Putting off any triathlon races for the past 2 years has been hard. This is the year to kick it back into gear. Although I'm not planning anything longer than a few sprints this year I'm mentally preparing for a much longer tougher race. Taking my body from fair or moderate shape to excellent shape in 12 weeks could prove to be more of a challenge than I thought. My baseline training should be complete by now (ie. 3 mile run, 30 mins on a bike, and 15 min pool time). As you might guess my butt hasn't touched the saddle of a bike yet (could be a few more weeks), my legs are still struggling through a 30 min run with varied walk times and I have yet to meet the acquaintance of the pool.
The plan: Next week begins my first real training week so I'll start from where I am and take it slow realizing my first race may very likely not be my best time.
My workout today:
Got back into my Restore the Core DVD (see if you can find them on ebay or online...great for getting your core on the right track)
Followed by a 30 min run: 2 min run, 1 min walk (twice), 3 min run, 1 min walk (twice), 4 min run, 1 min walk (twice), run out the last 6 mins.
My Meals today:
Breakfast: Smoothie (in a hurry...great option...see recipe below)
Snack: Seriously...I can hardly remember to put my breast pads in before leaving the house, I'll remember tomorrow.
Lunch: Spoons (w/w flatbread salmon sandwich with greens and cup of butternut squash soup non dairy, vegetarian.
Snack: Pretzel Crisps with cottage cheese
Dinner: Stuffed Red Peppers (black beans, corn, onion, brown rice and a little 2% cheese)
Snack: Green tea with soy milk, rice cake.
Smoothie Recipe:
scoop of f/f cottage cheese
scoop of f/f greek yogurt (plain)
1 tbsp flaxseed (meal or seed)
1 tsp peanut butter
1 tbsp aguave syrup
frozen berries
(The bullet blender is awesome for smoothies!)
There is a fear among women in particular that to be sore is to have over done it. Let's be sure and qualify sore here. When you're so sore that you have to bounce down the stairs on your butt...that's too sore. If when you walk up the stairs your legs gently remind your of a workout...That's Perfect.
When our muscles are sore it simply means that during our workout we pushed it enough that tiny tears were created in the muscle belly structure. By doing that our body has to repair such tears. Guess what it uses......Calories and nutrients from our diet! Yes, that's right...your actually increasing your metabolism by doing this.
How do we make those constant changes in our muscles? Weight and strength training is the number 1 best way to increase that metabolism on a regular basis. These programs are best managed by a professional. Taking a class or getting a personal trainer to get you started is the best way to do it safely without any experience. Variety is the key. Variety in weight, variety in range of the motion, variety in the number of reps, and variety in equipment used will all get the job done.
One last reminder....Working out is not a license to eat whatever you want. You want results...You have to watch what you eat and realize your body needs fuel not high fat junk filled with sugar and salt.
Looking for variety? Of course this is where I raise my hand and say come to one of my classes! They are all listed on our website http://www.fit2bmoms.net/ or www.meetup.com/ncfit2bmoms
If your at a stand still and your not losing the weight you want to lose....embrace the variety.
My Meals Today:
Breakfast: 1 egg, 2 whites (added a little Parmesan cheese), 1 cup Special K cereal (not my fav.)
Snack: nuts and a banana
Lunch: Left over Chinese (white meat chicken and veggies...no rice)
Snack: Cottage Cheese and about 12 Pretzel Crisps
Dinner: No idea...Mamas not cookin' tonight. Also not going for BBQ
Snack: Air popped popcorn,
LOT'S OF WATER TODAY....CHINESE FOOD IS SALTY!
My Workout Today:
Treadmill workout: 2 min run, 1 min walk, increasing to 3 min run 1 min walk. (30 minutes) Finishing with abs and Gluts.
Watch for the best glut workout ever this weekend!
"ON THE SIDE PLEASE."
A few evenings ago we ventured out for dinner as a new family of 5. My husband the BBQ lover pleaded with me to try a new restaurant in town. Not being a huge meat eater I tend to shy away from BBQ places because there isn't much on the menu to suite me. Nevertheless, he talked me into BBQ.
We pull up and realize that it's not really a sit down and be waited on restaurant. It's along the lines of Fresh Food Fast (Just slower fast food in my book). Taking a look at the menu posted above the register I'm searching for something for both my kids and me. The hubbie has already ordered his ribs and is fine with a plate full of meat for dinner. Finally I see something that actually came from the ground...a baked potato.
When I speak up to order this "baked potato" the guy at the register got really excited and said it was their special and the best thing on the menu in his opinion. Upon asking whats on the potato I reconfirmed why we as Americans are fat and in poor health, listen to this...
"First we put butter, sour cream, and chives on it. Then we pour melted cheese sauce over the top. But the best part is the scoop of pulled pork that goes on top!"
ARE YOU FREAKIN KIDDING ME! Ok, I didn't say that but certainly my face showed it. The words that came next..."Can I have the potato naked with everything on the side". (They were going to charge me the same amount for the potato all by itself anyway.)
So, I had an entire meal (naked potato, and pulled pork) for a lot less calories and money. Sure wish there had been even 1 vegetable on the menu.
Remember....ON THE SIDE PLEASE....Then you decide what to put on your sandwich, salad, potato, etc. Restaurants typically sauce everything to the max. Ask for all sauces on the side...
My Meals Today:
Breakfast: 2 egg whites and 1 egg, 2 w/w pieces of toast with low sugar apricot jam.
Snack: Quick handful of peanuts
Lunch: cottage Cheese with Pretzel Crisps (see below), grapes and water.
Snack: smoothie (greek yogurt, frozen blueberries, soy protein, scoop cottage cheese, a little soy milk and tsp aguave syrup)
Dinner: Homemade w/w pizza with veggies and chicken.
Snack: Rice Cake with peanut butter
**Sick kids really throw a wrench in your eating plans. I've been missing snacks and throwing together meals for a couple days. Hopefully I'm back on track today.
My Workout Today:
Working on a good baseline 3 mile run. Today I'll do 2 min run... 1min walk for 20-30 mins.
My usual ab workout (if everyone leaves me alone for a few minutes)
Have a great day and please share this with friends.
Try Pretzel Crisps! These satisfy your chip craving with a baked whole wheat pretzel. The everything flavor is lower in sodium and only 110 calories for 11 pretzels. Not bad!
Let's face it, everyone appreciates a number. Whether theres a dollar sign attached to it or that good old lbs, numbers tell us something. When running my nutrition program I encourage clients to find another way of measuring success. How about the way your clothes fit? Or maybe how you feel when you look in the mirror. What about your energy level?
Here's the thing...The scale can lie. It may tell you that you've gained a pound and you automatically assume it's a "fat pound". If your weight training and you've recently started your program, it's quite likely you've gained a pound of muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat. Keeping that in mind, it also it in a much prettier package. Fat floats around in certain areas of the body with no real compartment. Muscle is a compartmentalized tissue that looks beautiul in it's package.
Find a new way to measure your success. If you've got a significant amount of weight to lose (ie. more than 20 lbs) you'll see that scale drop a lot initially. A few weeks into your program you might notice a small weight gain or a static pattern. What does that mean? The body is bored and needs a jump start to get moving again. More attention to nutrition, more exercise, tougher weight training program or a combination is more likely. As I start to see the pounds come off I can note the changes in my routine. I've added more cardio movement, paid closer attention to portions, and noticing when I'm really hungry.
Yesterday I measured my body to also note the inches lost over a few weeks time. I'll measure again in abut 2 weeks. The best places to measuire: waist (at belly button), hips (at widest place), thigh.
Meals today:
Breakfast: 1 egg, 2 whites, small bowl of Bran Flakes with berries
Snack: a handful of peanuts and some berries
Lunch: 6" sub from Subway (turkey, all veggies, with spinach, mustard)
Snack: Grapefruit, a few multigrain crackers with peanut butter.
Dinner: going out TBA
Snack: Air popped Pop corn
Have a great weekend. Had a great walk today and fantastic workout yesterday in my basement. My Shoulders and Biceps are sore today...feels great!
As a nursing mom I have once again discovered the power of being hydrated. Because I'm not blessed with huge amounts of milk on board I have to be super hydrated just to keep up with the demand of my little guy. Drinking water is the first step in my nutrition program called Make it Stick. If your not a big water drinker (even if your not nursing) consider eliminating the majority of drinks from your diet and substituting water. Here's why:
1. Hunger is the sensation felt by your body when your dehydrated. It triggers you to eat which in turn triggers you to drink something. (Obviously sometimes hunger sensations mean your hungry). If you ate less than 2 hours prior, try a big glass of water.
2. The average person should drink 80-90 oz of water daily. That's about 3 nalgene bottles.
3. Caffeine and alcohol will dehydrate your body. Stick to water!
4. The body requires adequate hydration for organ function.
5. Your skin also benefits from hydration and the elimination of soda from your diet...try it!
Start hydrating your body today! Yes, you will pee alot the first 24 to 48 hours. Once the body has flushed out the water it's been storing (in case of emergency), you'll feel great and you'll notice fewer trips to the bathroom!
If you've taken the water challenge and drink 90oz a day please leave a comment for those who aren't so sure to read.
My Meals Today:
Breakfast: 1 egg, 2 whites, 1 cup Grape Nuts cereal with blueberries
Snack: Nut, cranberry, and vanilla chip trail mix (Sunflower Market blend)...
Lunch: w/w turkey wrap with mustard and spinach leaves.
Snack: Carmel Rice cake with peanut butter (natural)
Dinner: Couscous mixed with tomatoes, left over grilled chicken, garbanzo beans, feta, and sundried tomatoes. (My kids even liked it....SCORE!)
Snack: Ok see below for my own microwave version of apple berry crisp.
1/4 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup soy milk
1/2 an apple (chopped)
1 handful of blueberries
scoop of soy protein powder
Cinnamon (pinch)
1 tsp maple syrup
**Mix together and microwave for about 1 min.
Workout today:
Still feeling yuck so I did my ab workout from yesterday in hopes I would feel well enough for Fit 2b Moms Stroller class in the am.
For those of you counting, no I'm not quite 6 weeks postpartum yet. I have not seen my Dr. either so I'm really going on how I feel and taking it very slow. I also have the benefit of owning my exercise business so no one was there to turn me away. Today I went back to my Fit 2b Moms stroller class for the first time. I took the low impact cardio options and the did the majority of the strength portions in the class using my trusty Muscle Bar. I had a nice workout for where I am and don't feel exhausted (other than this cold I'm fighting). It made me realize how amazing a group workout is for new moms. Not only did it feel good to get my heart pumpin again but I really enjoyed reconnecting with my friends. My advice, find a group exercise class in your area. If there are stroller based classes call now and let them know you'd like to visit when your cleared to exercise. Finding a group of women who share a common goal of fitness and are at the same place in life (new baby fog) is super helpful and very motivating.
If you've had a baby you or lost a significant amount of weight you know what I'm talking about. Currently I have a closet full of clothes that are too small for me. Subsequently I'm donning some very cute yoga pants trying to make due with a few workout jackets, some long sweaters, and nursing tank tops. Super Sexy! So, do I hang tough and be thankful I don't have to go to a real job in yoga pants. Or, do I buck up and spend some money on pants that I pray won't fit me in a few weeks. Hmmm, yoga pants it is. A third child also means watching the budget a bit more.
I had a great workout today with my sweet 6 year old Max. He ran on the treadmill, did some "push-ups", and a few ab exercises. I also took the time to incorporate the baby for my ab and glut work. My middle child Sydney loved doing monkey squats with mommy. Basically she hangs on to me like a monkey while I power out 20 squats with the extra weight. Great day.
My Meals Today:
Breakfast: 3 egg omelet (2 eggs, 1 white) 1/4 cup f/f cottage cheese.
Snack: nuts, apple (my favorite on the go errand running snack)
Lunch: Soup and salad
Snack: apple sauce (unsweetened) w/w tortilla with peanut butter
Dinner: Chicken and broccoli sauce with green salad.
Snack: Baked Apple and Blueberries (see above blog for recipe)
Diaper workout:
Continuing with 20 squats 6 times a day. As mentioned above, toddlers make great extra challenge. Just be sure your form is good and they are close to your body.
Looking forward to 60 degrees and a long walk tomorrow.
