Strength

Today my thoughts were about strength. You'll see a picture below that I just love. It says "girls that are naturally skinny are lucky, girls that have to fight to be skinny are strong"
If you are naturally skinny don't be offended but I've always thought this way. I would rather be able to do 50 pushups in a 30 minute circuit at 190 lbs than to struggle to do 5 at 130 lbs. I've always looked at it this way...
(I think my mom taught me this)
My weight struggle forces me to be conscious of my health which allows
Me to be healthy on the inside while
I work on the outside. Those who are naturally skinny may be lucky in the sense that they never have to check for back fat while trying on clothes or never worry about pictures at the beach in a swim suit or never perfect a head angle for pictures to reduce multi chin or worry about what they look like every step of every day!, but they're not so lucky afterall. Their body may not indicate high blood pressure, plaque in their arteries, etc.
So I've always been thankful for a body that keeps me making healthy choices for my inside. I'm proud to say that i may be currently in the obese BMI range (I know the charts are a bit iffy and don't take muscle into consideration etc...) but my cholesterol is good, my triglycerides are good, blood sugar good, blood pressure good. The only thing out of balance is my thyroid and that is not related
To weight at all (meaning that is is not caused my an unhealthy lifestyle). I can run a half marathon! There are a lot of people
In the normal BMI range that have high numbers on some of the mentioned tests and can not run a half marathon.

I may need to reapply body glide during a race, but I wasn't dehydrated or hurt when I got done ....

When I go to yoga my chubby midsection may not look so fantastic in my poses but I can forward fold until my hands are flat on the ground. I can do the most advanced tree pose and a crescent pose with only the foot
and hand from my same side on the floor while the other two stretch to the sky....

I may have more to push up but I can knock out my pushups!....same goes for pull ups....
That just means when I lose more
Weight they will be EASY!....

When I go to ripped class my arms
might jiggle a little when I throw upper cuts, but they jiggle less each time....

I walked in to yoga tonight for
The first time in almost a year. It was always a favorite but I dropped
It when I began training for 13.1

I was sore as could be tonight!
I was unsure of how I would do...
Guess what. I did better than the last time I was there. No lie! I was a strong as ever. Stronger actually. My balance was awesome an my flexibility I believe was better (it's always been a strong point for me, but tonight was great)

What does that mean?!
It means that over the last 18 months I may not have lost much in pounds but those inches I've lost aren't just inches. They unlocked strength!

Circuits with Chad that made me want to vomit... Made me stronger

Crossfit circuits with Linda!... Made
me stronger

Water workouts ... Made me stronger

Couch to 5K ... Made me stronger

Training for 13.1 for 7 months... Made me stronger

Run2Walk .... Encouraged me to be strong in someone's place

Cross training on my bike ... Made
me stronger

Running a 5K and 13.1 all
in 9 months... Made me stronger

Blogging... Made me stronger

Yoga, Zumba, RIPPED ... Made me stronger

Making healthy food choices... Made me stronger

I, with Gods help am stronger!!!

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" Phil 4:13

I looked in the mirror today at yoga during tree pose and as we were instructed to clear our minds of our life's hustle and bustle. I looked myself
In the mirror and focused on me and I said to myself. "you are strong"

Does this mean that I think 190 lbs in unhealthy? No Way!!!

What I think is when I lose weight to my goal weight I'm going to be unstoppable!! That's what this means. I want to lose weight to make all of those things listed above easier! Then I'll have to find a new challenge!

I continue everyday to get stronger both physically and mentally...

Focus on being strong!!!

Fantastic Day!!!!

So today was fantastic. It was just what I needed!!! I met with my trainer at 10:00. I arrived at 9:58! I was ON TIME! At weigh in I was nervous and dreading it after such a crazy week this last week. I actually lost 1 lb though! So Yipee. I celebrate any loss big or small!
We headed to our workout spot. Crossfit circuit today. We were going to do 4 rounds of the circuit. A circuit went something like this:
5 pull ups
10 pushups
15 squats or lunges with weights
20ish core moves some w weights

Core was a set of either sit ups/roll
Ups. Leg lifts, or plank ups (which made me want to throw up literally).

Push ups were varied between regular and tricep

Pull ups varied between 3 grips and I use the machine that assists you with your body weight in order to have great form. They are very tough!

Squats were squat touch weight to the floor then push the weight over head.

After 3 rounds Linda said "3 down 2 to go" I said "what?!". We were making such good time I got to get in a fifth round! Wow!

Afterward. I was sweaty and it felt
Good. Our gym was doing free health screenings and had fresh fruit at the pro shop for members today. So Linda had me eat fresh fruit before hitting the elliptical. It was delicious. Nothing like
Fresh fruit when you are hot and exhausted! I did 20 minutes of elliptical. Then I was off to shower and head out to get the day underway with my hubby. I grabbed a low fat chocolate milk for my after.

RIPPED time rolled around and off I went. I have yet to make it to my personal training session and ripped all
In one day until today. And I got in my cardio. RIPPED starts at 5:30. I arrived at 5:27. On time again! Yeah!
Class was NOT easy. We advanced the power segment and OMG!!! I got very fatigued toward the end. The mat had never felt so good like it did when we did our last core set tonight!!!
Stretching was so fantastic!

Food today?
Here's the rundown:

Breakfast:
Cream of Wheat and fresh peach

Mid workout snack:
Fresh fruit (watermelon cantaloupe pineapple strawberries and blueberries)

Post workout snack:
Low fat chocolate milk!

Lunch:
Steamed broccoli and 2 oz Salmon
3 fresh cherries

Afternoon snack (kinda big because lunch was ridiculously too small):
6" Sweet onion Chicken sub on wheat (subway in the hospital, waiting in the waiting room for my MIL to have a test done and my stomach was GROWLING) *i really had my metabolism in high gear today*

Pre workout snack:
1 TBSP natural peanut butter
String cheese (lowfat)
Peach

Dinner:
Turkey Mingnon (spelling)
Grilled squash, zucchini, onion

Dessert:
70 cal fat free no sugar added yogurt bar! Yum! I enjoyed it!

I had like 9 cups of water today
No soda!

Calories Eaten today 1630 (goal 1600)
Calories Burned today in exercise 1527!

I had a great day!

I used to have trouble sweating. Now with my citrus water it's not a problem
Like it was! I had sweat drip into my eye at class tonight. I was so excited! Then at the end of class as we say for core I noticed a sheen of sweat on my shins and basically all over. I love sweating!!!!

I had been very down lately and today was just what I needed. Let's see what my body thinks in the morning when it's time to head to Pilates at 8am!

Veggie ideas!

Not a veggie lover? I've found some great ways to prepare veggies to make them lovable. Maybe not lovable but at least likable!

Old Bay Zucchini and Squash
Slice them about 1/8-1/4 inch slices. Spray a pan lightly with extra virgin olive oi (EVOO)l. Place slices in pan. Sprinkle with old bay and cook down on low with the lid on. This can be high in sodium if you are heavy on the old bay.
So watch out!

Feta Squash
Slice yellow squash in thin slices (1/8in)
Place in a pan that has been sprayed with EVOO. Sprinkle with dried or fresh basil flakes. Cook down with no lid. Stirring/flipping frequently. When they are almost render enough to suit you sprinkle with feta cheese (I like the feta cheese that has a tomato basil flavor added). Serve. This one is FULL of flavor.

Grilling time. I heart grilled veggies!!!

It's always good to purchase a gill wok from a kitchen store ($6). You can chop season and grill your veggies in the wok with lots of variations and it's easy.

Grilled onions. I prefer sweet onions. If you are grilling right on the grill not in a wok slice the onion in 1/4 in slices. Do not pull the layers apart but rather put a pre soaked toothpick through to hold the layers together. One on each side works great. Or a skewer. Lay directly on the grill and every single layer will get caramelized. What could possibly be any better. Yum!!!!!

Grilled peppers. You can cut them up in small pieces or make big slices and lay them on the grill. They can be seasoned or not. Avoid salt as it increases sodium. Check out Mrs. Dash sodium free or reduced sodium seasonings in lots of fun flavors. To cut big pieces I normally grab my big sharpest knife out of the block and set the pepper up like an apple. I start at the top just away from the stem an cut straight down. I can normally get 4-5 pieces out of one pepper.

Grilled Zucchini or Squash

I make 4 slices long ways an put them right on the grill. You can too them with your favorite shredded cheese (but measure it) or old bay (easy on it). Basil, etc. be creative.

Steamed broccoli is one of my faves. Of course it's yummy with tons of butter and cheese like they serve at restaurants. Dont do the butter. Cheese in moderation is okay though. So I usually rinse my broccoli crowns and put them in my steamer pot. I have two kinds. One is a stove top pan with a strainer type insert. You add water underneath. But the broccoli in the strainer part and place the lid on. This is the best way and you can cook with the broccoli broth that is left behind. I've never done that but I kinda want to and would love ideas for that. I also have a pampered chef plastic microwaveable pan that I put a the broccoli in with a drizzle of water and in 3 min. It's done. Microwave is quick but cooks less at a time. Stove too takes like 10ish min but cooks more.
I like to add lemon pepper (easy if it's not sodium free). Also lemon juice gives a great flavor.
One of my favorites is shredded Parmesan cheese. Real cheese not the powdery type but the shredded type. Or mozzarella. Measure cheese always. The Parmesan is a hard cheese. Not good for you so measure and go with as little as possible to get your taste right.

On to Tomatoes. Use Roma, cherry, or vine, or just regular tomatoes. I think the smaller ones have more flavor unless you find them fresh or home grown then they are perfect to slice and eat plain with some pepper and a dash of salt.
On to other ways to eat them. Mix them with mozzarella and olive oil and balsamic vinegar to make a tomato
Salad. Excellent to go with whole wheat pasta or chicken. Okay. So a tomato is actually a fruit. But anyhow. Moving on.

Spinach.

I like to buy baby spinach and make a pizza. I grab a Boboli whole wheat crust off the pizza sauce isle (not refrigerated). I put about 1/8-1/4 of a cup of pizza sauce on the crust. Then I cook the spinach down (like half a container) in a skillet with a drizzle
of EVOO, minced garlic and sometimes a splash of red wine vinegar. It takes like 2 minutes to cook down. Place the cooked spinach around the pizza and top with Feta cheese. Place the pizza in the oven for 10-15 min. Follow
Directions on the crust. Yum!!!
Don't forget to measure your ingredients and calculate your calories and divide by how many slices you've got. When I do this I get 6 slices out of the pizza. 167 cal per slice.

You can also just eat the spinach with the garlic and feta cooked or uncooked. Very good and very healthy veggie.

I think that about exhausts my veggie recipes.

A few other veggie thoughts.

If you don't like them eat them mixed with other foods (peas in Speghetti, a piece of broccoli with a piece or your meat on one fork bite)

Grab some frozen steamable edamames. Never had them? They are one of my childhood favorites. Just steam them and pop them out of their shell right into your mouth. Super healthy. They are just soybeans. Very good!

Spraying EVOO? Don't go for PAM or that type of aerosol Spray. They are full of chemicals and in my opinion taste bad. Grab an oil sprayer from a kitchen store ($10-$15). Pour in EVOO, pump and spray!!! Yep it's that easy!

One last thought.

Go to your local farmers market. Mine has 3 different ones and most are open Tues, Thurs, Sat. Grab fresh veggies and fruit and enjoy!!!

Pictures below of some stuff.

Summer Time

This summer I've been a bit lazy in my blogging and tweeting but not lazy for sure in my working out and eating right. Here's what I've been up to

Monday- meet with Trainer in the am, R.I.P.P.E.D. Class in the PM
Tuesday - Pilates in the am
Wednesday - Spin in the am or R.I.P.P.E.D. In the pm
Thursday - R.I.P.P.E.D. In the am
Friday - Devoted fitness in the am
Saturday - optional class day I go when R.I.P.P.E.D. Is offered.

What is R.I.P.P.E.D.?
Resistance (work with dumbbells)
Intervals (fast footwork type cardio)
Power (weights and pushups type)
Plyometrics (sports jumping training)
Endurance (often kick boxing type)
D is Diet and I do that outside of class

I love R.I.P.P.E.D. Class. I burn around 800-1000 calories per class. Check out www.rippedusa.com to see if there are
Classes near you.

I'm supposed to run/bike/elliptical or swim each day for an additional 30 minutes but I've not gotten good at that yet. Here's to this coming week!

On I eating. I've been going for 1600 calories a day. Some people think its too many but my trainer is who I trust.
She has me eating whole foods (from the ground or God) so in other words, not processed type foods. I'm not over the top with this but I try to stick to it the best I can. I've been having a lot of local fruits and veggies. Even local milk. I've been visiting farmers markets (my town has 3), the local orchard and dairy as well. Past that I get my meats from Kroger or Aldi along with other staples. My most processed food I guess is my Smuckers Natural Peanut Butter and recently this week with house guest I grabbed a box of honey nut Cheerios.

I also have been drinking citrus water. Did you know that lemon or line water helps you sweat?! It does. I use a half lemon or a whole lime in a glass of water. I don't sweat easily but when I start my day with lime water my sweat rolls down my face at R.I.P.P.E.D. Class. It has a ton of other benefits to. Clearing toxins from the kidneys, aiding in digestion just to name a few. Google it and be amazed.

This week I had a not good week for lunch/dinner and exercise. I taught a drum major camp all week. I was provided lunch some days and ate with the students every day (some days healthier than others). But I was thankful and enjoyed those times. Dinner time was out a lot because we had house guests and wanted to show off our towns great spots to eat. I did stick with a healthier breakfast each morning because I could get it in before the day started. I tried fresh peaches for the first time this week. I loved the flavor. Wasn't huge on the fuzziness. Kinda felt like I was eating a stuffed animal. Lol. Very good though!

The drum major camp kept up some
Of my strengthening. I had the kiddos do pushups and planks each day. I did it right with them. Also conducting properly for hours on end with work those arm muscles and your core
Too.

Sometimes life happens and it happened this week. I truly enjoyed my week instructing the kids but I've got to start planning now for band camp
In full force coming up in July. I've got to plan my meals ahead, cook
Ahead, pack them etc.

Amazingly I gained less than a pound this week. I was really worried. So now I'm focused for the week ahead. I can't wait to get back to class and cook up
Some local veggies for dinner!!

It feels so good to blog. Keep watching because I'll keep blogging. Sorry for the recent dry spell!