Color Up Temple!

Monday, April 29, 2013


I have been Longing to post this cause I am super excited. As most of you guys know I am doing the Pretty Muddy Woman's Mud Run in Dallas Texas on June 1st. Well to add to the fun, I am also apart of the Color Up Temple blogger team for the Temple 5k June 29th.  This will be my very 1st Color Run and I will be running with the awesome ladies of the Killeen MRTT group in the 9 am wave. "GO MANIACS!" I do have one more in store but that isn't until later on in the year. This race is one of the many awesome races put on by Race Texas. Race Texas puts on multiple awesome races and their is one for everyone. This year's races include:


6-01-13   Color Up 5K - College Station
6-15-13   Color Up 5K - Tyler
6-23-13   TRI Aggieland Kids Triathlon
6-29-13   Color Up 5K - Temple
7-14-13   TRI Aggieland Sprint Triathlon
10-12-13  Muddy Zombie
12-23-13  Santa's Wonderland Christmas Mile & 5K
 
As you can tell their are a bunch of awesome races and their is enough to tickle anybody's fancy:) When I heard that their was a race coming close to home, I was super excited. Then after talking with the awesome race officials that are in charge of the race, I fell in love with it and are very honored for the opportunity to be apart of the team this year and experience the joy the Color Up Temple race has to offer.
If you are going to be in the Temple Texas area or just would love to participate, feel free to head on over to the COLOR UP TEMPLE  and sign up:) Do you have children who may wanna join in the opportunity as well? Well the awesome part of this race is, they can join too as long as they can run/walk/ride the distance. Awesome huh? Perfect opportunity to get the family involved with something so awesome! 

Still on the edge about joining? Well I know a 5k sounds kinda scary. Especially if it is your first race. I honestly do encourage you to join though because a portion of the funds from the race go towards a charity. Yep a charity called Rotary of Temple South. Rotary Temple South was made to feed the hungry children in Temple. They provide children, that would otherwise go hungry, with nutritious meals. Now I bet I got your ears perked up now huh? So come on over and join me in Temple Texas, June 29,2013 for some awesome color fun for a great cause. So come run by yourself or get together with your friends and start a color team! The more the merrier! Even if you come to run it alone, their will be LOTS of other runners their to help you get through it and it will be LOADS of fun! Just click the top picture or the psychedelic Color up Temple to sign up. Hope to see you guys their!

What Body Type Are You? The Other 2 body Types

Sunday, April 28, 2013

Yesterday's Post I talked about my body type. The Mesomorph. I also I talked a little about the 2 other body types. The Ectomorph and the Endomorph. As promised, I Am posting tonight to talk about the other two body types.  First off all 3 body types can be thin or small. The Ectomorph Is more likely to be thin but isn't always. Just like not all Mesomorphs are super Athletic looking. Trust me when I saw these I was in disbelief that I could even be a Mesomorph. I mean I am nowhere near Miss USA Bodybuilder. How in the world can I be a Mesomorph. This is because Yes I am muscular but yet  can also gain and lose fat fairly quickly if I had the proper tools to do it.

With that being said, let's go into details about the other forms of body Types.

Type one, Ectomorph!
The Ectomorph Body Type's normally can normally have some of the following traits.  Small frame and bone structure, flat chest, small shoulders, they find it hard to gain weight with a very fast metabolism. These people are normally ones who can eat and eat and eat yet never gain weight. They have a fast metabolism which allows them to burn up calories very quickly. Most People would absolutely love to have this kind of body time. These Types have to have a whole lot of calories to gain weight. Workouts for this body type should be short and intense. Making sure to focus on big muscle groups. So any HIIT training will be wonderful for this type.  People with this body type really need to eat before bedtime to avoid muscle catabolism during the night. Also they need to make sure to take a multivitamin. What is muscle catabolism you ask? Well, Catabolism is the set of metabolic pathways that breaks down molecules into smaller units to release energy and is related to wakefulness. In catabolism, large molecules such as polysaccharides, lipids, nucleic acids and proteins are broken down into smaller units such as mono saccharides, fatty acids, nucleotides, and amino acids, respectively. (definition equired from Wikipedia.com) The great thing is though, they can lose weight extremely fast with  proper diet and exercise. Muscle catabolism is when there are more negative than positive agents working in the body. Muscles are always growing or shrinking.  Stress and poor diet, training, and sleep patterns can lead to this muscle catabolism, and it results in losing muscle, and gaining fat.
Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?How-To-Combat-Catabolism-And-Build-Muscle-Fast&id=810943

The Next Type is Endomorph!
This is the body style that people always run to when they see a heavier person. They automatically assume that the person is this body type due to the traits of, a soft round body, short stocky build, slow metabolism and no so defined muscles. These people also find it extremely hard to lose weight. They also find themselves gaining weight very easily as well. The bad part about this all is, their is not a lot of muscle here. It is mostly fat. The way to keep this body style from gaining to much weight is to participate in cardio as well as weight training. Their is some good news though with though. Most people are not just one type. Consider it a curse or a blessing. Depending on how you see it.  It is not uncommon to be a combination of either ectomorph/mesomorph or mesomorph/endomorph. With this being said, you can have a Metomorph body type but gain weight like an Endomorph. Even if you are a 100% Metomorph.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. Their a a huge amount of articles about these 3 body types that can be found everywhere. My suggestion is to go see your local nutritionist and have them help you come up with the perfect diet and exercise plan for your body. Remember to Eat right, Get plenty of sleep and above all, Sweat Pink!


Research resources:  http://www.muscleandstrength.com/articles/body-types-ectomorph-mesomorph-endomorph.html 

My Body Type!

I recently took a body quiz at bodybuilder.com and www.youthink.com. Both have come up with around the same answer. I am a Mesomorph. Below is the description I got from youthink.com.

What body type are you?
Mesomorph
You're all muscles. You excel at most sports that you play and don't have a problem running a race or lifting some weights. Sports you would be good at are baseball, basketball, football, soccer, jogging, swimming, boxing, hockey, wrestling, and weightlifting. You'll probably tend to favor sports that require a combination of strength, endurance, speed and power. Therefore you're most likely to play football, wrestle, box, weight lift or hockey.
Personality Test Results

Click Here to Take This Quiz
Brought to you by YouThink.com quizzes and personality tests.

This one from Bodybuilder.com

  

 Now for the fun part. Trying to figure out a diet that is best for me. I have done many quiz's telling me what type of body I have. So I have really done some looking around to find this answer. Before I get into what I have found, Let me discuss with you the importance of finding out what your body type is. Well, you have heard of the saying no diets are the same, and that not every diet works for every person. This is true for one main reason. The different body Types. Some diets where designed around people who have one specific kind of body type while others are more helpful with someone of a different type. What helps an Endomorph may not work or an Ectomorph. Below are the descriptions of the 3 body types found at bodybuilder.com

Endomorph:

 An Endomorph's biggest concern should be the losing of fat and adopting a lifestyle that keeps it off. Strength training should be done to get a better muscle to fat ratio and therefore improve metabolism. Use moderate weights at a fast training pace (very little rest between sets and exercises). You should lower your calorie intake (but not try to starve yourself) and should eat frequent but small meals. Sugars, sweets and junk food should be eliminated from your diet. Engage daily in some activity like brisk walking, biking, etc., and try to increase the amount of time you spend each week.

 Mesomorph:

 A Mesomorph has a naturally fit body but to maintain it or improve it they should exercise and diet correctly for their type. Strength training can be done more often and for longer sessions then would be good for an Ectomorph, but you must still be careful not to overdo it. You should train with moderate to heavy weighs and at a moderate pace, not resting too long between sets. You will find you gain muscle quite easy (some women and even men might not want to get too bulky, but this won't happen suddenly. When you are happy with your muscle size simply train to maintain it). Stick to a good healthy diet to keep you lean and muscular, and watch for any slow creeping fat gains. Engage in and enjoy aerobic activities, sports, etc. but do not overdo.

 Ectomorph:

 Ectomorphs should concentrate on gaining weight in the form of good lean muscle tissue (some women that are too thin may also want to put on a little fat to look more feminine). Weight training should be done but not too often or for too long each session. Weight should be fairly heavy and workout pace slower (longer rest periods between sets). Diet should be high in calories (good quality food not junk) and you should eat more then you're used to and often. Aerobic and other activities (sports, dancing, etc.) should be kept to a minimum, at least until you are happy with your weight and looks.

 The best way to figure out exactly what you are, go here and take the quiz to find out.

Now for the goody part. Which meal plan I have found to work better for my body type. Let me tell ya, this was no easy task. Especially when a few of them told me to stick with sweet, sugary snacks. I was like ummm NO! Then looked at other places.  I found these 2 articles very interesting and helpful.

Basically I need a diet of 30/30/40 balance of protein/fat/carbohydrates. This was a shocker to me as my doctor told me to be on a 15/35/50 diet, which is a balance of Fat/Carbohydrates/Protein. She didn't even try to go into what kind of body I have or anything. Just gave me a paper and said here do this. It hasn't been working to well :( It also told me that I need to have around 2000 calories. OMG! I find it difficult to even eat the 1200 Calories a day let alone 2000. Partly cause my favorite mean consist of Boneless Skinless chicken breast on top of a mound of spinach leaves. It did tell me however, that I am suppose to be consuming 169.5 grams of protein a day.  I have been aiming for the 150 but now I know to aim higher. Also a good standard for me is to eat all my carbs BEFORE 3pm. Giving my body time to digest them properly and to keep it from becoming the spare tire on my waist.
With these being said, I thought it would be a perfect time to look even deeper and get a more in depth diet plan.  Here is what I came up with. I need to stick with a basic Paleo Food Diet. Funny how I was already trying that and on it and loving it so no major diet switch their. It did however tell me to do less cardio and more weight training. This I am honestly not sure about but I will try it and see. Besides, it never hurts to try :) 

Is what got me into discovering my body type and  trying to figure out why I was doing so much with very little results. I was talking with a really close friend of mine that I have actually thought of her a mentor as well, and she told me I may want to look into seeing what my body type was to see what would help. I was shocked that for a Mesomorph like myself, cardio doesn't really do much help. Here I was doing Lots of cardio and not much strength training. When in turn I was suppose to be doing the opposite. With me learning this, I know now how to modify up my diet and workout to fit the body type I have for maximum results. You can also go take a look at her blog and find some awesome articles on the subject and other fitness and health subjects, by visiting http://sportsbrasandsippycups.com/ Trust me, their are lots of good Need-To-Know articles and giveaways their.  If you have any questions regarding the subject, feel free to drop her a line and I bet she will be happy to help you out.

Other great articles on this topic include:
http://paleopowerchallenge90.wordpress.com/2012/11/12/how-to-eat-for-mesomorph-body-type-naturally-muscular/ - Which tells me to loose weight follow the 80/20 rule or 5 days on & 2 days off.
 http://paleopowerchallenge90.wordpress.com/2012/07/29/paleo-food-list/- If you are not sure on what foods you can and should eat.
 
Examples of what to eat are :
Breakfast
  • One egg, scrambled with one quarter cup spinach and two tablespoons mozzarella cheese
  • One ounce lean ham
  • One slice whole-wheat toast with half a teaspoon margarine made with canola oil 
Snack
  • One small apple
  • One tablespoon peanut butter
Lunch
  • Cobb salad: Two cups mixed greens, half a tomato, two ounces sliced cooked skinless chicken breast, one hard-cooked egg, one eighth an avocado, one tablespoon reduced-fat feta cheese tossed with two tablespoons reduced-fat Italian dressing
  • Six whole-wheat crackers
Dinner
  • Three ounce sirloin steak marinated in one tablespoon each light soy sauce and orange juice and grilled
  • One small baked potato, with skin, topped with one tablespoon each light sour cream and chives
  • Half cup steamed broccoli with one teaspoon olive oil 
(From what I have read, most suggest substituting the peanut butter with nut butter. Like almond butter. I also prefer to use butter found at my local health food store better than margarine due to most margarine you buy in stores is one molecule away from being plastic. I don't that in my body. So natural is better)
I know not everyone is a Mesomorph body type so Tomorrow I will plan to do a post about the other 2 types of body's and links for you to find what is best for you. Sorry for the long post. Hope you guys like it. From my family to yours. Sleep well and remember to Sweat Pink!


Beats to Rock Your Monday Slum!

Sunday, April 21, 2013

We all know Monday's really blow. No denying that.  SO here is a few tunes to start the day off with. These are awesome to start your day off with, because everyone knows the wost day to skip out on your workout is Monday's. So here is a little treasure for your ear holes to help you shred those pounds while still looking and feeling FABULOUS!
First Lets get your heart pumping with style! Here is an awesome tune from Samantha Marq feat. Jessie Payo called Super Girl.


This next tune is for those rocker chicks who love to rock out and aren't afraid to take out their feelings and shred them to bits with an awesome tune. Here is for you guys. It's Blacklisted Me with Reprobate Romance.
This is for those who love some sort of love song that has such an awesome beat. It is called Hard to Breath by Nikki Flores. I like listening to this song when I am out early in the morning jogging. Hope you like it as much as I do.
For those of you who love to save a buck and those who got your own style, this is for you!! Thrift shop- Macklemore
For all you southern cuties out their, here is one cowboy that will have your heart pounding even if you aren't running :) Something about Kenny Chesney with no shirt on singing Pirate Flag...... *Fans*
Yep gotta love it. If you have any request, let me know. I can throw anything your way you wanna hear. Just drop me a line and pass it around ;)

Detox your Toxic Body!

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Trying to lose weight can be hard. Even more so if your body is full of toxins! How do you know if your body is full of toxins you ask? Well it is kinda simple to tell. Your body will let you know. A few tell tell signs of your body being full of toxic material is:
  1. You work out and work out and can't seem to lose any weight.
  2. Allergy or intolerance to certain foods
  3. Bad breath and foul-smelling gas and stools
  4. Constipation, diarrhea, sluggish elimination, irregular bowel movements
  5. Frequent congestion, colds, and viruses
  6. Flatulence or gas and frequent intestinal disorders
  7. Frequent headaches for no apparent reason
  8. General aches and pains that migrate from one place to another
  9. Intolerance to fatty foods
  10. Low energy; loss of vitality for no apparent reason
  11. Lower back pain
  12. Lowered resistance to infections
  13. Needing to sleep a long time
  14. Pain in your liver or gall bladder
  15. Premenstrual syndrome (PMS), breast soreness, vaginal infections
  16. Skin problems, rashes, boils, pimples, and acne
These are just to name a few. If you have one or more of these symptoms, You probably need a good detox to rid your body of these nasty Toxins. What are Toxins?  The Nemours Foundation describes body toxins as, "A toxin is a chemical or poison that is known to have harmful effects on the body. Toxins can come from food or water, from chemicals used to grow or prepare food, and even from the air that we breathe. Our bodies process those toxins through organs like the liver and kidneys and eliminate them in the form of sweat, urine, and feces."

Kinda gross isn't it?  Well, as stated above, their are 4 kinds of toxins. Air, Water, Food, Chemicals. Surprisingly enough you really can't avoid any of these toxins. If you ever eat out or even buy foods from the grocery store, You most likely have been exposed to the food Toxins. If you drink out of the tap or even wash your foods in the water, You have been exposed to toxins in water. Air, that one no one. including the cleanest person, can get away from that one. Lastly, their is the Chemical toxins. These are actually very common. More common than you think. Even if you buy the all natural cleaners and such, you are still exposed to these toxins.  Kinda scary to know by just walking out your door or even cleaning your home, Your body is being contaminated by toxins that can cause us severe harm.

Now that I have talked about what toxins are and how you can get them, Let's now discuss what you can do to get rid of them. First off, your body has a built in detoxification system already at work.  Our detox organs include: liver, kidneys, skin and lungs. Our bodies' digestive, lymphatic and circulatory systems all play a major role in the process of detox. Wish I could say this was enough but unfortunately it isn't. With all the toxins we are exposed to, our bodies can't keep up getting rid of it all. So we need to give it a little bit of help to insure our bodies can help keep us healthy longer.

Simple, Inexpensive Detox Measures you can do at home!
  Most of you know I don't have a huge amount of money. So where I can save a dollar or two, I will do it. So the easy and simple ways to detox your body will surprise you.

1.  Eat foods high in fiber.  Foods that are ultra high in 'colon-cleansing' fiber, are meant to literally brush and sweep out the built up toxins in your colon. A few examples of these are, bran cereal, black, lima and kidney beans, lentils, avocados, peas, raspberries, grapefruit and dried oats. All natural plant foods have dietary fiber in their make-up. (warning! Ask your doctor before ingesting Grapefruit as it tends to cause negative reactions to some medications)

2. Fasting. A fast is an ultra low-calorie diet (sometimes in all-liquid form). These are usually juice diets. A juice fasting is normally where you intake mostly freshly juiced fruits and veggies for a few hours to a few weeks, to take the stress off your digestive system for in order to strengthen the natural detoxing abilities of your body. These juices contain a lot of the high fiber fruits and veggies above.  Only in juice form. I like to juice just because you can use the pulp to make an awesome bread when you making home made pizza. (I will include a how too below)

3. Skin Detox. Another form of detox comes through the skin: saunas, HIIT and 'hot yoga' provide high-sweat environments that aim to speed up detox through the largest organ in your body. Your skin. Epsom salts and 'skin brushing' are also wellness practices that have been known to speed up the detoxification of skin-bound toxins. You can find Epsom salt at nearly every grocery store and every pharmacy. I actually like to take Epsom salt and mix it with water and juice from fruits like watermelon and strawberries with a few drops of olive or coconut oil, making it into a skin skin scub to remove the surface toxins from my body.

4. Exercise and Hydration. Exercise actually works with your lungs,skin and blood/digestive system, to speed up your circulatory and respiratory systems. In turn it promotes natural sweating, an all natural detox method used by the body. Which is why it is important to also shower after a workout to rinse off these toxins before they are reabsorbed though the skin. Another very important part of a natural detox, is your hydration level! Your body is able to detoxify itself a whole lot easier if you are drinking the proper amount of water you need daily.The best way to determine this is take your weight, say you are 250 lbs. Take that number and divide it by 2. This means you need to drink no less than 125 oz. of water a day. Water, fresh fruit juices, herbal tea, and even coconut water are wonderful beverages to stay hydrated. 

5. Massage or Physical Stimulation. I actually love this one to be honest. When massaging your body, you are actually loosening up those pesky toxins that are stored away and hiding in your cells. By breaking these loose, it allows your other organs to go into action to rid your body of these nasty things. Besides, It feels good and helps release Serotonin which makes you feel better.

Now the yummy part! Recipes!
This one just so happens to be my Favorite detox method when It comes to drinks. I have made this one a few nights ago and I had to make more.
I have seen so many variations of this recipe. If you go to google.com and type in Detox Water, You will find a ton of different ones.

DETOX WATER
16 oz Coconut Water
1 sliced grapefruit 
1 Tangelo (or other sweet orange style fruit)
1/4 large cucumber, thinly sliced
2 peppermint leaves- you can add more if you want a more predominate mint flavor
Plain,  or Fruit Chunk Ice
(I added blueberry ice in mine a friend ads lemon or lime ice in her's. You can also add other berries to sweeten it naturally ~Add 1-2 small blueberries or thinly sliced fruit, to each ice compartment, fill with water and freeze~)
Directions
Wash and slice all of your fruit. Combine all ingredients then add 16 oz. of coconut water into a large pitcher.
 If you don't plan to drink this right away, refrigerate! (the longer it sits, the more the natural juices infuse in the water)
Warning: The longer it sits, the stronger the flavors will become. The more grapefruit you use, the more the water will taste like pure grapefruit water. A friend even tried this and mixed it with 12 oz of coconut water instead of water and she liked that as well.


Juice Pulp Pizza Crusts
Main
Never waste the nutritious left over pulp from your juicer again! This recipe calls for ‘ground almonds’, and I find the best kind to use in this is pre-dehydrated almond pulp left over from making nut milk. It is very crunchy and gives these pizza crusts a fantastic bite. If you haven’t got any dehydrated almond pulp to hand though, don’t worry as fresh almonds ground in your coffee grinder or pre-bought will also work well. I’ve used cumin in the recipe, just because I love it, but admittedly it’s not very Italian! So feel free to substitute the cumin for oregano or any other Mediterranean herbs.
Ingredients
  • 2 cups of fresh vegetable pulp (from making roughly 1 pint of juice)
  • 5 sun-dried tomatoes, finely chopped
  • 1 small carrot, grated
  • 1 cup ground almonds (see note above!)
  • 1 cup ground pumpkin seeds (ground in a coffee grinder)
  • ⅓ cup ground chia (ground in a coffee grinder)
  • ½ red onion, finely chopped
  • 3 tbsp tamari
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp cumin
  • 1 tsp sea salt.
Instructions
  1. Place all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
  2. Either using a spoon or your hands, mix all the ingredients thoroughly (I find using my hands works best!).
  3. Once mixed, scrape the mixture out onto a Teflex-lined dehydrator tray.
  4. Press the mixture down and work it into a large flat circle, about a ¼” thick (think pizza!). You can also make it into little mini circles – get creative and have fun!
  5. Roughly score the mixture with a sharp knife into 8 or 12 slices, depending on how big you want your slices.
  6. Dehydrate the pizza at 115° for 8 hours, or over night. When the top is dry, flip it over and peel away the Teflex liner. Break the individual slices up and place back in the dehydrator for another 8-12 hours.
  7. When they’re ready, they should be nice and dry and crunchy. Remove from the dehydrator and get topping!
Notes
Dehydrating may seem like a long winded thing to do, but it is actually a very stress free way of making food. Once the mix is in, you can just forget about it, and if it runs over an hour or two, nothing has really spoiled. The only thing is planning ahead. If you are wanting Pizza tomorrow night, get the mix in tonight and it will be ready and waiting for you the next day. Also, if you’re making crackers, it’s a good idea to make a big batch so you always have some on hand. 
Recipe found at  http://getrawcous.com/recipies/juice-pulp-pizza-crusts
Roll out flat on wax paper and stick in the oven with door opened a little to dehydrate till it is as crispy as you like.
 Marinara Sauce
    1 large onion (chopped)
    5 cloves garlic (chopped)
    2 teaspoons olive oil
    28oz tomatoes (crushed, peeled)
    6oz tomato paste
    7 cups water
    3 tablespoons Italian seasoning
    2 tablespoons dried basil
    1 teaspoon honey
    1 pinch crushed red pepper
    salt
    pepper

recipe found at http://www.primalprimos.com/paleo-marinara-sauce/
In a large pot over medium heat, add olive oil and sauté onion, shallot and garlic until the onion becomes transparent.
 Next, add crushed tomatoes, water, tomato paste, seasonings, and honey. Reduce heat to low and allow to simmer., stirring occasionally.

Add the Marinara to your freshly made pizza crust and top with your favorite veggies and meat. Injoy!
(this recipe is Paleo Friendly)
Research resources:
http://www.primalprimos.com/paleo-marinara-sauce/
http://getrawcous.com/recipies/juice-pulp-pizza-crusts
http://kblog.lunchboxbunch.com/2009/09/what-are-toxins-in-my-body-detox-101.html
http://www.naturesintentionsnaturopathy.com/body-detox/signs-and-symptoms-of-a-toxic-body.htm

Injured but Pushing On!

Friday, April 12, 2013

Saturday of last week was amazing. I ran/jogged/power walked over 9 miles. I was super stoked and really really happy. I woke Sunday super tired so I called it a rest day.  Well, Monday I went to the hospital to visit a friend and took the stairs. Made the elevator my enemy :) Walked up and down and up again a total of 36 floors. Even more happy with myself. Well, at the time I was. Tuesday morning comes, I sit up in bed and went to stand up.... Bad pain in my arch shooting towards the ball of my foot. Every time I would put pressure on my foot, it would come back. So I called the Dr. and told her about the pain. She told me to put n my boot, from when this happened last time in my other foot, and wear it for a week. Talking about a wake up call. I hated wearing this the first time. Now I have to wear it again.

Well, I haven't let this boot stop me. I have taken this opportunity to get back to doing my mat workouts. Doing crunches, arm chest presses, weighted pullovers, and many more. I have even been doing the leg lifts. (with the added weight of the boot, it has had some awesome burning with it) Yep, I got to keep the bright side of it. Everything happens for a reason. We may not know the reason at the time, but their is always a reason.

I have learned from this experience, listen more to your body. Don't ignore that feeling you get when your body is telling you to rest it out. I thought I listened but I guess I didn't listen well enough. I over did myself. In result, I got injured. Now, I am focusing on my upper body and mid section while I recover. I am also going to try this week to get some ace bandages to wrap up my foot for when I am doing the workouts and make sure to save up for a few more pair of compression socks.

I have had some time to think this week and organize my priorities a bit more. Yes, I want to lose weight and all pretty fast, who doesn't. After this, I know I need to listen to my body and not try to rush things. I have also found out that I have not been eating enough. I have been keeping my caloric intake between 1200-1500 calories. Even when I work out a lot. That is wrong for me to do. If I burn 3k-4k calories, I need to eat more than 1500. I need to try to keep between 7000-1400 calorie deficient at the most. Not the 2300+ I been doing a week now. From the few awesome people I have talked to, eating that low of a caloric intake even when working out, will cause my metabolism harm.  Which kinda explains the 1 lbs a week drop I seem to be doing lol.

I recently came across some awesome Nutrition Images that I have added to make one that I would love to share with you guys. In the following image, you will see how much of each food you need in your diet, from how many fruits/vegetables, to meats , to fats, and Carbohydrates. This has helped me focus myself on the foods I eat and intake. I have also added Chia seeds to my diet. Okay I do have to warn you on the Chia seeds. They are really slimy and if you have a texture issue to slimy things like me, I wouldn't make them into a juice. Believe me, I through up after drinking it cause the feel of it sliding down my throat was too much for me. So I have been looking into other ways to add this to my foots without the slimy effects.  I have also tried coconut water. Okay, this is from my experience and mine alone. I do not like it. I have always had it to be sweet and yummy but the ones I got were bitter and gross. One I got even tasted like it was syrup. Not for me. I did however soak my chicken in it before adding the almond flour to it when making my Chicken Parmasian. I also added it to a smoothie I made with spinach, avocado, and berries. By itself though, I couldn't do it. Wish I could but I can't. I just don't like it. I know everyone has different taste. Like me, I LOVE avocado hummus. It is yummy on top of celery. I know a few other healthy living people who hate it. So these are from my experience and what I have found from my own trials. You never know, you may like them. You never know till you try. Well without further delay, here are those charts I was talking about.

In the next few days, I will be adding more recipes to my food page so please keep an eye out for some more awesome yummies. If you don't know where to find it, it is on the left side of this post labeled weight loss meals :)  Lots of hugs to you all and remember Sweat is Fat Crying and DON'T forget the importance of rest days. Your body will let you know when it is time!

Knuckle Lights Review!

Saturday, April 6, 2013



I have recently had the pleasure of working with knuckle lights to review their awesome running lights. As most of you know, I am not a great runner but I do have 3 kids. So my "running time" is mommy time. The bad apart about this has been, I can only run in the morning or evenings. Which has limited the "Me Time"

Well when I got these in the mail, I was super excited! From the video, They looked beyond cool and I had that little voice in the back of my head saying "yeah buddy here come's me time" lol I can now have that me time! When I got them I didn't expect the light to be so bright. I put the Batteries in and turned them on. After a moment of OOops, my husband could finally see without that green dot you see if you look into the light too long.  I on the other hand was rolling on the floor laughing! SO were the kids. He didn't think it was funny at the time though lol.

Okay enough about the Oops moment, even though I am laughing yet again remembering that moment, These things actually  work. They move with your hands so you can just move them to where you are wanting to look without actually moving your head like most of the other lights I have seen. They have kept me from tripping over things and have even helped me stay noticeable by cars. I even had a police officer say they looked cool. Note to self, if you can't even see a speck of light in the sky, running around your neighborhood is not to wise. Someone thought I was a up to no good lol. I had to pass the stickers and such to him cause now, he wants one :) See good things sometimes come out of bad situations :)
These lights are meant to be worn like brass knuckle, each (their are 2 in a package) illuminate with four 45-lumen LED floodlights powered by three AAA batteries. Each light secured with an adjustable silicone straps to keep it from moving around to much. They have a single power button that is easily accessed by your thumb. Turn them on and you are ready to run those early morning or late night runs. Here is the best part.... It is weatherproof! Yep you just have to love that!

Is what I have to get use to is that my hands sweat a lot and it makes them kinda slippery on my hands a little. Not much but enough to have to get me to grip tighter on the bands which makes my hands sweat more. Even with the strap as tight as it could go. Oh well though. Overall I really like this product. I also love how their are different Light settings you can use for different running situations. Like High for Really dark, Medium for when the sun is coming up and I haven't figured out what the blinking light is good for other than playing flashlight tag with my kids at night lol. They like it cause they have to be quick with it. This idea was awesome! It is an awesome product and I am really glad to have had the opportunity to use these.  I would recommend these to fellow runners and have a few times already. They think it is a great idea. This product has given me back what every mother needs, her ME TIME!

Swinging This Just how you like it!

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Yep the name says it all, It is time for some Kettlebell swings. From experience, these can cause serious pain if done wrong. I am still having to wrap y wrist up from it :( The problem is, a lot of people let the kettlebell determine where the wrist is going to move and that is not the way it should happen. You really need to try to keep your wrist locked wile doing these. I had to go 2 weeks without even picking up my kettlebell from doing this wrong. So from experience, this is something that really needs to be fixed before damage occurs. Trust me it is not fun at all. I love my kettlebell and I miss it.  This Time I am going to start with the video and then show you in text how to properly execute this exercise.


 • Stand with your feet 6–12 inches outside of shoulder width on either side, each foot pointed outward about 30 degrees. If toes pointed straight ahead were 12:00 on a clock face, your left foot would point at 10:00 or 11:00, and your right would point at 1:00 or 2:00.
• Keep your shoulders pulled back and down to avoid rounding your back.
• The lowering movement or back swing, is a sitting-back-on-a-chair movement, not a squatting- down movement.
• Do not let your shoulders go in front of your knees at any point. This will cause strain on your back.
• Imagine pinching a penny between your butt cheeks when you pop your hips forward. This should be a forceful pop, and it should be impossible to contract your rear more.

Don't forget to secure your rist and don't let the wait pop it in different directions. this is where injury occurs.

Tough to the Core!

Sorry I kinda forgot to post yesterday EEK! So today I will make it up to you guys with 2 awesome workouts and the info on how to do it. First off, I will show you Crunches, Their are so many styles of crunches these days. All work your body in different ways and all focus on a different part of the core.

 First off, Basic Crunch
Lie on your back on the floor. Using a mat or carpeted surface is more comfortable.
Bend your knees. Your feet can be flat on the floor, or you can keep them suspended in the air during your crunches for a little extra crunch.
Cross your arms in front of your chest. You can also place your hands behind your neck or head, but many people tend to pull their head or neck up during the exercise, which can place extra strain on the spine. Your head and neck should be resting on your hands.
  •    For increased resistance, you can hold weight on your chest or behind your head.
Curl your back to lift your shoulders towards the ceiling (not towards your knees) using strictly your abdominal muscles. It is very important not to lift your entire back off the floor, as this can cause back strain, and the extended movement does not help you develop six pack abs any faster.
Relax your abs before doing another crunch.

Reverse Crunch
Lie on your back on the floor. Put your hands on your stomach or palms down at your sides.
Lift your feet off the floor. You can either have your knees bent at a 90 degree angle, or you can point your feet in the air with your legs as straight as you can get them.
Lift your hips off the ground, using your abs. Be careful not to push down with your hands, back, or head. If you can't lift your hips using just your abs, you'll need to build more strength with regular crunches. Otherwise, you're just wasting energy while other parts of your body do the work.

Twist Crunch
Follow the steps for regular crunches, but instead of lifting both shoulders off the ground equally, lift one shoulder towards the opposite direction (left shoulder towards right, right shoulder towards left). Alternate shoulders. This targets the obliques (the muscles at your sides).

Side Crunch
Follow the steps for regular crunches, but lean both legs to one side (still bent, knees together, close to floor). Lift both shoulders off the ground simultaneously like in a regular crunch. Since your torso is twisted, you will feel it in your side. Do several crunches on one side, then move your legs over and repeat on the other side.

Cable Crunch
Stand and hold onto the cable.
Pull the weight down by curling your back and engaging your abs.


Raise your arms if you are strong!

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Yeppy! It is an arm/upper body workout day :) I love doing upper body because I know that With the added strength, I can do more airplanes and superman's with my son. for those who don't have kids, an airplane is when you have your child laying belly down in your arms as you run around the house making airplane noises :) A superman is when you hold your child by the waist and lift them in the air and they pretend to be superman :) Not only do I love to do them as my arms feel the burn after, but he loves them just as much.

As all of you awesome readers know, this week I have teamed up with a few awesome bloggers about the proper way to do certain exercises. Today I figured that due to yesterdays squats, I will do my second favorite workout..... THE BURPEE! Yeah that's right, I said it. I love them. They are fun and I can so feel the burn with them :)

For those of you that are scraching your heads asking what a Burpee is, Here is a little info found from wikapedia.

The burpee, also known as the squat thrust, is a full body exercise used in strength training and as aerobic exercise. It is performed in four steps, and was originally known as a "four-count Burpee":

    Begin in a standing position.
    Drop into a squat position with your hands on the ground. (count 1)
    Extend your feet back in one quick motion to assume the front plank position. (count 2)
    Return to the squat position in one quick motion. (count 3)
    Return to standing position. (count 4)

There are so many different variations of this exercise. Some I have shown you in previous posts in a video I did. Here is a few more that may interest you.

Pull-up burpee
    Combine a pull-up with the jump or do a pull-up instead of the jump.
Muscle-up burpee
    Combine a muscle-up (a variation of a pull-up) with the jump or do a muscle-up instead of the jump.
Double burpee
    Instead of one pushup, do two in a row. This cancels the drive from landing after the jump and makes the next jump harder. Each part of the burpee might be repeated to make it even harder.
One Leg burpee
    The athlete stands on one leg, bends at the waist and puts hands on ground so they are aligned with shoulders. Next jump back with the standing leg to plank position. Jump forward with the one leg that was extended, and do a one-leg jump. Repeat on opposite side.
Side burpee
    The athlete bends at waist and places hand shoulder-width apart to the side of right or left foot. Jump both legs out to side and land on the outer and inner sides of your feet. Jump back in, jump up, and repeat on opposite side.
Shitee
    Starting in plank position perform a push-up, then with hands maintaining position on the floor quickly bring feet forward so that the toes are even with the hands, then return to plank position.

Just to name a few. I personally are a little to heavy still to make this all in one jump so I do the modified version. Which is instead of extending my feet back in a jump, I lower down onto one knee then placing my other knee down, then stepping back into a plank with both feet then walking my feet up like a mountain climber,then standing up and adding a jump to the end.  After a certain amount of those, you will definitely feel it.

So as I will do with every exercise, I will add a video to help you do a proper burpee :) Hope you enjoy :)

(at 45 seconds is the kind I do)

I really hope you like these as much as I do :) Happy work out!


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