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Lemon Dill Turnip Greens and Buffalo Broccoli

Dec 14

Posted by Shari B. in FitFeature, Recipes | 3 Comments

Hello again FitFeat friends! 

Ahhh, part one of the workday is done.  Part two starts shortly! 

So I have some rewinding to do for the EATS!  I already gave you my Saturday FEATS when I last left off (the 4.75 mile SNOWY hike). 

Saturday was all about the xmas shopping again.  I have one thing left and then I am TOTALLY DONE!  Even with MSP’s stuff. 

My lunch break at home consisted of some leftover Amy’s Organic Vegetable Barley soup, with some added spinach, chopped tomato and extra salsa to give it an extra VEGGIE boost.  Just a note to any of you who eat Amy’s soups or would like to:  this particular flavor will give you hellacious onion breath.  Arm thyself with breath mints!

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We had another invitation for dinner at our dear friends’ house (Jeff and Tricia) where Tricia made a FANTASTIC mexican burrito buffet.  She was so sweet to make some halibut for me since I don’t eat chicken.  Her guacamole was TO-DIE-FOR and I think I may have eaten at LEAST 1.5 avo’s worth of guac on chips.  For my dinner portion, I put my halibut on a bed of spinach with a little dollop of refried beans, some salsa, and sauteed peppers.  It was FANTASTIC!  Thanks T & J – we had a GREAT time!

Sunday  morning MSP and I left the house early to hit up the Whole Foods brunch buffet.  But unfortunately they don’t start the buffet until an hour after the store opens (and we were there at the door before they opened like some crazed Black Friday shoppers, anxiously awaiting the unlocked door so we could RUN in and get our healthy breakfast options!)

I did grab a Kombucha Tea at their coffee bar to tide me over:
  

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Then we had to go elsewhere for Plan B.  So I had a Veggie Benedict, hold the hollandaise, hold the fried potatoes and give me extra veggies please.  They did exactly as I requested and it was DREAMY.  It had artichokes, tomatoes, spinach and mushrooms.  I’m getting better at putting more veggies in during the breakfast hour, eh?  ;)

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For some reason when I look at that picture of my breakfast benedict, I keep thinking of this Geico commercial and humming “I always feel like… someone is watching me-e-e”:

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Later in the day I thought I’d get a little creative and try to do something different with my baked greens.  I’m STILL trying to use up that HUGE bag of turnip greens I bought.  Here’s what I came up with:  

Lemon Dill Baked Turnip Greens: 

I drizzled about 1/2 tbsp olive oil into a big bowl, gave a good squeeze of lemon juice twice around the bowl (in Rachael Ray style) and tossed in 1/2 tbsp nutritional yeast.  Fill up with turnip greens, add the lid, and start shaking the bowl.

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Lay out onto a large baking tray.  Sprinkle with sea salt and dill.

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I baked these at 250 degrees for 20 minutes.  That was NOT enough to get the water dehydrated from the stalk portion, so I’ll go back to 350 degrees the next time and just cut down the time.  Ideally you want to catch these just before they cross the line from CrispyTown into BurntVille.  The dill flavor baked out so I’ll REALLY sprinkle ‘em good next time.  

Then I made some Buffalo Broccoli:

In the same big bowl I now added another 1/2 tbsp olive oil and about three long rotations around the edge of the bowl of Frank’s Red Hot (so that when I shake the bowl, there is also flavoring on the sides).  After well coated I got them loaded onto the tray, and sprinkled sesame seeds on top.  I would suggest doing these at 350 degrees as well, and bake to your desired level of doneness.  In the 250 I wasn’t even on the same MAP as CrispyTown.  But they tasted GREAT!  Had good zip!

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A small combo bowl of each was consumed during the Broncos Game.

FitFEATure:  When you are in a “snacky” mood, having something like baked greens to ‘mindlessly’ munch on in front of the TV is a much better option than traditional snack food.  It’s super high in fiber and nutrients and MUCH lower in calories. 

Now if only I’d known I would run out of time Sunday and NOT get in the yoga I’d hoped to, I would have done my “Football Watching“ workout!   

Have a WONDERFUL Monday evening FitFeat Friends… and if you ARE planning to watch Monday Night Football,  I challenge you to do that workout! 

See you tomorrow!

– Shari B. =)

Mini But Mighty: The Rotator Cuff

Dec 8

Posted by Shari B. in Exercise Instruction, FitFeature | 5 Comments

Not too long ago, I’d asked readers to let me know what they might like to see more of on the FitFeat blog.  One of the suggestions was for more exercise instruction with photos.  (Thank you Cindy!) 

Before I spend any time on some ‘big’ movements, I thought first I’d give some credit to very important but often neglected muscles.  This is a group of muscles that is rarely shown any attention – until it’s too late, and by then you’ll be a hurting puppy.  They’ll definitely let their presence be known, and quite loudly!  Hello, rotator cuff!

Your rotator cuff consists of the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor and subscapularis.  To speak in English, they are tiny muscles that help to stabilize (and assist in articulation of) the shoulder joint. 

Think about how much recruitment the shoulder gets during most of your upper body movements.  When you perform a bench press (or any pushing movement) the rotator cuff muscles are involved.  When you do rowing exercise, they are again involved.  When you lift your arm out to the side away from your body… what’s that?  Oh yeah, it’s the rotator cuff helping out.  

If you’ve ever known anyone who has had to have surgery to repair damage to rotator cuff musculature, then you already know it is a long and painful road to recovery. 

Often times just simple repetitive stress and overuse as we age are cause for injury to these tiny but necessary muscles.  Athletes are at increased risk, especially those that have a lot of momentum in their arm movements like baseball/softball pitchers and swimmers.  Even repetitive use on the job can cause damage.  My uncle recently had surgery for this ailment.  His job?  Commercial painting in the trades.  My little brother is also a commercial painter now.  I wonder if he too will be headed down this path at some point.  A close friend of ours has had this injury and subsequent surgery, likely due to sports-related overuse with throwing a ball.  And another close friend’s husband.  It’s definitely common.

Because these aren’t “show” muscles, they don’t really get a lot of proper exercise attention.  What I mean by “show” muscles is that people have a tendency to weight train those muscles most often where the results can be seen, like abs, biceps, chest.  

Here are a few tips you can start using to get give your rotator cuff muscles a little love:

1.) Be sure to work all angles of the shoulder (anterior, medial, posterior heads of the deltoid) to avoid imbalances.  I like to do an expanded set of crazy 8s (8 reps each of many different shoulder angles) including such exercises as front raises, side raises, bent rear lateral raises, shoulder presses, and upright rows.

2.) Add in some external and internal rotation strengthening exercises to your upper body routine.  (Note that all rotator cuff exercises should be done with VERY light resistance.  I use 3 lb dumbbells and no more.)

Example of internal rotation using a light exercise tube:

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Start position

 
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End position

 

Example of external rotation using a light exercise tube: 

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Start position

 

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End position

Upright external rotation with dumbbells:

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Start position

 
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End position

3.) Use slow and controlled movements for shoulders, keeping momentum out of the equation. 

4.) Incorporate stretches to keep the shoulder limber

So the next time that you are making movements that utilize the shoulder joint, remind yourself of those small muscles that are working hard to keep your shoulder stabilized.  And ask yourself if you are taking good care of these important little structures!

– Shari B. =)

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Some Fridays Are Made for Margaritas

Dec 5

Posted by Shari B. in Exercise Instruction, FitFeature | 3 Comments

And last night was one of those nights.  It felt like a long week and I was starvin’ Marvin when MSP got home from work.  So off to the Rio we went for dinner. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this margarita that was about the size of my head.  (Caution:  grainy photos ahead, courtesy of my iPhone!)

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I also thoroughly enjoyed not only chips and salsa, but a “half-order” of their veggie quesadilla.  I asked them to go as light as possible on the cheese since I prefer not to ingest cow’s dairy whenever possible, and they TOTALLY delivered!  To be honest I couldn’t even SEE any cheese on there where I opened it up!  Thanks RIO, you guys rock!  I ate the dollop of guac that didn’t make it into the pic (but not the sour cream that did!)  I also enjoyed the steamed veggies they made for me on the side:  carrots, spinach, squash and red pepper.   It’s been a LONG time since we’ve been to the RIO and it did not disappoint.  I enjoyed every last bite. 

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And then proceeded to fall asleep on the couch the minute I sat down (at about 7:45!)  It was much-needed sleep though!

I’ll work backwards through the rest of my Friday.  When I left the office at 2:15 I had an unpictured decaf soy latte (no chai this time, just coffee) as my afternoon snack.  It was FREEZING outside still and totally hit the spot.

My ‘quickly consumable at my desk’ lunch was half a can of Amy’s Low Sodium Lentil soup with a slice of Ezekial bread and a BUBBLY!!!  (The bubbly always makes me happy!)

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Mid-morning was a Larabar!

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And my breakfast was oatmeal with half of a crumbled Coconut Cream Pie Larabar and a splash of almond milk.  I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again:  crumbled Coconut Cream Pie Larabars are seriously the tastiest topping ever for oatmeal!  TRY IT!

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My Friday morning exercise was 40 minutes of treadmill time (incline intervals) while catching up on this week’s episode of mindless television known as “Melrose Place”.  Even the return of Heather Locklear as Amanda Woodward is in no way making this show better.  I expect a cancellation soon.  If they can cancel great shows like “Lipstick Jungle”  I’m curious how garbage like this revamped version of MP can stay on.  (Yes, it’s been over a year since they cancelled my beloved “Lipstick Jungle” and YES I am still bitter!)

I also owe you my Thursday workout.  It was leg day and I did TABATA!!!  And here were are on Saturday and I’m STILL feeling it!  I’m starting to think I will designate days of the week that start with ”T” as Tabata days!  :)  

Weight Training:  Tabata Legs

  • TM warmup
  • Smith Squats  4 minutes, 74 reps
  • VS Rear Lunges 4 minutes, 44 reps per leg
  • Leg Extensions (machine) 4 minutes, 88 reps
  • Leg Curls (ball) 4 minutes, 80 reps
  • Straight Planks 2 minutes
  • Side Planks 1 minute left, 1 minute right

FitFEATure tip:  If you don’t  have a Tabata interval timer but would like to try Tabata-style weight training, do this:

Do a set of 10-12 reps of an exercise of your choice.  Stop and count to 10.  Then do another set of 10-12 reps.  Stop and count to 10.  Repeat this until you have completed 8 sets of that exercise.  Then move on to the next exercise on your list.  If I’m doing Upper Body, I’ll do one  Tabata round for chest, one for back, for shoulders, then triceps, then biceps. 

Have a SWELL Saturday, friends! 

= Shari B. =)

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Liar, Liar, Treadmill on Fire

Dec 4

Posted by Shari B. in Exercise Instruction, FitFeature, Keeping Fit | 4 Comments

Happy Friday FitFeat friends!  This is one Friday that I am VERY happy to see arrive.  It’s been a crazy week.

So yesterday I promised I’d be back today with a FitFEATure to tell you why your cardio equipment may be telling you little white lies.  If you are currently keeping track of calories burned and calories consumed in order to lose some bodyfat, those little white lies could be throwing a monkey wrench into your weight loss plans.

treadmill

Everyone burns calories at a different rate.  There are a lot of factors involved, like weight, age, level of conditioning, oxygen consumption, etc.   That being said, it can be averaged and most cardio equipment I’ve ever been on has GROSSLY overestimated my calorie burn, even when it was the kind that let me enter my weight. 

Let’s use my nice new NordicTrack treadmill as an example.  I know that as a female on the small end of average build I burn approximately 80 calories per mile (approximately 8-10 calories per minute when running a 10-min mile).  At the end of my 30 minutes of exercise on the treadmill yesterday (which included intervals of fast walking, jogging, and all-out running) the treadmill told me that I had burned 462 calories.  My heart rate monitor, on the other hand, said I had burned 221 calories.  Being a “seasoned” calorie-counter from years of personal training and from ”dieting down” to prep for figure shows, trust me when I tell you that I KNOW that I did not burn 462 calories in that 30 minutes. 

Now let’s say I’d been counting that 462 calories toward the 3500 calories one would need need to burn in order to lose one pound in of bodyfat in a week.  (We’ll keep food out of the equation for the sake of keeping this example related to exercise.)  I would mistakenly think, “Wow, I’ve burned almost 500 calories.  I only need to do 30 minutes a day to meet the 3500 calorie mark!”  Unfortunately, I would be working out only HALF as much as I need to in order to meet my goal.  Which means my goal weight is going to take TWICE as long to reach.  Which would lead to frustration and disappointment.

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Ladies, if you are of average female build, you can figure 80-100 calories per mile (whether you run it or walk it.)  If you run 3 miles in 24 minutes, you burn about 240 to 300 calories (but probably more on the high end.)  If you walk 3 miles in 60 minutes, you burn about 240 to 300 calories (but probably more on the low end.)  Don’t let that treadmill tell you lies and make you think you’re burning twice the calories you really are. 

Gentlemen, you can figure about 120 to 140 per mile for average build.

When I go out for a hilly and strenuous hike, even if I’m out for 3 hours, I still figure the numbers based on miles covered.  If I went 7 miles, chances are half of those miles were tough uphill (and higher calorie burn) but the other half were coming downhill (with less calorie burn) so I’d still only count 560 calories for that day’s exercise.

A safe bet is to use a heart rate monitor that lets you enter your personal info such as gender, age and weight.   And if you don’t have one, here are a few links to help you figure what your activity burn may be based on weight.  Play with a few of them to get an idea of your average, keeping in mind that these are still coming in at the higher end of the ranges. 

If you feel like you’ve been working hard but not making the progress you should be, maybe the readout on the cardio machine is to blame!  Make this adjustment to your calories burned to see if you also need to bring down the numbers of calories consumed.

Have a FIT and FANTASTIC Friday!

– Shari B.  =)

***

If someone you know is embarking on their own weight-loss journey, please feel free to send them my way. I offer fitness consulting by phone nationwide.  Visit my Coaching/Training and About Shari pages for more info.

Dance Dance If You Dare!

Nov 19

Posted by Shari B. in FitFeature, Keeping Fit | 8 Comments

Hello FitFeat friends! 

Thank you for the great feedback in yesterday’s post about what fitness and nutrition topics you might like me to cover in future posts.  Cindy requested some more in-depth exercise instruction, preferably with photos.  Joan liked the idea of my attempting to put up some video instruction.  Tray would like more recipes.  Fantastic suggestions — thank you!  I’ll do my best to get more of that going for you.

Yesterday’s exercise included 50 minutes of cardio:  30 of it spent on the treadmill speedwalking at an incline, then 20 minutes of BOOGIE TIME!! 

Some of my best cardio sessions have been from random dancing (among other random things, i.e. yardio, snowblowing, etc.)  My heart rate while on the treadmill stayed neatly in the upper-130s.  But when it was time to get my dance on??  It shot up into the 160s, which is what I want!  And time spent dancing to get my heart up goes by MUCH FASTER than being on the hamster wheel treadmill.  It’s fun and you don’t need a gym membership to do it!

Get together an amazing playlist on your iPod or MP3 player, strap on your heart rate monitor, dim the lights a little for effect, and close the blinds! 

It’s home-clubbin’-time! 

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No, that's not me...!

Hop around, throw in some jazzy jumping jacks, skips, jump-rope movements, it doesn’t matter!  No one will see you so just have some fun with it!

My playlist yesterday was short since I was only doing 20 minutes, but these songs get me in the mood to groove!

The point is that exercise can always be made to be fun.  You shouldn’t have to trudge through boring cardio workouts ‘just to get your minutes in’.  Be creative, have a little fun, and you’ll reach your fitness goals that much faster!  (And no, there will NOT be an embedded video of my dancing!) 

Do any of you secretly boogie for cardio??  Drop a comment!

Have a TERRIFIC Thursday!

– Shari B. =)

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Are You Yolking?

Nov 17

Posted by Shari B. in FitFeature | 9 Comments

When I eat eggs I eat the WHOLE egg.  I don’t eat them nearly as often as I used to, but I do eat a few each week.

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The Zone Diet told me NOT to eat egg yolks because of the arachidonic acid the yolks contain (AA is an essential fatty acid – and we do need SOME AA in our diet.)  Body for Life preferred I eat only egg whites so that I would avoid the fat of the yolk to consume a ‘lean protein’.  Beverly International’s bodybuilding diet was a bit more lenient offering me one yolk to three whites.

It always felt a little wasteful to me to toss out a perfectly good yolk – like having a dollar’s worth of quarters and throwing two of them in the garbage.  Then I learned more about the goodness that is the egg yolk.

Did you know that a whole egg contains all vitamins except for Vitamin C?  Throw some chopped red pepper into your omelet and now you’ve got Vitamin C covered too!

Egg yolks contain lutein and zeaxanthin which are thought to be protective for our eyes. If you throw out the yolk, your eyes are missing out on the antioxidant properties of these nutrients.

Over 90% of the following nutrients are housed in the yolk portion of the egg vs. the white:  iron, calcium, phosphorous, zinc, thiamin, B6, folate, B12, A, D, E, and K. 

In a nutshell eggshell, an egg is like nature’s prepackaged multivitamin. 

On top of all the nutritional reasons to eat the whole egg, I learned what a hen endures just to produce that egg for me.  I don’t want to waste half of her effort by separating my whites out.  And I no longer support large factory farms by purchasing their eggs because I would prefer that my food ‘vote’  goes to farms where the hens at least get to see the outdoors, foraging for their own food and preferably not having the tips of their beaks removed. 

I recently learned that a close family member of ours has a chicken coop in their backyard (in a city!) I am envious!  I’d love to take care of my own chicken and know exactly where the eggs came from.  And what a great way for their kids to learn the importance of knowing that all food does have a source.  I think in today’s society, it was WAY TOO EASY for us to detach from the process of how the food just happens to arrive on our tables.

I’m not a vegan as I still eat eggs and fish.  And who knows what the future holds for me?  But for now, I will continue to eat the WHOLE egg when I do eat one and be thankful of the hardy little hen that so kindly produced this nutrient rich gem for me.  

How about you?  Do you eat eggs?  Just whites or yolks too? Drop me a comment!

Sources and Further Reading:

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Gotta Getta Garmin

Nov 9

Posted by Shari B. in FitFeature | 6 Comments

Hello blog buds!

Where did the weekend go?  It FLEW by!  I hope yours was wonderful!  I took Sunday off from blogging and enjoy some time with MSP and the pups. 

Exercise highlights from the weekend: 

  • 4 mile hike session with MSP on Saturday. It was a blue sky morning and absolutely gorgeous.  The mountains always look so amazing in the morning light.  Later in the day a haze will often build up and obscure them somewhat.  Seeing them first thing in the morning never gets old to me.  It was a great hike.  We had a fun time chatting about anything and everything.
  • 5k run with MSP on Sunday morning.  It was a chilly and breezy.  We followed the same route that will be used for uur town’s Turkey Day 5K, which has 360 feet of ascent over the first half and then descends that same amount over the second half.  We ran our legs off and still were only able to keep a 9 min mile pace.  It felt like we were working so much harder than that.  I did see sub-7:00 briefly on a downhill portion, so that was exciting.  :)
  • As a follow up to last Friday’s very brief Tabata leg training session, let me just say:  Oh. My. Aching. Legs.   My legs were SO sore still yesterday!  Normally cardio will bring some extra blood flow to sore muscles so they can heal and feel better.  After yesterday’s run and stretching, I was even MORE sore.  YOWZA.  That Tabata training can be ouchie.  MSP did that leg workout this morning while I did upper, so I’ll be interested to see if he’ll be limping around tomorrow like I was this weekend. 

Some food highlights for the weekend:

First I have to tell you about an idea I had for changing up my baked kale over the weekend.  I used Annie’s organic Goddess Dressing (well the generic brand anyway) to coat the kale pieces this time in lieu of olive oil, and it made for another tasty treat.  It gave the kale chips a little extra zip.  I was able to control myself this time and eat it in TWO sittings instead of one.  This is one sitting:

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I’m still using up some of my pumpkin puree, so my weekend oatmeal was looking a little orange.  On top is a sprinkle of unsweetened coconut and some raisins.

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I reached for the cinnamon plus spice bottle to sprinkle on my oatmeal and ended up with the cajun herb bottle.  Thank goodness I took a look before I sprinkled, or I would have been in for a shock to the tastebuds with my first bite!  Cajun oats anyone??  (I suppose it COULD be interesting…)

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I purchased carob powder Friday to make the chocomole recipe, and it has a recipe on the back for a hot carob drink.  It sounded good yesterday when I was feeling chilly post-run so I gave it a try.

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And of course I made substitutions to it:

  • 1 cup unsweetened organic soy milk (and now I have officially finished that jug of soy – they restocked the almond milk at the store, yay!!)
  • 1 tbsp carob powder
  • 1 tbsp agave nectar
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

I even made it on the stovetop, since it said to be sure not to boil.

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It wasn’t bad.  I’d say it’s a nice replacement for a packaged hot cocoa mix. 

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(Sundays during football season require the obligatory Broncos mugs…!)

The weekend often calls for a visit to MSP’s favorite place:  Chipotle.  I ordered the veggie bowl with no rice.  So it came with fajita veggies, black beans, corn salsa, pico de gallo and guac.  I added some baked Tostito scoops at home. 

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Late Sunday afternoon meant ‘treat time’ and I was in the mood for a savory treat rather than something sweet.  I ran down to Vitamin Cottage for my favorite raw, unpasteurized version of goat cheddar (that’s the one that doesn’t seem to cause me any digestive trouble) and some almond Nut-Thins.  MSP ran in the other direction to the liquor store to pick up my favorite organic wine, “Our Daily Red”.   Ahh, my elegant afternoon wine and cheese plate!

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It was a wonderful weekend (as they should be, which is why I’m in love with Saturdays!!) 

***

Today’s FitFeature and discussion topic is about fitness gadgets.

I am a gadget gal.  (I somewhat blame MSP for this, because he is a gadget guy and it’s rubbed off onto me.)  :)  Often, I am loaded up with gadgets when I head out for runs.  My hydration pack, my GPS, my iPod, my whistle, pepper spray, etc.  (Safety first, people!!)  If you passed me on the running path, you’d probably think I was all loaded up for a marathon run.  Nope, more likely around 4 miles.  Just like to have my gear!

My favorite fitness gadget by far has to be my Garmin Forerunner GPS 305, which I received for Christmas last year from MSP (he’s such a great gift-giver!)  He got me the newer model to replace my original Garmin 201.  My old one was getting really slow at catching a satellite signal, didn’t offer an option for heart rate and the readings started to become inconsistent. 

I fully credit the Garmin with keeping me interested in running.  I LOVE that I can look down at it and see what pace I’m doing at all times.   I love that it comes with a “virtual trainer” so you can set a specific pace and a little guy on the screen will tell you to run faster if you are getting behind.  I love that it has a “breadcrumb trail” feature to keep you from getting lost.  I love that the newer model has a heart-rate monitor option. 

Above all, I love that I can plug it into my PC, download each run and look at all the stats.  I like to compare pacing from previous runs on the same routes, or see how my heart rate compares on different routes.  There is something about being able to look at these that propels me to want to go out again, and then agai, and again another time.

garmin

I also love that there are so many features left for me to discover.  One of these days I’ll actually look at the manual and see what other cool things it does! 

Do you have a favorite gadget that helps keep you motivated in some way?  Please drop a comment and let us know!  Gift-giving time is coming up and maybe you will inspire a great gift idea!

Have a MARVELOUS MONDAY! 

– Shari B. =)

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Turning the Tables on Naysayers

Nov 2

Posted by Shari B. in FitFeature, Keeping Fit | 10 Comments

Good morning FitFeat friends!

I’m feeling ready to hit the reset button and get back to my regular routine.  Between hosting houseguests and then getting snowed in, I feel like it’s been 2 weeks since I’ve had a routine day.  Vacation is over.  Back to reality!  :)

MSP and I did get out yesterday for a great 5 mile interval session.  Intervals of any sort are my favorite, which is why I love to hike.  Hiking to me is basically one big interval session.  Higher intensity on the uphill portion, recovery on the downhill.  We did something similar on our run yesterday, as where we live is pretty hilly.  We speedwalked the uphills and raced on the downhills.  It was so fun and the miles flew by in a hurry.

The sun was shining  and the sky was clear blue.  A big thanks to our Recreation Association for taking a snowplow to the trail system, because they were in great shape despite all the snow that fell.

I fueled up about an hour prior to the run with a Larabar Coconut Cream Pie.

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And a post-run green smoothie (that I almost forgot to photograph, so it’s almost gone).

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***

On to a new FitFeature topic that I’ve been wanting to cover for some time:  using naysayers to propel you to success.

Through the years, I have tried many different nutrition plans and fitness routines as I enjoy experimenting to determine what works best for me.

When you are eating healthy and exercising, chances are you are going to bump into people who want to rain on your parade.  I could do a whole series on the reasons WHY and HOW people will do this to you, but for today I’d like to focus on YOU turning naysaying into motivation.

Many years back, before I became a personal trainer and while I was still new in my fitness journey I was working as a consultant and had been assigned to a project with a fairly large company.  Over time, people got used to the fact that I packed my own food and ate healthy most of the time.

I had a 3-ring binder in which I kept my food and exercise logs.  On the cover of the binder was an “Avia” fitness ad I’d torn out of a magazine as motivation.

One of the women that worked in the department I’d been assigned to saw my motivation photo and actually told me that I could “never look like that”.

Now I am sure she didn’t mean it maliciously.  I like to think she was implying that she figured only a select genetically gifted few looked that way and that I’d only be wasting my time or setting myself up for failure.

Ten years later, I STILL remember that comment. And boy did I prove her wrong.  Not that she knows it – my contract there ended and I moved on to the next consulting gig and then ultimately became a full-time personal trainer.  But just knowing that I reached my goal and THEN SOME, gives me satisfaction that she could not diminish my excitement or drive with her negativity. 

In fact she PROPELLED me further.

I am one who responds when you tell me I can’t do something.  When you tell me I CAN’T do something, I will move mountains to show you I just how well I CAN. 

When I first embarked on my journey to better fitness I looked like this (~150 lbs, 5’4″) – geez I look unhappy don’t I?

Before
After a couple of rounds of “Body for Life” I’d improved to this (this is where I was when I was working the consulting job) – cheesy pose due to entering the BFL contest :)

before mid

This is the ad I’d referred to for motivation:

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And then at my first NPC figure competition:

BW fit show
Now I won’t kid you – getting ready for figure competitions was no easy feat.  I worked my tail off and I endured ridiculously strict diets for each one.  But it was something that I chose to experience.  I’d moved on from my AVIA model and soon her pic was replaced with that of NPC and IFBB figure competitors.

What I want you to take away from this is:

Never let naysayers talk you down from your goals.  Use it as fuel for your motivational fire.  You CAN accomplish what you want when you put your mind to it and really dial-in  your focus.  

Don’t let it hurt when people say you can’t do something, or shouldn’t do something.  And when it comes from people close to you, I know it can sting even more.  Often times, people just don’t quite grasp what you are aiming for and that’s OK.  Let it get under your skin to ENCOURAGE you, rather than allowing it to cause doubt.

Here is the body “I live in daily” now, eating foods I ENJOY and doing exercise that I look forward to (and obviously in dire need of a tan, but hey it’s November!)

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So today I would like to say thank youto all the naysayers out there who help propel THE REST OF US to kick a$$, take names and show ‘em how we roll.

***

Today’s discussion:  Have you experienced people attempting to rain on your parade or make you feel that you can’t achieve a certain goal?  Get picked on for eating healthy?  (That’s a big one for me.)  Please drop a comment and share your experiences with us.

Make it a great Monday friends, and a great week as well!

See you next time!

– Shari B. =)

If you know someone embarking on their own fitness journey (or could use some help battling the naysayers!) please feel free to send them my way. I offer fitness consulting by phone nationwide and in-person in the South Denver area.

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What Is YOUR “One Thing”?

Oct 28

Posted by Shari B. in FitFeature | 4 Comments

Another day, another snowstorm.  :)   It’s starting to feel like the norm here lately!  This has been the craziest, snowiest AUTUMN that I recall having experienced in Colorado in a really long time, if ever.  I know, I know – this is a fitness blog, not a weather blog.  But hey, the weather does in fact affect my outdoor exercise, so really, it’s relevant.  Right? 

They (the evil forecasters) are saying anywhere between 10″ and 18″ by the time it stops snowing tomorrow night.  Guess we all know what my CARDIO will be, huh?  :)

snow day

Luckily for my cousin, the snow didn’t start accumulating on the roads until she was well on her way to the airport this morning in her all-wheel-drive rental car (big yay for them giving her a Subaru!)  She is officially safely in the air on her way back home and will be stepping off the plane into 60 degree weather.  My family will never believe me again when I say that we have FABULOUS weather here in Colorado. 

OK, so enough of my boo-hooing about the snow. 

First things first, yesterday’s feat!  I did IRON YOGA again!  It felt so great the first time, that I was actually kind of ‘craving‘ it!  Hmmm, this could be the start of a new trend for me!  Afterward, Lisa and I each had double green smoothies. 

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OK, green smoothies and YELLOW smoothies might be more like it.  ;)

We hit up a local coffee shop later in the morning for some ‘quiet time’, then on to Whole Foods for lunch at their mix-n-match hot-n-cold bar.  I had a BUBBLY for the road.

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For dinner, I was feeling like some ITALIANO.  For me, I tried a recipe for Raw Marinara Sauce from Raw Foods Made Easy for 1 or 2 People.  I added it to a pile of raw zucchini ribbons and some baked spaghetti squash and kalamata olives.  For MSP, I made whole wheat penne pasta with meat sauce. 

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My dinner was veggie-licious!  

***

I was reading an article this morning about families making changes to their holiday habits to make things less stressful and it got me thinking about today’s FitFeature.

Every transformation (whether it be for your physique, health, finances, anything) starts with the first step.  Then taking ONE more step.  Add those steps together and you have yourself a journey.  If they are all POSITIVE steps, then you have yourself a SUCCESSFUL journey!

Today I’d like to challenge you to note ONE THING you can do to improve upon yesterday or to maybe get you started on a journey you’ve been meaning to start but haven’t. 

I’ll go first:  since it’s been unseasonably cold and snowy, I’m finding that I am not drinking the amount of water I normally would.  Sometimes water is the last thing I want when I’m feeling chilled.  It’s easy for me to gravitate toward an extra cup of decaf coffee, which is acidic and will dehydrate me further.  Now I’m noticing that not only is my SKIN feeling dry, but even my eyes are.  So today, I’m going to drink more room temperature water and also add in a couple cups of hot herbal (and naturally caffeine free) tea to boost my hydration. 

Hydration in cold weather is just as important as it is in hot weather.  The body produces more urine when cold, so dehydration can occur more quickly than it would on a mild weather day.  (Keep that in mind if you participate in cold-weather outdoor activities, like running, skiiing, etc.)

What is your ONE thing that you can do today?  Share with us in the comment section.

I’ll leave you with this fun little ‘story’ below that I used to keep posted in my previous personal training studio, in hopes of reminding clients that before you can lose 5, 10, 20 lbs you must lose ONE.  Much the same way that before you can change multiple bad habits into good ones, you still have to change ONE. 

JUST ONE POUND

Hello, do you know me? If you don’t you should. I’m a pound of fat, and I’m the happiest pound of fat you would ever want to meet. Want to know why?  It’s because no one ever wants to lose me; I’m ONLY ONE POUND, just a pound.  Everyone wants to lose three pounds, five pounds, or fifteen pounds, but never only one, so I just stick around and happily keep you fat.  Then I add to myself ever so slyly so that you never seem to notice it, that is until I’ve grown to ten, twenty or even more pounds in weight.  Yes, it’s fun being ONLY ONE POUND of fat, left to do as I please. So, when you weigh in, keep right on saying, “Oh, I only lost one pound.” (as if that were such a terrible thing!)  For you see, if you do this you’ll encourage others to keep me around because they will think I’m not worth losing.  And I love being around you–your arms, your legs, your chin, your hips and every part of you.   Happy Days!!!  After all, I’m ONLY ONE POUND.

(Unfortunately I do not know who to give proper credit to as the author – it’s posted in many places online, but I haven’t found a name.  So for the record, I did not write this.  Some other genius did  ;) If you know who the author is feel free to let me know and I’ll update the post.)

Have a great Wednesday everyone!  I’ll see you all next time (provided I don’t get stuck in a snowdrift while shoveling!)

– Shari B. =)

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The Lunge: Love to Hate It

Oct 20

Posted by Shari B. in Exercise Instruction, FitFeature | 6 Comments

Hello there friends! 

Oh my goodness, where to start today.  I always seem to have more words than time!  :)

Let’s start with the FEATS recap:

Weight Training  (Legs/Abs):

  • TM Warmup 5 min
  • High Step Ups 3 sets of 15 reps per leg
  • Plie Squat with Pulses 3 sets of 40 reps
  • Side Step Ups 3 sets of 15 reps per leg
  • V-Ups for Abs 3 sets of 20 reps
  • VS Snow Angels 3 sets of 20 reps

Afterward, I left the conehead at home with MSP (to save her the ridicule from all the other doggies out on wogs), grabbed Rascal and we went for a quick 2.11 mile run.  Just enough to get him a little activity for the day.  Why are my dogs so good when they are taken out by themselves and such little freak-monsters when they go together?  Are kids like that?  It was a great little run – felt so good after working the legs.

A scoop of Vega Whole Food Health Optimizer mixed with almond milk and a banana served as my post-workout meal, with a little fall view in the background.

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Mid-morning brought about the urge for apple pie, a la Larabar.  For some reason I felt the need to include more fall foilage in the shot since apple pie feels so very “autumn” to me…

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I was so hungry at lunch I completely forgot to take a photo.  I had the leftover shrimp & scallops takeout with a single “Simply…Cookie” for dessert.

I had a doc appointment after lunchtime way out east of where I live.  My ‘health food store radar’ went off like crazy over there  – they have a very new & much bigger Vitamin Cottage that I had to visit.  This is where I did some of the shopping for the giveaway.

And lookie what I found….
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A tropical fruit tart Larabar!!!  I’ve been trying to track one of these new flavors down for a couple of MONTHS!!!  (Apparently I wasn’t trying hard enough, guess it was in Parker CO all this time!)  I was so excited to try it! 

Friends, this is like a Hawaiian mini-vacation in a wrapper.  OH. SO. YUMMY.  Wow.  I need to order a box online PRONTO!  And there will be one in the giveaway schwag.  (shwag? swag?  I’m schticking with schwag…)  :)

By dinnertime I was feeling a bit lacking in the green department, so I made an extra-green (read: not really any fruit to speak of) smoothie.  Extra cucumber, sprouts, frozen spinach, extra celery, 1/2 avocado, and only 1/3 apple.  It was THICK.  And kind of ‘savory’ rather than sweet.  But as a side dish to my open-faced Gardenburger, it worked!

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One thing I meant to mention in yesterday’s post –and somehow didn’t– was a SPECIAL THANKS to Alison of Mama’s Weeds.   I found my new hosting company through her site, and she very kindly and graciously answered all the questions I’d emailed her before I made up my mind on which company to use.  Alison, thanks so much for all of your help and encouragement!  You’re awesome! 

***

It’s about time for a FitFeature, don’t you think?  So today I’d like to talk about one of my favorite exercise moves:  the LUNGE.

If you don’t have a lot of time to get in a full workout (or maybe don’t really have access to exercise equipment) the lunge is an excellent move to employ. 

1. It utilizes pretty much the entire lower half of the body and your core, so you get a lot of ‘bang for your buck’ as far as hitting a lot of muscles in a short period of time.

2. It gets your heart rate up so you can also get an effective cardio workout.

3. There are more variations than you can imagine to constantly change it up.  Here are just a few:

4. You can easily turn it into a full body exercise by adding upper body movements WHILE lunging (bicep curls, side shoulder raises, overhead shoulder presses).

In any lunge you perform, draw an imaginary line straight upward from your big toe on the forward foot and be sure your forward knee does not cross that line.  You are exercising to strengthen and protect your knees… letting your knee travel past that line is asking for pain and trouble in the long run.

If you are just starting out, try a couple sets of however many you can comfortably perform with GOOD FORM.  As you get better, go for the burn.  Out on a walk or run, pick an object in the distance and do some walking lunges (alternating legs) as far as you can go.  Get those legs burning like crazy, watch that knee/toe line, keep your front heel DOWN and GO FOR IT!  This is a fabulous leg/butt shaper. 

Or do some uphill lunges.  Ouchie.  :)  

Squats and Deadlifts are two other EXCELLENT exercises that essentially utilize the whole body, especially when done with heavier weights (as long as the form is impeccable).  But they will have to wait their turn for the spotlight on the FitFeat blog.  ;)

Today’s question:  do you incorporate lunges into your leg routine?  Do you love them?  Hate them?  Have a love/hate relationship with them?  Drop a comment!

***

Quick note about an update to the blog:  there is a new tab in the navigation bar at the top called “Favorite Things” — check it out!

OK, now I’m off to write the next post, which is the one with the giveaway!!!  So check back again yet today!

Have a GREAT Tuesday!

– Shari B. =)

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