)
2 Tablespoons water
2 teaspoons agave nectar

1. Mix the first 4 ingredients in a large bowl.

2. Mix the hot water and flax. Blend in the buttery spread, coconut oil, pumpkin, egg white, lemon zest, vanilla and Stevia.

3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and blend well. Place in the fridge for about 15 minutes or so.

4. While dough is chilling, preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare filling by placing all ingredients in a food processor until it's a paste.

5. Roll out dough between 2 pieces of parchment or waxed paper until it is about 1/4" thick. You will have to do this in several batches. Return dough to fridge for a bit if it gets too soft.

6. Cut dough into 3" circles with a biscuit cutter or even a drinking glass. Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Place a teaspoon or so of filling in the middle of the dough and fold sides to make a triangle. Pinch corners of triangle together.

7. Bake for 12-15 minutes.


I made 28, each with approximately:

72 calories
1.2g protein
2.9g fat
10.7g carbs
1.1g fiber

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

What I'm Giving Up For Lent...

Peanut M&M's.

I said it, I meant it.

'Nuff said.


On a side note, I asked my husband what he was going to give up and without missing a beat he said, "Veggies." :)

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Tasty Tuesday - Black Bean Burgers

These were awesome! My son plowed through his burger and I don't think it ever occurred to him that it wasn't made out of ground beef. This recipe is adapted from Tosca Reno's new Eat Clean Cookbook.

Black Bean Burgers

15oz can black beans
1/2 medium onion, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 small carrot, grated
1 Tablespoon coconut oil
2 egg whites
1/2 cup wheat bran
2 Tablespoons cashew butter
2 Tablespoons pumpkin puree
2 Tablespoons ground flax
2 Tablespoons sunflower seeds, ground
dash Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

2. Place everything into a food processor and blend until smooth.

3. Spoon mixture onto parchment paper. I made 9 burgers.

4. Bake for about 20 minutes.

Sorry about the small picture. If I make it bigger it looks all fuzzy. I used a sprouted grain bun and topped mine with a little agave-sweetened ketchup, mustard, pickles, tomato, leaf lettuce, and half a wedge of laughing cow light cheese. :)


If you make 9 like I did, just the patty will have approximately:

109 calories
5.8g protein
4.7g fat
13.0g carbs
4.0g fiber

These freeze really well - so put your leftovers in the freezer and enjoy when you need a quick meal.



Friday, February 12, 2010

Cat Scratch Fever

OK, so I won't show any more cuts...after I show these. :)

First, there was the immersion blender of death, then the butternut squash incident, and now there's the musk melon mishap:



All of those cuts were on my left index finger. Anyone care to guess which is my dominant hand?

And not to be outdone, I woke up the other morning with this:


The only thing I can think of is that my cat must have walked on my head while I was sleeping. :)


OK, enough of that!

This morning I did my workout (last workout of Phase 2) and afterward I decided to hop on the elliptical for a bit since I had a little extra time. I started my watch about 5 seconds after I started the elliptical (due to technical difficulties), but by the time I finished 25 minutes later, my watch had caught up! Which leaves me to wonder, is my watch fast, or was the elliptical slow? And if my watch is fast, how fast is it? Are all the times I got on my runs wrong? Am I worrying too much about this? Maybe I just need a new watch. :)

If I don't post again before Sunday, hope you have a...

Happy Valentine's Day!

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Tasty Tuesday - Sweet Potato Pancakes

Make these for your sweetie for Valentine's Day. :)

These got 2 thumbs up from the kids. Even my daughter, who can be picky, ate these and asked for more!

Sweet Potato Pancakes

small sweet potato (about 5oz)
3/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons brown rice flour
2 Tablespoons sorghum flour
1.5 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 Tablespoon ground flax
3 Tablespoons boiling water
1 Tablespoon coconut oil
1 Tablespoon pancake syrup (I used sugar free)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon sea salt


1. Cook the sweet potato and mash. I usually poke a few holes through the skin with a knife and microwave for a few minutes.

2. Bring 3 tablespoons of water to a boil in a small bowl (I use the microwave). Add the flax and stir. To this, add the coconut oil, almond milk, pancake syrup and sweet potato.

3. In a large bowl, blend together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, cinnamon and sea salt. Add the sweet potato mixture and mix until just blended.

4. Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, drop batter onto a hot griddle. Cook until the edges look dry and flip. Cook a few minutes more. Sprinkle with a little extra cinnamon, if desired.


This will make about a dozen pancakes, each with approximately:

75 calories
1.5g protein
2.4g fat
12.4g carbs
1.3g fiber


I think these might be gluten free, but I'm not an expert in gluten free, so please don't take my word for it! :)

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Are You Teff Enough?

This week I have been experimenting with teff for breakfast. Teff is an Ethiopian grain that is high in fiber and also has a good amount of protein. The package says that 1/4 cup is a serving, but every recipe I've seen uses at least 1/2 a cup. I decided to go down the middle. :) I made 3/4 cup and then divided it into two servings.

The downside to making it for breakfast is that it needs to cook on the stove for 15-20 minutes. I was hesitant to make it in the microwave at work like I do with oatmeal, so I made it the night before and portioned it into two bowls. Here's what it looks like right out of the pan, with nothing extra added to it:


The thing is, when you let it cool, it becomes a little bit more solid, and so when I got to work the next day, it was like a brown hockey puck. I microwaved it at work, and added a little extra water to break it up and smooth it out. On Monday and Tuesday, I added blueberries, Stevia and cinnamon. Today I added 1/4 cup pumpkin, Stevia and cinnamon. Tomorrow I think I am going to add applesauce, Stevia and cinnamon.

The teff itself seems to have a pretty bland/neutral taste so what you add to it will make all the difference! The texture after reheating looked weird. It looked like wet sand held together by wet lint. LOL But that wasn't the actual texture at all. It was actually pretty good. Here's what it looked like this morning with the pumpkin added:


I tried to get a good picture of the texture, but my camera wouldn't cooperate. I think this might also be good for lunch or dinner as another rice/quinoa substitute. It's pretty filling, so I probably would make 1/4 cup or less if I was eating it with other things for dinner.

If you looking for something new to try, get teff!

I promised myself I wouldn't start singing "Hanging Teff". ;) LOL

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Tasty Tuesday - Kale Chips

I've seen similar recipes online, but I never made these until I saw them in Tosca Reno's new Eat Clean Cookbook. This recipe is adapted from the one in her book. You will NOT believe how great these taste. I almost think that I could blindfold my husband and he would believe that he was eating potato chips. They're that good.

Kale Chips

Per serving, you will need:

1 cup (about 40g) of chopped kale, bigger stems removed
about 1/2 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
sprinkle each of sea salt and garlic powder

1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees.

2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

3. Toss all ingredients in a bowl until kale is evenly coated. Place on baking sheet.

4. Bake for about 25 minutes, until crisp. Watch carefully so that it doesn't burn.


Eat and be amazed! Each serving has approximately:

80 calories
1.5g protein
7g fat
4g carbs
1g fiber

Monday, February 1, 2010

The Butternut Squash Incident and Other New Things

So I may have hinted previously that I can be accident prone (immersion blender, anyone?). Last Thursday night I decided to make a new recipe. It was the "Baked Deep-Dish Butternut Squash with Pears" from Tosca Reno's Eat Clean Cookbook. The dish was tasty. My finger was bloody. I managed to cut it...twice. It took a little while to get it to stop bleeding the second time. The recipe called for raw butternut squash cut into cubes. Do you know how hard it is to take the thick skin off of a butternut squash?! Next time I am just going to cut the squash in half and bake it first. It just gets pureed anyway. :) I took a picture of my finger today. I'm afraid it's not very exciting. It's healed up quite a bit.

We've been trying lots of new recipes this week. My husband got me a great cookbook called The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook. Today for lunch I had the Luscious Lentil and Brown Rice Casserole. It rocked. My husband scored a home run with this book. As for the other book he bought me recently, Peter Walsh's Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat ... not so much. LOL To be honest, I probably would have bought that book myself. But from my husband? What's he trying to say? ;) The best advice I've heard in a while came from that book, though. It says that whenever you feel like raiding the fridge, get naked in front of a mirror and do jumping jacks. Heheh.

And finally, Turbulence Training is having a "4 for 1" sale - you get the TT Beginner Total Torso Training program, TT 2K10, TT Transformation, and as a bonus - the new Turbulence Training Adrenaline Circuit Workout (this one looks pretty crazy!). And you get 30 days free in the TT Member's area where you can ask Craig all of your training and nutrition questions. This "4 for 1" offer ends on Wednesday, February 3rd. You can check it out here: Complete TT 2K10 Package


Have a great night!


Disclosure: This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase the product, I will receive a small portion. I don't get paid for reviews, and I only review items that I actually own.

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Another Random Mom Thought

So back to the toothbrushes - If there are 4 of us in the house, and there are 7 toothbrushes on the bathroom sink, and only 1 of them is mine, then why did mine taste like "Sparkle Fun" toothpaste this morning?

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Tasty Tuesday - Beef Cauliflower Casserole

This recipe was pretty much made up on the spot, but it tasted really good. When I was a kid, my favorite dish was tater tot casserole. For some reason, this reminded me of that - it was just a big plate of comfort food. I didn't know what to call it, hence the really generic name! Anyone have any better ideas?

Beef Cauliflower Casserole

4 oz lean ground beef
1/4 cup (dry) long grain brown rice
1 + 1/3 cup (170g) frozen cauliflower
1/4 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 cup + about 3/4 cup water, divided
salt and pepper
garam masala (optional)
cinnamon (optional)

1. In a sauce pan with a lid, place rice and 1/2 cup water. As the water level decreases, add up to 3/4 cup more water to the pan about 1/4 cup at a time.

2. In a skillet, place the 1 teaspoon olive oil. Add the onions and cook for a couple minutes. Add the garlic and cook for a minute more. Add the ground beef and cook until no pink remains.

3. During the last 10 minutes of the rice cooking, add the cauliflower to the saucepan. Add a little more water if the rice is dry.

4. To the skillet, add a little water to deglaze the pan. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Also consider adding a sprinkle each of cinnamon and garam masala. Cook until the water is gone.

5. When the rice/cauliflower is done, add the beef mixture to the pan. Mix and serve. Or just put the rice/cauliflower on your plate and put the meat on top.

Sorry about the bad picture. I think it looks a little foggy because it was still steaming hot when I took the picture!


As one serving, this has approximately:

406 calories
29.6g protein
13.7g fat
43.6g carbs
5.4g fiber

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Week 4 In Review - Oh. My. Goodness.

I have sore muscles that I didn't even know existed! One of the reasons is certainly from doing exercises that I've never done before and using machines that I've never used before. For example, this week I used the rear delt machine, which I've never used. I tend to stay away from machines, but this program uses just a couple. I decided that if I was going to use this program, I would use the machines. The only exception is the lying leg curl. The last time I used that machine (years ago), I threw out my back. So I won't use that one again.

Workouts went really well. I began Phase 2, which is made up of supersets. The supersets use the same muscle groups, with lower weight/higher reps for the first exercise and higher weight/lower reps for the second exercise. I can tell that I have gained muscle, which is pretty cool. Even though I have gained some fat as well.

Today I ran for 7.25 miles. I didn't try to break any records; I just picked a pace that felt good and stuck with it for most of the run. The first mile went well, but at the end of the second mile it started to mist and I was running against the wind. After I turned around, the wind was behind me and it stopped misting. Around the fourth mile, I turned a corner (literally, not figuratively) and the wind was coming at me from the side. I got a little chilly because the wind was blowing right across all my sweat and was making me cold. During the fifth mile it started to mist again and during the sixth mile I turned back into the wind. Between the wind and the rain and me being warm, my glasses were so foggy and water-spotted that I could hardly see through them. The start of the last mile was tough because it felt like I was in a wind tunnel. I finished in 1:19:42 (about an 11:00 pace).

Nutrition this week was hit and miss. I would do really well, and then fall off the wagon. One day I ate an entire bag of trail mix, another day I reacquainted myself with the peanut butter jar.

I saw a really great bumper sticker this week - If you believe you can tell me what to think, then I believe I can tell you where to go. :)

Next week will be similar to this week workout-wise; I will be adding another set to each superset and the reps will be slightly less, so I should be able to raise the weight on some of the exercises.

Have a great week!

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Random Mom Thought

If there are only FOUR of us living in this house, why are there SEVEN toothbrushes on the bathroom sink? Only ONE of them is mine. :)

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Tasty Tuesday - Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

The other day the kids were asking for cookies and I thought oatmeal raisin sounded good. I checked out the recipe that comes on the canister of oatmeal and the first ingredient was 2 sticks of butter. I decided I was going to try something different. I based my recipe off of a couple different recipes. Here's what I came up with - the kids gave them 2 thumbs up! :)

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Dry Ingredients
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1.25 cups old fashioned oats
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup raisins (I used 4 "fun size" boxes)

Wet Ingredients
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup canned pumpkin puree
1/4 cup egg whites (about 1-2 egg whites)
1/4 cup pancake syrup (I used sugar free)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla


1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Except for the raisins, mix all the dry ingredients in one bowl, and mix the wet ingredients in another bowl.

3. Pour the wet into the dry and mix until just blended. Stir in the raisins.

4. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto a baking sheet that has been lined with parchment paper. I used a small scoop.

5. Bake for 10 minutes.


I made 21 small cookies, each with approximately:

46 calories
2g protein
0.4g fat
8.7g carbs
1.3g fiber

Sunday, January 17, 2010

End of Week 3 - Phase One Complete!

Phase 1 of my new workout program finished this week. It was fun! It had different techniques that I have never done before (like peak double contractions). Phase 2 starts this week and it's more standard supersets, but they are "pre-fatigue" supersets - I will be doing more reps of the first exercise with lower weights and fewer reps of the second exercise with heavier weights.

Overall, workouts this week went well. The reps were low for most exercises so I added more weight. I was still sore a few days after the workouts, so I was happy because I knew I was working hard and my muscles were not adapting to the workout.

Yesterday, I ran 6.5 miles outside. Whoo-hoo! Because of the really cold weather I had been running at the gym, so that was a nice change. It was icy in a number of places so I had to slow down, but the run felt really good. My time was 1:07:40 (about a 10:25 pace) and I was thrilled with that. It was still pretty cold out, though. When I got home, my legs were numb. When I took off my hat, I discovered there was "snow" on it. It wasn't snowing so I couldn't figure out how snow got on my hat until I realized that it was sweat that had frozen! :) Today I am going to go out and run an easy 2 mile recovery run. Yesterday my hips really started hurting during the 5th mile, so I want to try and run a little more during the week, instead of just one day.

My big change this past week with nutrition was to eat breakfast immediately post-workout (about 6:30am), and then have a snack at work around 9:15am. Prior to last week, I would eat a snack post-workout and then eat breakfast at work at about 8:30am. I'm not so sure I liked the larger post-workout meal - time is short in the morning and a quick snack is easier.

This week I will be back to more of a snack post-workout (e.g., a scoop of whey and a banana) and then I plan to eat about every 2 hours, consuming between 200-250 calories each meal. Even during my most zealous calorie-counting days, I never counted calories for individual meals, only for the entire day. However, I don't plan on using fitday for my counting; I'm just going to estimate calories for the most part. So my day will look like this:

6:30am - meal one
8:30am - meal two
10:30am - meal three
12:30pm - meal four
2:30pm - meal five
5:30pm - meal six
7:30pm - meal seven

If I stay between 200 and 250 calories per meal on average, my calorie range should be between 1400 and 1750, which is just right for me for fat loss. I've gained about 10 lbs since I finished my last TT contest. Since I was using a muscle-building program, I hadn't been counting calories at all, just trying to eat clean foods. However, even though phases 2 and 3 are still considered muscle-building, I'm going to start watching calories so I don't gain too much more weight. I'm hoping some of this is muscle! :)

If you are interested, here's the link to this week's TT Call -> Weekly Fat Loss Call. A few of the things Craig talks about this week are his Transformation Tip of the Week, updates to the TT2K4 workout, and the Bodyweight 200.

Have a great week!

Disclosure: This post does not contain an affiliate link. I just think the calls are fun to listen to. :)

Thursday, January 14, 2010

A Random Thursday

Heheh....so Recipe day was supposed to move to Tuesday this week. But that was before I had to call the vet to come out and visit my sick kitty. He's having some thyroid problems and potentially some liver trouble. My kitty that is, not the vet. :) The vet has to come back in about a week so we'll find out more then. The vet coming to the house prompted a giant house cleaning party on Tuesday night. :)

Also, I just bought a new book, The Coupon Mom's Guide to Cutting Your Grocery Bills in Half, and I had to share my shopping success this week! I went to a local drugstore and by combining all the deals and coupons I had, I saved $32.95! My total before tax was $54.39 and after deals and coupons my subtotal was $21.44. I thought I was pretty good with coupons, but I did learn a few tricks from this book.

And, in my last post, I mentioned that I like to air drum while running at the gym. :) Out of curiosity, I went to YouTube to see if my favorite song to listen to was there, and it was! It's the song d_letion by Abigail's Ghost. The whole album is awesome, but d_letion is my favorite song, particularly while running. The movie goes for about 8 minutes, but the song is only 5 minutes. There's a few minutes of blank space after the song ends. The movie is just a picture of the album cover while the song plays. Enjoy! And don't forget to drum along. ;)





Monday, January 11, 2010

Week 2 Review - Manic Monday

I really wanted to post my Week-In-Review this weekend, but it seemed like it was so busy. And then when I did have a little time, I felt guilty turning my back to the kids while I typed on the computer. So...I decided to spend some time with the kids. :)

BUT.....I also felt like I should be posting something. It made me a little stressed and I think that's why my eating this weekend wasn't the best it could be. Blogging should be fun; it shouldn't cause anxiety!

Otherwise my nutrition during Week 2 was great! I felt awesome all week. I tried something new this week - a "Greens" supplement. It doesn't taste fantastic, but my energy was really UP all week. However, it might just be because I was eating well, and not from the Greens supplement at all. But I'll keep trying it for now.

Workouts this week went great. Saturday I ran about 5 miles on the treadmill and my hips were so sore later that night! I hadn't run much during the previous week and I was surprised at how much my hips hurt. By Sunday they felt much better.

After Monday's leg workout, I wasn't quite as sore as last week, although I could still feel it on Wednesday!

All the rest of the workouts this week went well. I raised the weight on a lot of exercises (lower reps) and wasn't as sore as last week, but definitely still felt it in my triceps and biceps over the weekend.

This past Saturday I ran a little over 4 miles and my hips didn't hurt at all, so that was great. If you're ever at my gym, I'm the one air drumming on the treadmill. The time goes so fast while you're listening to good music! :)

Have a great week!

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Recipe Wednesday - Vegetarian Taco Filling

Today is the last Recipe Wednesday...because next week it's moving to Tuesday!! :)

This recipe was adapted from the Meatless Chili Recipe in the Incredibly Easy Vegetarian cookbook. I added green chilies and more spices to make a taco filling. It turned out really well! The book also recommends using this on pizza, or over spaghetti, rice or chips.

1 cup dry red lentils, rinsed
2 cups water
1/2 packet dry onion soup mix
1 cup (8oz can) tomato sauce
2 T chopped green chilies
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
salt and pepper, to taste

1. In a saucepan, bring the lentils and water to a boil. Add the soup mix and simmer for about 10 minutes.

2. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for about 10-15 minutes longer.

This will fill about 12 tacos or so. I crisped a couple corn tortillas in the oven and piled on salsa, leaf lettuce, tomatoes and a little cheese. My tacos didn't all look this neat. LOL (I ate 3 tacos.)


If you assume 12, the filling per taco would have approximately:

58 calories
3.8g protein
0g fat
10.9g carbs
2.3g fiber


So if you ate 1/2 the recipe as a chili instead, it would have approximately:

348 calories
22.8g protein
0g fat
65.4g carbs
13.8g fiber

Friday, January 1, 2010

End Of Week 1 - Maybe I Overdid It :)

Or maybe not. But I did have trouble walking a couple days this week. ;)

My first week with my new program is pretty much in the books. (Except for my planned 5 mile run tomorrow.) It was a really nice change. I'm trying to think of what to call the workout. I don't want to call it my Precision Nutrition workout, because it's not really a PN workout, just a PN-approved workout that I got from the forums. Hmmm...I'll think a little more about this.

Speaking of Precision Nutrition, I was reminded on Wednesday that they are going to be signing up another round for their Lean Eating Coaching Program on January 4th. Since I am using PN now, I am kind of thinking about signing up. But I'm not sure yet. Still thinking about it. There's a $10,000 prize for the best transformation - you can learn more about it by clicking here: PN Lean Eating Coaching Program

Here's how my week went:

Monday: Lower body workout with quad focus. I thought I took this workout easy, because I hadn't used the squat rack in a while, but as I was walking down the stairs on the way out of the gym, my legs felt like jelly. Later Monday night, I really was starting to feel it.

Tuesday: Upper body workout. I forgot my mp3 player at work on Monday, so I had to use my husband's this morning. That was kind of fun because I got to listen to different music. The next song is always a surprise - especially when the Iron Maiden plays! :) This was a good workout - lat pulldowns, presses, tricep extensions, curls and shrugs. I didn't think I would be too sore because my arms were used to working out, but Tuesday night I started feeling it in my triceps. My leg workout caught up to me too - I was having trouble walking! LOL

Wednesday: OFF. And a good thing too. I still had trouble walking. When I was planning my workouts, I had considered a 2 mile run on Wednesdays, but I really needed the whole day off. My legs started to feel better in the afternoon.

Thursday: Lower body workout with hamstring focus. Good workout, not too sore afterward, but definitely felt it on Friday morning. Also got a good upper body workout chipping the ice off of our driveway. :)

Friday: Upper body workout. This one was tough. Lots of rows, presses, flyes, and curls. I'm pretty sure I will be feeling this one later.

That's all for this week. I will be in Phase 1 of the workout for 2 more weeks, and then I move on to Phase 2.

Also - just a quick reminder that the Turbulence Training half off sale ends tonight at 9:00pm ET. You can check that out here: TT Half Off Sale


Happy New Year!!


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