FitFeat

Archive for September, 2009

Pretty as a Postcard

Sep 19

Posted by in Fit on Vacation | 6 Comments

Happy Saturday! 

Thought I’d start the post with this pretty shot from last night’s walk after we made it to our first stop on the RV tour.  This is on Lake Michigan. The water was REALLY choppy and the waves were crashing against the end of the pier.

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Hope you all had a great Friday!  Here’s the recap of mine:

My unplanned exercise for Friday consisted of a whole lot of stair climbing while getting the RV packed up and ready to go.  My mom’s house is 3 stories, with their main living level on the second so I think I made (what felt like) 50 trips up and down the stairs. 

Then after driving 250 miles, we arrived at the first state park on the list, so my mom and I took a quick 1.2 mile walk to check out the lighthouse on the pier (and I wanted to scope out possible running areas for my Saturday morning run.)

Having lived in Colorado for the last 18 years and being blessed with such amazing scenery all the time, it’s easy to forget how pretty the Great Lakes are: never-ending sandy beaches and huge waves, sailboats and lighthouses.  I’m sure I’m going to take a million pictures by the time this trip is over.

Coffee and breakfast were at mom’s house (Ezekial toast with peanut butter plus a banana appetizer):

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Lunch was in Indiana along the turnpike (Ezekial sandwich with avocado, tomato from mom’s garden, sprouts, pepper and mustard.) 

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My afternoon snack was yet ANOTHER new flavor of Larabar that I found, Pistachio!!  Well new to me anyway - I’ve never seen this flavor before anywhere!  I’ll be buying this one again if I can ever find it.

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We made a very late dinner after we were all set up in the campground at the state park.  Mom and G-ma had hot dogs while I had a naked Gardenburger and a side salad.  My salad seems to be limited by the size of my paper bowl!  I should have brought a huge Tupperware from home for my monster-sized salads.  I’m sure they will be happy when my produce supply starts to diminish – I am completely hogging the mini-fridge in this camper. 

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After that it was time to chill.  I made a cup of mango passionfruit herbal tea before bed and read a little.  RV-ing is apparently very exhausting  ;)

This morning, we all woke up once at 4:50, then tried to sleep for another hour.   After a warm cup of coffee on a chilly morning, the sun started to come up so it was time to hit the pavement.   I’d found a gorgeous boardwalk on the evening walk that went all the way from the lighthouse pier into the town.  The run was great.  My thanks to Carrie for her great note in the comments section urging me not to miss out on the chance to sightsee this way – it inspired me to get out there.  

I ran a 4 mile route before breakfast to tour the town and the harbor.  It was FANTASTIC!!  They are setting up for a Salmon Festival in this town and there is a Saturday Farmer’s Market.  I was out while they are all getting their tents and booths all set up.  I passed a lot of fisherman and people out walking dogs with their coffee in hand.  I could so be a coastal resident.  There’s something about quaint waterfront towns – it just has a different pace.

So Carrie’s comment got me wondering this question to pose to everyone:  For you runners or walkers out there, what has been your favorite ‘destination exercise’?   I’d say today’s was up there pretty high on my list, but I think overall my favorite was a long run I took with MSP while we were visiting his family near Seattle, WA.  We were in a large ‘state park’ type of setting that was so green and there was a light mist while we ran.  I just remember feeling like it was a ‘romantic run’ if there is such a thing.  :)   Very peaceful and pretty.

Well, I think they are waiting on me to hit the “publish” button so I can attach the little car to the RV and head on to the next state park.  Have a GREAT rest of your weekend and I’ll be back tomorrow if the next stop has cell coverage. 

Thanks for all the comments! I love reading each and every one!

– Shari B.  =)

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And We're Off…

Sep 18

Posted by in Uncategorized | 7 Comments

Hey there friends!

Happy Friday!  Are you ready for the weekend?

Well, the plane trip went perfectly.  I sat next to a really nice girl who is also a runner so we chatted a bit.  I read a little of “The Lost Symbol” (good so far!) but had tired eyes, so ended up mostly just watching the little TV on the seat in front of me.  Landed, got to the grocery store to pick up my produce for the trip and we are officially on the road in what my friend Pat calls the “Rockstar Bus”. I am a sleepy girl today – didn’t get to bed until well after 11:00, slept off and on, and got up at 4:20 here which is 2:20 on my body’s clock. (Good thing I won’t be doing any of the RV driving!) I definitely see a nap in my future!  :)

Upon arriving at my mom’s house, I found out that I do NOT have cell phone service here!  AAACCCKK!  OK, I’m already suffering iPhone withdrawal because I am typically on my iPhone internet all the live long day! And my cell phone access is my internet connection.  I noticed that I have a weak cell signal now that we are on the road so I am taking my chance at getting a post out there while I have the opportunity!  Uploading photos is a S-L-O-W process with this connection :)

So… if you don’t see a post from me for a few days at a time, don’t think I’m bailing on you!  It will just mean that I can’t get out to the site to post anything!

Here’s how Thursday went down…

Weight Training (Back/Tris/Abs):

  • TM warmup plus arm swings/shoulder circles
  • DB Rows 4 working sets of 12, 10, 7, 12 reps
  • Parallel Grip Lat Pulldowns 4 working sets of 11, 9, 8, 12 reps
  • Tricep Pushdowns 4 working sets of 12, 8, 11, 9 reps
  • Weighted Ball Crunch 2 sets of 15, 20 reps
  • V-Crunch 2 sets of 18, 20

Afterward I took the dogs out (together even) for a brief 20 min walk since I had to get back and finish the last of the packing to head out to the airport.

Thursday’s coffee mug was appropriately letting me know that “My Journey Begins Today” :)

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I realized that I haven’t really mentioned what I put IN my coffee. I use a little Coffeemate liquid fat-free hazelnut, with ½ a packet of stevia. While I know that the Coffeemate is not the healthiest choice, I haven’t found anything I like better yet for my coffee. I did purchase some MimicCreme via Amazon so I’ll be trying that out when I get back and will let you know how it goes.  I’m not really a fan of the Silk soy creamer – I end up needing to use twice as much of that as the Coffeemate.

Breakfast was Genesis toast with almond butter and raw honey, and a side of Almond Milk.Pic3 026

Mid-morning was my blended green goodness ‘to go’ and I had JUST enough remaining fruit! 1 clementine, ½ banana, ½ pear, fist o’ spinach, romaine leaves, ½ cucumber.

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Next, I packed up some food to take with me to the airport.

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While waiting at the gate I had ¾ of the sandwich (Genesis bread, Tofutti faux cream cheese, spinach & basil leaves, yellow tomato slices, sea salt & pepper). On the plane I ate my little side salad of spinach, pepitas, zucchini ribbons, yellow tomato, olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette. I had also packed some leftover salmon to put on the salad, but I just couldn’t bring myself to stink up the whole plane by opening the baggie. I didn’t want to be THAT person! ;)

Food for the rest of the evening was not much and pretty random. I had a few of my “Mary’s Gone Crackers” on the way to the grocery store, then when I got to the house I had ½ of a leftover Larabar, a few pepitas (pumpkin seed kernels) and a serving of Amazing Grass Wheatgrass.

Question for today: Which do you find more challenging when you travel: healthful eating or getting your exercise? Drop me a comment! I’m thinking that for me this time it might be the exercise. I imagined I’d run a lot to see the sights, but I’m also nervous to run in strange places all by myself. We’ll see how it goes!

OK, I’m going to hit the ‘Publish” button while I still have a connection!  Have a GREAT weekend everyone! Hopefully I’ll ‘see’ ya again tomorrow!

– Shari B. =)

Everything But the Kitchen Sink

Sep 17

Posted by in Fit on Vacation | 9 Comments

Hello blog friends!

Wahooo Thursday is here!  Travel day!  (woot woot!)  I am very excited to see my family tonight when I touch down in Michigan.  I’m also ready to just get out the door today and off to the airport so I can STOP THINKING I’m going to forget something.  I am an insane traveler, I swear.  I spend more time planning, packing, preparing and overthinking than I actually spend on any trip.  Even for short ones.  Do any of you do that too? 

I have been particularly overthinking this trip, as I will be spending a full week of my vacation in an RV and nowhere near a Whole Foods market!  And since I have been loving all the positive effects of the great nutrition plan I follow at home, I don’t want to miss out on that while travelling.  In the past, I have seemed to catch some sort of cold every time I’ve been on a plane.  So to a certain level, I feel I am kind of ‘testing’ my current food plan to see if it has boosted my immune system!  :)

I have vacuum-packed rice protein powder, Vega whole food optimizer, Amazing Meal, and nutritional yeast.  I have purchased what looks like a year’s supply of Larabars.  I’ve packed olive oil, almond butter and agave nectar into small containers, then vacuum packed the containers so they (hopefully) don’t leak.  I have Mary’s Gone Crackers, pepitas, sundried tomatoes, raisins, stevia.  If the plane crashes on a desert island a la “Lost” I’ll be SET! I am taking a small suitcase (besides my big suitcase) just for food and running shoes.  Am I crazy?  Maybe.  But no one can call me unprepared!

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Normally I’d just go on vacation and eat what everyone else is eating.  This has always led to severe bloating, cramping, gas and other unmentionables which seem to impact my fun.  Being in an RV with paper-thin bathroom walls is plenty of motivation to be a little freakish about packing my own food this time around.  ;) My brother has already been informed that we are going directly from the airport to the grocery store so I can stock up on green smoothie fixins for the road. 

I’m also very excited to get on the plane today because I’ve loaded the new Dan Brown book onto my Kindle and I’m itching to read it!  It’s been WAY too long since he released the “DaVinci Code”.  I hope this one lives up!

Yesterday’s feats & eats:

Weight Training (Legs/Shoulders):

  • TM Warmup + Ball Squats to get the blood flowing to the leg muscles
  • Side Steps with Exercise Band around ankles 3 sets of 30, 40, 40 reps
  • Weighted Step-Ups  3 sets of 15 reps per leg
  • Overhead Shoulder Press 3 sets of 15, 12, 12
  • Weighted Static Lunges 3 sets of 15 reps per leg
  • Single Leg Lying Hamstring Curls 2 sets of 15 reps per leg
  • 1-Arm Overhead Shoulder Press 3 sets of 15, 10, 15 reps per arm
  • Bicycles for Abs 3 sets of 30

Lots of hamstring and hip flexor stretching between sets this time too.

I got the dogs ready to go out for their ‘wog’ and made the mistake of taking them together.  We made it .12 mile.  That decimal was not in the wrong spot.  We literally went 12/100 of a mile.  They were crazy beasts so we turned around and came back, lest I ‘accidentally’ unhook their leashes while near some open space and let them find their own way home.  It was that kind of morning with the spazoids.  I don’t understand how little creatures who can be so cute can drive me so absolutely up a wall sometimes!  :)   Moms out there, how do you do it with REAL kids? 

I had my JOE in my Denver Starbucks coffee mug this time, since it was my last full day here for awhile!

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Breakfast after my workout was a green smoothie with my diminishing stock of produce.  8 oz water, scoop of rice protein, 1/2 banana, 1/2 pear, one clementine, BIG fist o’spinach, 1/2 cucumber and 2 romaine lettuce leaves.  I think my pink cup makes the green smoothie even greener!

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Midmorning I was in the mood for something savory, so I plated up some Mary’s Gone Crackers and herbed goat cheese.

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For lunch I continued to clean out my fridge of leftovers, so this was the last of my Whole Foods Thai Lime Shrimp.  Although, there was no shrimp left so this was essentially flavored noodles :)   I added zucchini ribbons to bump up the veggies a bit.

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Afternoon snack was an unpictured small bowl of dry Mom’s Best Naturals cereal during my packing frenzy. 

Dinner was MSP’s favorite:  Chipotle.  He could eat there every day and never tire of it.  I like it once in a blue moon.  I ordered the veggie bowl with rice, green peppers & onions, black beans, salsa and guac.  At home, I plated some of it, and surrounded it with some Baked Tostito Scoops for the guac.  And sprinkled it with nutritional yeast for some cheesy flavor.

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Later in the evening I had a cup of herbal tea and half of a “Simply” chocolate chip cookie from a batch I made for MSP to snack on while I’m gone. 

* * * * *

When I had originally planned to start my blog, I figured I’d begin in October right after I return from my trip.  But because accountability is something I feel we can all benefit from in our health & fitness endeavors, I decided that blogging DURING this road trip would be the ultimate in accountability so that you the reader can see how I (attempt to) keep up with healthy eating and exercise while on vacation.

I hope to maintain my same blogging schedule while I’m “on the road” – it will be dependent upon internet and cell phone access.  I hope you’ll ‘join me’ as I take FitFeat on tour.  It should be interesting if not comical!

Thank you to everyone who has been reading the blog so far and thank you for commenting!  Keep spreading the word so we can get that first giveaway going when we have comments from 30 individuals!

Have a GREAT Thursday everyone and I’ll be back with an update from the road the first chance I get!

– Shari B. =)

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Reader Asks: How Much Water?

Sep 16

Posted by in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Hi Blog Friends!  

FitFeat reader Carrie asked a great question yesterday in the comments section about water consumption.

“How much water do you drink during the day? … Do you drink it “plain,” flavored, or mostly in your smoothies?”

Water consumption needs vary from person to person.  If you consume a fair amount of protein or processed foods, you will need more water than someone who doesn’t.  Same if you drink a lot of caffeine, soda or alchohol, live in a dry climate, or sweat a lot when you exercise. 

If you eat a diet that is high in raw fruits and veggies, you’ll find you won’t need as much because many of those foods are water-rich already. 

When I was dieting down for my first NPC Figure Competition, I was drinking 1 to 1.5 gallons of water every day.  But I was also following a very high protein, moderate fat, low carb nutrition plan and exercising my tail off.  These days (since my nutrition is much different) if I had to guess at a total amount I’d say I probably drink about 2 quarts a day, give or take.  I drink water throughout the day, taking in more between meals rather than at meals so that I don’t dilute my ‘digestive juices’.  

A good rule of thumb to follow for knowing whether you are appropriately hydrated is urine color.  Drink enough water so that your urine becomes clear.    (If you take a high-potency vitamin, your urine may not be completely clear, but you’ll be able to gauge by dilution.)  The average would be 2-3 quarts.  It takes a lot to drink too much water, but that being said you don’t want to overdo it because that can start messing with electrolyte levels.  If you are following a program to lose weight, I would recommend your water intake be on the higher end of the average so that your body is adequately hydrated to flush out all the by-products and released toxins (many toxins are ‘stored’ in our bodyfat so as we burn fat & lose weight they can be released.)  Additionally water will help to feel full between meals and snacks.   As you may have heard before, thirst can manifest as a hunger signal.  Often before I eat, I’ll drink some water and if I’m still hungry a while later, then I go ahead and have that snack.

For the most part I drink plain water.  I don’t add any flavoring (i.e., Crystal Lite or other ‘sugar free’ flavorings) anymore because I aim to avoid artificial sweeteners, like aspartame and Splenda.  Sometimes I’ll add lemon slices because they are very alkalinizing.  I count herbal (caffeine free) tea for hydration as well. 

Thank you Carrie for the excellent question!

Tuesday’s feats and eats:  Tuesday as you know was OUTDOOR RUN DAY!!  It’s probably our last Tuesday running meeting – it was just too dark.  The first 15 minutes of the run, I kept thinking I was going to step in a water rut and twist my ankle!  My running buddies were both squeezed for time, so we did one 2.7 mile loop.  This trail is like an interval session.  Heart rate up to 187 for a steep hill climb, then down to a 150 for the downhill.  I never get tired of this place!

I had my coffee and a piece of Genesis toast before the run.  I went to the store yesterday and they had my regular Ezekial back in stock – finally.  So I have a loaf in the freezer for when I get back from my trip. 

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I’m sure you know what I had for my post-run meal:

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I put my cup by the blender so you can see how big this thing is!  This one had 8 oz water, fist o’spinach, 1/2 cucumber, 1/2 pear, 2 clementines, 2 stalks of celery, 2 huge romaine leaves.  I’m trying to time my veggie consumption to use everything up before I leave tomorrow, but still have a green smoothie before I get on the plane.  My green smoothie may be straight spinach at the rate I’m going!

For lunch I made a Ginger Curry Egg Salad.  I didn’t have a recipe, just kind of started to add things to it.  2 HB eggs, a little light mayo, a squeeze of mustard, a few good shakes of curry powder and some minced ginger from a jar.  Mixed it all up, spread it on 2 wasa crackers and sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds and pepitas.  It was surprisingly good!

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Midafternoon I had an unpictured Larabar – Cherry Pie flavor.  I don’t think this will be on my list of faves.  It was REALLY tart!  The kind that gets you behind the jawbone!

At dinnertime I made an appetizer of edamame while we were waiting for the grill to preheat:

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Then my main course was grilled salmon, grilled corn-on-the-cob and grilled balsamic mushrooms.  It tasted like summer  :)

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Have you ever grilled your corn?  (You keep the husk on, place on top rack for about 20 minutes and it will steam itself inside the husk!) 

Later in the evening for my snack I had half of a Nana’s No’s cookie (no gluten, no dairy, no refined sugar).  I love these cookies and love that they make them so ‘healthy’.  Nonetheless they are high calorie so I break off half and save the other half for another time. 

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Alright friends!  MSP is waiting for me to get started on our weights so I better skeedaddle!  Have a WONDERFUL Wednesday and I’ll see ya next time!  Thanks for reading and keep the comments coming!

– Shari B. =)

Chew It Like Your Mama Told Ya!

Sep 15

Posted by in FitFeature | 8 Comments

Hi friends!

If you’ve been following along with the blog, you know that digestion is a topic near and dear to me when it comes to health and fitness. 

When food doesn’t digest properly, your body doesn’t get the nutrients it needs.  If it doesn’t have the nutrients, systems aren’t going to function optimally.  This includes recovering from your training.  And recovery from training is just AS IMPORTANT as the training itself.  Digestion of food begins in the mouth, both from a chemical standpoint and from the signals it sends to the rest of the digestive tract.  You need to give it the time it requires to get this intricate process underway.

Are you a food inhaler?  Do you eat without thinking much about it?  Do you eat when you are in a hurry, like between meetings, in the car, or at your desk?  (If you answered yes to any of these questions, are you also carrying any stubborn pounds that you feel you aren’t able to get rid of?)  

Whether it’s training recovery or weight loss that concerns you more, if you’re ready to get started on the road to better digestion, start following what your mama told ya: Chew your food!

Benefits of thoroughly chewing your food go well beyond better digestion.  It will force you to slow down a bit, think about what you are actually eating, and allow you to be more aware of your hunger signals.  If you consume your food too quickly, chances are you will also take in more calories than you need before your body has the chance to realize satiation.  Not only can this hamper your weight loss efforts, it can even put you on the fast track to weight gain.

Bloating, indigestion, and gas are just a few others on a long list of issues associated with eating too quickly. 

If you’re not sure whether you are chewing enough, start by counting to 30 chews with each bite of food.  Take a bite.  Put down your utensil.  And chew away to 30.  Repeat.  It seems really awkward at first, but it will definitely show you if you’ve been consuming your food too quickly.

So at your very next meal, start counting! Then drop me a comment and let me know how it’s going! 

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On to yesterday’s feats & eats:

Weight Training (Chest/Biceps/Shoulders)

  • TM warmup plus arm swinging, self-hugging and shoulder circles to get the muscles warm!
  • DB Bench Press 4 working sets of 12, 9, 9, 8 reps
  • Tubing Chest Flyes 4 working sets of 15 reps
  • Upright DB Rows 3 working sets of 12 reps
  • EZ Bar Bicep Curls 4 working sets of 12 reps
  • Side Raises 4 working sets of 12, 10, 10, 12 reps
  • External Rotation (rotator cuff) 3 sets of 15, 20, 20 reps

I included a lot of chest stretching between sets. 

The morning just seemed to need the DIVA mug:

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Breakfast was Genesis toast with a drizzle of flaxseed oil and raw honey, with a side of Ezekial cereal crumbs, since that’s apparently all I left in the box from the last time.  If you like “Grape Nuts” try the Ezekial cereal (from sprouted grains).  It’s great with some almond milk (or milk, soy milk, whatever you like) poured in and then heated in the microwave just long enough to soften.  Eating it like cold cereal seems to just be asking for a broken crown…

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No midmorning snack this time.  Breakfast stuck to my ribs pretty well and I was busy, so I had a hefty salad at lunch to make up for no green smoothie!  And a side of veggie lasagna that I am STILL working on eating up after Friday’s dinner!  That turned out to be quite the economical dinner!  I still have one more sliver left!

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My midafternoon snack was almond milk and a scoop of Vega Chocolate – shaken not stirred.  ;)

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With a side of bite-sized chocolate:

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Dinner was leftover Thai Lime Shrimp stirfry from my Sunday Whole Foods Adventure.  Holy burn my mouth spicy!  The thai peppers must have had a party in the to-go box overnight because this was crazy spicy reheated.  I’m talkin’  ”make your eyes water and face sweat” hot!

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That was the sum of my Monday!  It was a great start to the week:  good intense weight workout and mighty tasty (and healthy) food.  Hope that your week has started off even better! 

Have a GREAT day!  See ya next time!  (And remember to chew your food!)

– Shari B. =)

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Chillin' with Mr. Bill

Sep 14

Posted by in Uncategorized | 6 Comments

Here we are at Monday again already!  And I’m up exceptionally early this morning.  As I begin this post it’s 4:32 a.m. so I’ll apologize now for any potential goofiness or typos!  (Or at least any goofiness BEYOND my normal level!)

My Sunday was so fun because it was nice and simple.  MSP and I wanted to just have a really nice ‘quality time’ kind of day together since I will be away from home for the next two weekends.  It was our planned ‘rest day’ for the week and a planned day to have a treat or two.  We visited a new outdoor mall area, admired a lot of architecture and landscaping, and soaked up some sunshine while strolling along.

First off, I had to use my Eudaemonic Starbucks mug because not only was I happy about our upcoming day together, but the scale gave me excellent feedback on this morning!  I have been aiming to maintain my weight, not necessarily lose.  But by making just a few subtle changes to my eating style, my body has really responded without any effort.  I can see the visual change in my body composition & in the way the clothes are fitting, so I decided to hop on the scale.   It was definitely an eudaemonic moment!   :)   I’ll make a future FitFeature about my philosphy on weighing oneself.

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So naturally I had to thank my bod by giving it more of what it loves!  An ENORMOUS green smoothie.  This one started with the usual 8 oz of water, to which I added 1/2 a cantaloupe, 1/2 pear, 1/4 cucumber, big fist o’ spinach, the last of my sprouts, and a celery stalk.)  No protein powder in this one.  MMMMMMmmmmmm the cantaloupe was a nice touch…  

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When I was ready for something a bit more substantial, I made some oatmeal (about 1/3 cup dry) topped with some almond milk, raisins, a drizzle of raw honey and a few crumbles from a Coconut Cream Pie Larabar.  I can’t even tell you how GOOD that Larabar makes the oatmeal – you need to try it!  I break off about 1/4 to 1/3 of the bar.  This is seriously like dessert. 

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MSP and I went to a few home goods stores in search of something decorative to put on top of the living room project that is underway so at lunchtime we decided to hit up the brand new Whole Foods over in another part of town.  I had a ‘build your own Asian stirfry’ with shrimp, shitake mushrooms, snow peas, asparagus, broccoli, tomatoes, rice noodles, thai peppers, edamame, water chestnust and Thai Lime sauce.  It was fabulous and SO HUGE that I will probably be eating from this all week. 

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We then wandered through every aisle of this Whole Foods.  It is SO MUCH BIGGER than the one by our house!  I’m so jealous!  I was “oooing and ahhing” all over that store.  I picked up some Sunshine falafel ‘burgers’ while I was there because our store doesn’t carry that flavor.  I’ll definitely go out of my way to shop at this one more often. 

The bakery at this particular Whole Foods was amazing as well.  So we couldn’t resist picking out some treats to take home for a mid-afternoon snack/dessert.  This little guy reminded me of Mr. Bill!  He’s almost too cute to eat!

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See the resemblance? 

Mr Bill

 OHHHHH NOOOOOOO! 

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I also had this green mini-cutie.  I really think they should put some more frosting on their cupcakes.  ;)

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The rest of the afternoon and evening were spent in a sugar-induced fog.  My tummy was a bit unhappy with me for the blast of sugar, so all I really wanted was something light to snack on.  I had some Baked Scoops while I watched some football and later polished off my manchego sheep’s cheese.  
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It was a great way to finish out the weekend! 

Today’s questions:  If you are one who is normally a healthy eater, do you eat occasional treats?  Or do you find it easier to just exclude them altogether?  Personally I like to treat myself to something sugary that I consider ‘fun’ every once in a while – in part because I usually feel not so great after and it reinforces why I choose to eat nutritious food the rest of the time.  Drop me a comment! 

Hope your week is off to a great start!  See you next time!

– Shari B. =)

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Do You Socialcize?

Sep 13

Posted by in FitFeature, Hiking, Vegetarian | 4 Comments

Happy Sunday FitFeaters! 

Hope you are enjoying a relaxing morning so far!  I am posting a little later than usual because I was definitely enjoying a lazy morning myself!  Enjoyed my cup of coffee with the book I’m currently reading, and then spent some time on the phone with a few family members. 

Yesterday was so full of things to do that it flew by way too fast!  I can’t even believe it’s Sunday already. 

Saturday’s exercise consisted of a SOCIALCIZING!!  (That means exercise while you socialize!  I know – I make up a lot of weird words!  Socialcizing, yardio, wogging…  :)   Hey, whatever it takes to get you all moving and staying active, right?  But you have to admit that when you say you are going to do some yardio, you grin a little!  And we should always be happy that we are fortunate enough to have able-bodies, right?) 

So my Saturday SOCIALCIZING was a 5.61 mile hike/walk with a really good friend of mine and her awesome daughter.  We walked to the Bluffs, did a full loop, and then back.  Socialcizing is hands-down the best way to exercise:  with good friends and some chat time!  That’s today’s ready-made FitFeature:  make social time more about getting out in the fresh air than being based around lunch, dinner or drinks when you can.  I would guestimate that 85% of my “catching up with the girls” outings are built around some form of physical activity (hiking, running, walking, rollerblading.)  Not only is it a time-saver because you are combining two things you might normally do separately, but you are also saving MONEY and CALORIES! 

I started Saturday off with my “reading glasses” mug filled with my happy juice!  :)   I was catching up on blog-reading, so I figured it called for this particular mug!

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Before the walk with the girls, I powered up with an extra fruity blended GREEN GOODNESS!!  (I finally found where the text color button was hidden in WordPress!)  This one had 1/2 of a Colorado peach, about 1/4 of a leftover apple, a clementine, lots of romaine, a fist o’ spinach, sprouts and 1/2 an English cucumber.  Look at this blender full of vitamins and minerals:

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Such a pretty green after:

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Rascal goes crazy for my green drinks.  He hears the potato peeler as I peel my cucumbers and comes running to the kitchen for his cucmber treats.  He got a little taste of the final product this time (and while it looks like he’s going to drink out of my cup, I assure you I let him take a smell, then dipped my finger in to let him lick my finger!)  I think it’s funny that he loves veggies.  We don’t give our dogs ‘table scraps’ – but we do give them bites of veggies here and there and occasional fruit.  (FYI:  no grapes or raisins for your dogs!)

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After the long exercise outing, I was ready to eat again (when am I NOT ready to eat, right?)  Early lunch was some leftover Veggie Lasagna from Friday’s dinner.  It was even BETTER reheated!  Ohhhh, so good!  Can’t wait to have some more today! (I’m giving you a side shot this time so you don’t get bored looking at my same foods!  ;)   )

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Later in the afternoon I also had another get-together, this time with some wonderful ladies that I used to work with starting way back in 1995!  I love these women and am so glad to still be in touch with them after all these years!  We’ve vowed to get together at least every 6 months, so this was our second “Semi-Annual” event!  Lots of chatting was done by all and we probably could have gone another three hours without running out of topics.  It was a great time!  My eats are unpictured but I had a big glass of white wine, some ”Mary’s Gone Crackers” (wheat- and gluten-free) smeared with some herbed goat cheese, as well as some great whole wheat nacho chips with a spoon of DEEE-LISH-USH warm spicy queso.  Can’t wait till the next get-together, thanks ladies for a fab time!

I was feeling really tired when it was time for a late dinner.  It had been dark and rainy most of the day here, which really zaps my energy (I think I must run on solar power, because when the sun is taking a break I just don’t have the same zip!)  So I made a ‘lazy girl burger-n-fries dinner’ by popping a Gardenburger in the microwave, topped it with yellow tomato slices, some mustard and pepper and wrapped it in a “romaine bun”.  My ‘fries’ were red pepper strips. 

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It didn’t QUITE fill me up, so I poured a snack-size bowl of Mom’s Best All-Natural cereal as a little dessert. 

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Alrighty folks, time for me to get busy on this sunny Sunday! 

Drop me a comment:  do you socialcize?  Tell me about it! 

Have a fantastic day!  See you next time!

–Shari B. =)

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"His-n-Hers" Lasagna

Sep 12

Posted by in Cooking | 6 Comments

Wahoo!  Saturday!  Love Saturdays!  And I have a BIZ-EEEE one ahead of me.  Lots of catching up with old friends (all former coworkers) today.

Well, as I suspected, my Back/Tri workout was not up to par.  My grip was really weak from the shovel and spade work the day before.  But I got it done – even if it wasn’t my strongest.  My workout partner (MSP) also abandoned me decided to stay in bed for the morning, as he hadn’t had a great night of sleep.  I don’t blame him – been there done that about 600 times myself!

Here’s the Friday recap:

Weight Training (Back & Triceps)

  • TM Warmup followed by arm circles to get the blood flowing to the muscles near my shoulders
  • Close Grip Pulldowns 4 working sets of 11, 10, 9, 12
  • Barbell Rows 3 working sets of 9, 14, 15
  • TRX Row 3 sets of 10, 11, 10
  • Overhead Triceps Extension 4 sets of 15, 15, 8, 9
  • Hyperextensions (low back) on Ball 3 sets of 15

Then I took the beasts dogs out for their wog session (together this time) because I wanted them to get some extra mileage  – it keeps them a little calmer during the day.  I’ve recently started taking them one at a time because together they are a LOT to handle for one human arm that likes to stay in its socket.  Separately they each behave much better.  Together, they turn into disobedient little freaks!  I think it’s because they know that they can overpower me when they are together. :)   I had planned to take them for 4 miles but I go SO tired of being yanked around like a rag doll I shortened the outing to 3.  They’re lucky they’re so cute – it’s impossible to stay mad at these cuddlebugs:

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Friday coffee was my holiday peace dove mug.  It was a chilly windy morning that felt like fall (even had to wear my sweatshirt outside) so I figured I better start preparing myself for summer to be over…. waaaaahhhhhh!  (Can you believe HALLOWEEN stuff is out at the stores now??  It kills me.)

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Between weights and dog wogging, I was crazy hungry, so I mixed up a partial scoop of Vega Whole Food Health Optimizer with a cup of almond milk. 

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I figured I’d eat something more substantial when I got back but I wasn’t really hungry at that point and was busy doing my ‘chores’.  I had to run to the library and grocery store late morning so I went to the Target SBUX.  Holy moly what a RACKET they have going at that particular Starbucks.  You don’t get to use your registered SBUX card rewards (which in my case this day would have been free soy ‘upgrade’ and free syrup squirt).  I ordered a tall decaf soy latte asking for just ONE pump of pumpkin spice (since it was such an autumnal day!).  Guess how much that tiny cup cost me?  $4.01.  Ex-SQUEEZE me?  For a TALL?  I had to look at the receipt because I thought she must have charged me for a Grande.  They now charge 50 cents for the soy (is this everywhere I wonder or just Target?)  It used to be 40 cents, but I always use my registered card so I haven’t paid much attention I guess.  So no more going to the one at the Target.  OK, sorry for that, just had to get that off my chest.  (I may have to rebel and start going to DazBog instead!  ;) )

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Lunch was my SAME-O SAME-O salad.  I know you guys must get bored with my salads having a rotating set of the same ingredients!  I can’t help it!  Don’t fix it if it’s not broken, right?  They’re so good that I just don’t want anything else at the moment.  Maybe I will broaden my SALAD HORIZONS someday soon!  This had spinach, zucchini ribbons, yellow tomato, red pepper, dulse, pepitas, sea salt & pepper, HB egg, and olive oil w/ balsamic vinegar.  Oh and a few sundried tomatoes and sprinkle of nutritional yeast, I almost forgot!

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Afternoon snack (not pictured) was 1/2 a Larabar and a square of dark chocolate.

We jokingly refer to Friday as Pasta Friday in our house because for a long time we noticed were having some sort of italian meal every Friday night.  Since I had some free time yesterday afternoon, I figured I’d try to make lasagna for MSP as a little surprise.  I’ve never made lasagna before and I love to eat it at restaurants.  (And you KNOW when you eat it out, you’re probably getting 3 days’ worth of calories.)  Well I found a recipe for tofu “ricotta” and thought I’d make that to then put into my own attempt at creating a lasagna recipe. 

I have all of my ingedients gathered to make the tofu ricotta (I felt so “FoodNetwork” taking this pic!)  Tofu, basil, sea salt & pepper, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, garlic, & olive oil.

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I began building the layers into my lasagna.  I made a vegetarian half for me and a meaty side for MSP.  This is the middle layer.  My side has mushrooms & sundried tomatoes, MSP’s has italian chicken sausage.  My next layer has spinach & artichoke hearts, while MSP’s next layer has…. more sausage.  :)  

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My side has a very light sprinkling of parmesan cheese on top and his side has loads of 2% Italian ‘Three Cheese Mix’.

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After I put it in the oven I noticed that a cooking bomb had gone off in my kitchen – look at this mess!

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And after some serious dishwashing and cleanup:

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Ahhh, that’s better.  I can’t stand a messy kitchen!

So here is the lasagna after cooking.  It looks really done, I know!  I should have left the foil on until just at the end because MSP’s cheesy side went a bit past ‘golden brown’ and maybe more toward ‘burnt brown’  ;)  
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 And after plating (on the side is Genesis sprouted grain bread with a smear of pesto & a sprinkle of parm, then into the broiler very briefly):

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 And no Italiano dish is complete without a small glass of this:

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You know, the lasagna wasn’t too bad at all!  I didn’t add a lot of seasoning because I didn’t know how strong the fresh basil would be.  Next time, I’ll add more seasoning to the tofu “ricotta”.  But I liked it!  Which is a good thing, because I have a TON left over!  Dessert was a cup of Teeccino (herbal ‘faux coffee’): 

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And I was again hungry right at bedtime so this little snack was a scoop of raw almond butter with a squeeze of raw honey, about 1/2 cup of almond milk.  I don’t know why I’ve been getting hungry at night, so I think I’ll eat a bigger dinner for the next few days to see if it makes a difference.  I don’t have any qualms about eating right before bed – but it DOES make me wake up ravenously hungry which is why I’d rather not do it.

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Today’s question is:  Do you have housemates or family that eat completely different than you?  Do you find it difficult or have you  gotten into the groove of working around it?  I was a little worried at first that when I went meatless it would really add to my cooking workload, but it’s actually been fun to find ways to have us eat essentially the same meal but with a few adjustments.

OK, blog buds!  My tummy is growling, so I need to go get some breakfast started!  Have a MARVELOUS Saturday and I’ll see ya next time!

–Shari B. =)

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Yardio & Doody Duty

Sep 11

Posted by in Uncategorized | 5 Comments

Hi friends!  It’s FRIDAY!  OK, no matter where you are right now I want you to holler “WOOT! WOOT!”  :)   TGIF!

So I’m still feeling Wednesday’s workout like nobody’s business.  The combination of the straight-leg deadlifts AND explosive lunges has hobbled me – in a good way!  Each of those exercises alone kicks my you-know-what, but put them together…?  Whoa.  I’m so in need of a good stretch – my hams are so sore/stiff I don’t think I could touch my toes at the moment even if someone put some chocolate on my shoe.

Then yesterday’s workout was YARDIO!!! (Yardwork cardio…!)  First step, Doody Duty ‘squat & scoops’.  Hopefully you find that self-explanatory.  ;)   (FYI folks, if you hire a service to do this for you, do them a very nice favor and do NOT run your sprinkler system within 24 hours of their scheduled time.  Just sayin’.)  Next step was the weed-whacker for a great arm workout.  Then the lawnmower with the catcher attached, which gets heavier as you go.

After a quick snack and some water (because Yardio is hard work, you know!) it was on to Part Deux: digging out sod.  Another fine total body workout.  I was sweating early on because I thought I could do this with a little garden spade.  Eventually I realized that I would be without the use of my hands for a few days if I kept that up, so I moved to a small shovel that I could hop on and force into the ground.   I am supposed to do Back & Triceps this morning, but I fear that the dumbbells will just fall right out of my hands!  We’ll see how that goes.

Yardio was apparently also exhausting for these two lazy bones cuties:

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Let’s talk about FOOD, shall we? :)

Channeling my inner surfer chick with my Hawaii Starbucks mug (thanks Jimmy!)

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Since I hadn’t had a workout yet, I had a very light breakfast.  Half a cantaloupe:

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It was gone in like 2 minutes flat – SO GOOD! I can’t even remember the last time I had one!

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Midmorning snack was a toasted piece of Genesis sprouted grain bread with some raw organic almond butter and a drizzle of raw local honey.

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For lunch I decided on an open-faced ‘wich.  Slice of Genesis toast, schmear of Tofutti (soy ‘cream’ cheese), sprouts, avocado, yellow tomato slices, sea salt & pepper.  Red pepper sticks and remaining avocado on the side. I also at the rest of yesterday’s patio salad. After the photo was snapped, I slapped a romaine leaf on the top as my ‘wich lid. 

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Followed by a little bite of heaven:

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 A little mango passionfruit herbal tea with a side of Cashew Cookie by Larabar: 

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Dinner was the reheated Falafel.  I don’t think I’ll do the reheat again.  One, you realize just how greasy they are and two they getsa bit mushy.  But the flavor was still good.  A new reader, Jen, let me know yesterday that the yummy pickled stuff is eggplant!  (Thanks Jen!) Now THAT still tastes good the next day.  :)   This was a tiny little dinner so I knew I’d be looking for food again later in the evening.  

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 And so I ate half of this little beauty for which I’d been impatiently waiting to ripen.  It taunted my on my counter for three days… ‘HaHa, I’m not ready yet!’  The minute it looked ripe I was all over it.  I saved half for today.

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And when I should have been going to bed, I was still a little hungry to I had some Kashi GoLean cereal and a splash of almond milk. 

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OK, my DAH-lings…. enjoy your Friday!  Drop a comment to let me know what exciting FIT plans you have for the upcoming weekend.  Hiking?  Running?  Cycling?  Yoga?  What will you do this weekend to thank your body for all it does for you?

 – Shari B. =)

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Why I Pulled the Plug on Soda

Sep 10

Posted by in FitFeature | 8 Comments

Mornin’ blog buds!

The countdown is on!  A week from today I’ll be on a plane heading back home to see my family.  Woot woot!! :) I can’t wait! 

The FitFeature for today is about ol’ soda pop!  During my earlier dieting days, I would use a daily diet soda (or two or three) as a way to thwart cravings for sweets (or so I thought) while I was trying to keep my calories down.  As I began down the path toward more holistic and healing nutrition along with acid/alkaline balance in the body, I started to pay closer attention to the ill effects of pop (both diet and regular).  I’d read the bad things before, but sometimes we make changes when we’re ready to make them and not a second sooner.

I had drastically reduced my soda intake after the initial meeting with my acupuncturist.  But I later read “The Ultimate pH Solution” by Michelle Schoffro Cook and one statement in her book stopped my soda habit in its tracks:

“…you need to drink 32 cups of water (and expend tremendous amounts of energy that would be better used elsewhere in your body) just to neutralize the acidity of one glass of soda.”

32 cups of water?  Yikes! 

So that did it for me.  I may drink the very rare occasional mixed cocktail that will contain some soda in it.  But I certainly don’t want all this care and effort I’m putting into alkalinizing my body to be ruined by ONE CAN of pop!

You’d think that hearing how the phosphoric acid can lead to weakened bones would have convinced me first.  Or how the aspartame allegedly converts to formaldehyde in the body.  There is enough weight on the cons of soda to really consider switching it out for something better for us. 

Will you accept the challenge today to replace at least one soda with water or herbal tea.?  Give it a try.  Then maybe tomorrow, you might want to do it again!  :)

One day maybe I’ll also give up my single daily cup of coffee as well, but I’m desperately holding on to the hope that there are still a few good reasons to drink it (like the antioxidants, reduced effect of lactic acid buildup during exercise.)  ;)

Now on to yesterday’s feats & eats!

Weight Training (Legs / Shoulders)

  • TM warmup for 5 minutes followed by 3 sets of 20 rep ball squats for a muscle specific warmup. 
  • Straight-Leg Deadlifts 4 sets of 15, 15, 12, 12
  • Deep DB Squats 4 sets of 15 reps
  • Explosive Lunges 4 sets of 20
  • Overhead Shoulder Press  4 sets of 15, 11, 11, 8
  • DB Rear Delt Flyes 3 sets of 15, 11, 12
  • Ball Crunches with KB 3 sets of 15 reps

Today my hamstrings and traps are telling me they apparently had a good workout!

My morning started with my antioxidant-rich cuppa JOE  ;)   hahaha

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Post-workout BLENDED GREEN GOODNESS (banana, 2 clementines, spinach, sprouts, 2 celery stalks, 1/2 cucumber, scoop of rice protein powder, 8 oz water):

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I had a friend over for lunch so we had soup and salad under the umbrella on the back patio.  It was gorgeous out!  We had a very relaxing time catching up.  The salad had spinach, arugula, romaine, zucchini ribbons, sundried tomatoes, red pepper and cucumber.  I topped mine off with Greek vinaigrette. 

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My afternoon snack had a lemon theme going on!  Larabar “Lemon Bar” flavor (OMG a new fave Larabar, it was AWESOME!!!!  I thought I was eating lemon loaf!) and a Ginger Lemongrass herbal tea to go:

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I had a handful of raisins around 5:00 to hold me over till dinner because we took the dogs for their quick 2 mile WOG in the evening.  We had some errands to run for our living room project so we picked up some falafel on our way to Home Depot.  Mmm, hummus!  Tabbouleh!  Falafel!  Something pickled (not sure what it is but it tastes really good!)

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I don’t think they gave me enough falafel!  (6!)  I ate 2.5 of them.  MSP took one, and the rest came home.  Not sure how they’ll reheat, guess I’ll find out today!  

OK friends, off to get this Thursday started!  Have a fantastic day and I’ll see you next time!

–Shari B.  =)

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