Fashion FIRST day of Spring!!

Happy First Day Of Spring!!!

I have a new tradition for the 1st day of Spring!  I got a really ugly  beautiful white elephant gift this year that is a ceramic plate with flowers and butterflies on it.  I loved it and decided I’d make lemon bars on the first day of Spring and put them on my plate!  I’ll take a picture for sure.  It’s the little things, right? (: Last post I was “post play” and I look at that last picture of me and I look very tired!  I’m slowly feeling like my normal self.  Being in charge of the play was similar to running a marathon I decided, only harder.  It took everything out of me!  I’m glad it’s over and I don’t think I’ll do it again, but I’d like to…  I told my husband that if I didn’t do a play I should do a fitness competition instead!  Another crazy thing I’ve always wanted to do.  I found a great blog called honeywerehealthy.blogspot.  She’s close to my age and just did a competition.  She has great information on everything I’d need to know.  We’ll see (:  My husband gave me a compliment yesterday and said you always do well at whatever you do.  I tried to tell him that doesn’t everyone do that?  And he said no.  A lot of people live by the NEVER TRY NEVER FAIL motto.  That’s from the movie ROBOTS.  Wise words to live by!  So…if I DID do a fitness competition, I wouldn’t fail, right? O.K.  last post I said I was doing a 4 day FAST!!  I did it.  It may sound crazy, but I felt so out of whack that it made me feel better, eventually.  The 1st day was the hardest because you know you still have 3 days left.  I felt a little light headed on day 2 (imagine that?), but day 3 and 4 were fine with fruit, veggies, and protein.  It gave me motivation to keep up the healthy eating.  I feel much better.  Weekends are the hardest!  So, my advice with this FIRST day of Spring is to sit down and make NEW goals for yourself.  Goals that are SMART! Think about those 5 things as you set your goal and of course write down a REWARD.  That’s the BEST part!  And if you mess up, reroute yourself and try again.  I failed a little bit in February and March with my ONE treat day a week goal.  Oh well.  Starting now I’m back on!  Only candy at movies too!  During play week I was eating anything and everything.  Here’s a new favorite SONG that is perfect for your SPRING running.  Watch the video.  The guy is even running on a treadmill.  I love it!  I’ll end with two photos as well.  These pictures were taken within 20 minutes of each other.  Right after my workout and then after a quick shower and change!  Not much goin’ on with the hair.  (:  Have a wonderful weekend!  Our family is getting ready to go out of town and I couldn’t be more excited!!  Relaxation, Happiness, Fun.  I do like to work too!  That’s for Rob (:  P.S.  I cleaned the mirror after the 1st photo! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozsmSlvGHv4

What’s on my mind

New month!  I always like to change up my picture and background!  I have a lot on my mind these days.  I don’t know how I organize my brain sometimes!  I have thoughts about EXERCISE, NUTRITION, and FASHION today.

EXERCISE:  My gym is revamping the personal training department, which is GREAT!!!  It will be a lot more organized and professional.  I’m looking forward to being more involved and increasing my clientele.  I also decided to start up my MOM workouts again.  I volunteer and teach a boot camp class at my church.  I thought about dropping it, but I miss seeing my friends and I enjoy putting together workouts!

NUTRITION:  Ahh, my nemesis!  Currently, I have a very determined spark in me!  I’m doing a 4 day cleanse right now and already on DAY 3.  I LOVE it!  That is very crazy to say because I’m starving, but sometimes I really need a kick in the pants.  I’ve been a slacker for too long.  Healthy eating this whole month!  One treat day on…HALLOWEEN!!!  I’m a candyaholic!  I’ll post the details of my cleanse on SATURDAY when I’m all done!  Good nutrition is REALLY the MOST important healthy impact you have on your body!!!

FASHION:  I follow this cute girl’s blog called Pink Peonies.  She has great style and the way she displays her blog is so pretty.  One problem with her site is most of what she models is WAY over the top expensive!!  I was shocked when I liked one of her tops

and discovered it was only $36.00.  The website is called ShopSosie.  SOOOOOOO cute!!!!  Here are a few things I LOVE!  I’m wanting long tops lately to wear with leggings and boots.  They have tons!

I also want to change my hair color soon!  I’m not a blond nor do I wish to be one.  I found this color from a friend of mine who is amazing at coloring hair.  She will have to try it out on me!!  Slightly daring?

 That’s all for today!!  I have a busy night with kids all over the place.  Enjoy the fall leaves and breathe the yummy air.  Life is beautiful!!

I love this!!  My LIFE!

7 week shape up plan

I need to kick it in high gear for the next several weeks.  I’ve always got some sort of action plan in my brain.  I just need to DO IT!!!  I require a little motivation, just like everyone.  I came up with a point system and if I stick to my plan 95% of the time I will reward myself!  Most likely that will be in the form of a clothing item of sorts (:  Of course (husband) it will be something I REALLY NEED!!!  The real reason I need to get serious with my fit life is I’ll be blissfully enjoying THIS in 7 short WEEKS for a VERY MUCH REQUIRED R&R trip!!!

FLORIDA!!

7 WEEKS TO BUFF

FOOD PART 1

1-WATER (64-80 ounces) at least daily.  Vitamins and supplements everyday!!!

2-NO white sugar or white flour

3-Stop eating each day by 7:30 p.m.

4-Aim for 7 hours of sleep every night

5-Keep a food diary

WORKOUT PART 2

1-Jamie Eason’s Live Fit plan starting on WEEK 6, which includes running 4 days a week as well.

Sounds simple enough?  Another BIG deal I’m going to do is…..DITCH THE SCALE!!!!  I know I’ve always thought the scale was a good indicator of weight loss, but I’m trying a different approach to things.  I’m going to take a picture of me each week (I probably won’t post them :)) and track my progress by how my clothes fit.  We’ll see.  Here is the point system.  I’ll do my workouts ALWAYS.  I only need help with PART 1!  So, 5 points for everyday.  That equals out to be 245 points for 7 weeks.  I can miss 12 points to keep it at 95%!!!  Let’s do this.

I think that’s about it for today.  I need to post about a TON of smoothies and LEGIT treats SOON.  Life is a little crazy busy for the next few weeks around here.  Kids are all over the place.  Yesterday a few friends came over for dinner.  Check out this awesome carrot cake I made from scratch.  It was YUM!!

The kids were having us dress up with them too!

I agree with this quote!!  

Running Friends

You’ve laid your running clothes out the night before and set your alarm for some obscene hour in the 5:00’s and no matter how early you get to bed, when you hear that annoying ringing in your ear your first reaction is to….hit off and roll over and go back to sleep, RIGHT??  This is when my #1 MOTIVATOR comes in…FRIENDS!!!!!!!!  If you do not have a running buddy, you are missing out!  For years I ran solo with my ipod of hundreds of songs and I thought life was great.  I found a few other girls that ran and my first reaction was that I’d be too slow for them and that I would have nothing to say to them, or it would be too hard to talk anyway.  Quite the opposite occurred.  I was slower in the beginning, but running with someone faster pushed my level up a notch and I got used to running faster.  As for the talking part, that has never been a problem.  Get a group of 5 busy Mom’s together and you could talk for 20 miles, easily. I look forward to meeting my friends to run or go to the gym.  I’ve almost become dependent on them, in a good way.  The other day I set my alarm to go to the gym solo and I can’t tell you how different my mood was.  It was much much less exciting and I started to think of every excuse in the book to delay my exercise for the day and I LOVE TO EXERCISE!  So, my #1 advice for anyone trying to lose weight or get into a regular exercise routine, FIND A FRIEND!!!!!  You will LOVE it so much more and be more motivated to stick to your plan when you know you have a friend waiting for you in the cold dark!!

This is a good time for me to post about my exercise friends because I NEED to take a break from my workouts.  This is not by my own choice but because I clumsily stumbled on the road while running a few days ago and my right foot completely gave out and crumbled beneath me.  So sad.  The pain got worse as I limped home, not even a mile out.  I was planning on an 8 miler.  Disappointing.  So, I am off my feet for awhile with a very swollen and bruised foot.  I have a compression sock on that covers my whole foot and ankle and I’m taking Aleve.  My Mom tells me to go in to see if it’s broken, but it doesn’t hurt as bad 2 days later so I’m guessing it’s not broken.  I have been injured plenty of times before and every time I hate it, especially when I’m on a training schedule for a marathon, but THIS WILL ALL BE BUT A BRIEF MOMENT!!!!!  I’m going to eat better than ever and still do some weight training.  I thought of posting a picture of my foot, but it was so ugly I couldn’t do it.  I feel like I have the black foot like Adam Sandler in Mr. Deeds.

Here are a few pics of my exercise friends over the years.  THEY ARE THE BEST!!!!!!!

Trail runs...soon!

            

Snow or shine!

Girls weekend. Park City 1/2 marathon

      

Family 5K and stayed together the whole way!

1st Marathon ST. GEORGE!

Running friends!

Turkey Trot 10K in the single digits!

 

Relay run in the beautiful Sun Valley Mountains. SO SO FUN!!!!!

         

We met in the Bahamas when we both needed a running buddy. Still friends!

I want to lose 5 lbs.

Maintaining my weight has always been important to me.  I have never had a major weight problem.  I have however been pregnant 5 times and had to work to lose the last 10-20 POUNDS with many of my pregnancies.  For the majority of people (me included) this is not easy!!  I am a very DETERMINED and MOTIVATED individual.  Now that I am DONE having children I have a long-term goal to keep my weight within 5-7 lbs. of my desired weight.  I don’t have a problem throwing numbers out there.  I am 5’7″ and  I really like to weigh 130 or a little under.  My body would rather stay around 132-133.  Therefore, I am eternally trying to lose 5 lbs.  I don’t mind this challenge in life.  It is FUN? for me to try new diets and eating plans and of course EXERCISE to my hearts content.  As much as I love exercise, I know that the biggest influence for a healthy weight is….WHAT YOU PUT IN YOUR MOUTH!!  I have read with slight variations the ratio that exercise, nutrition, and genetics have on health.  Here is a great blog I found at carolinescott.org.   People have asked me what CLEAN eating is.  Once again I refer you to Tosca Reno.  Excellent website.  Here are some basic CLEAN eating tips!

Simple “Do’s and Don’ts” of Healthy Eating

What To Do

• Eat more-5 to 6 small meals a day.
• Eat breakfast everyday, within an hour of waking up.
• Eat a combo of lean protein and complex carbohydrates at each meal.
• Eat enough (2 to 3 servings) of healthy fats everyday.
• Stay hydrated (about 8 glasses of water a day).
• Keep clean, healthy foods close by and on hand at all times!
• Depend on fruits and veggies for vitamins and minerals.
• Try doing most of your shopping on the outside aisles of the grocery store…this is where the clean whole foods are mostly located.

What To Avoid

• Avoid highly processed foods.
• Avoid white flour and sugar.
• Avoid foods containing unnecessary preservatives, additives and chemicals.
• Avoid artificial sweeteners and sugars.
• Avoid artificial foods in general!
• Avoid saturated and trans fats.
• Avoid sugar loaded beverages like soda and high sugar juices.
• Limit alcohol intake.
• Step away from the “super-size” menu!

 

I have seen this chart at 70% nutrition, 20% training, and 10% genetics as well.  It’s hard to believe that nutrition plays that big a role.  I believe it 100%.  I have trained and worked out like crazy and the only time I see real results is when I’m eating CLEAN!  By results I mean: pounds lost, clothes looser, mood up, body tight with more muscle definition, more energy and endurance during exercise and throughout the day.  I am far happier when I’m making smart and healthy eating choices.

I don’t have too many pics. of me when I was pregnant.  Here is one about 3 months after having a baby and one of me at the Bahamas 2 years after baby #4.  Next post will be how to stay motivated and determined to keep losing weight!!  Hang in there!

Me, 3 months postpartum

I miss the SUN!!!

100 Countdown Workouts-February 22, 2012

Hi there!  I have been a slacker blogger lately.  Here is the workout my class did this week.  It was great!!!

100 Walking rotation lunges with weight.  We did 50 holding the weight and twisting to one side with each step and then we did 50 cross over lunges holding weights.  When you step forward you cross the stepping leg over the other.  It is great for the butt!!

90 Deadlifts

80 Side Planks (40 each side)

70 One arm snatches (35 each side)

One arm snatch

60 Skaters 

50 Push ups

40 Jump squats

30 Mountain Climbers

20 Burpees

10 SPRINTS (We ran around the church 5 times)

100 Jumping lunges

90 High sumos (up right row)

80 Full Sit ups

70 Tricep kick backs (35 each side)

60 Biceps 

50 Bent over Rows (This got real tiring so I switched to one arm rows)

40 Frog Jumps

30 Push ups

20 burpees

We ran out of time or we would have ran 10 sprints again.  

Finish with 3 sets of 2 minute planks!  Tough!

I need to blog about a 4 day cleanse I did.  That will be next SOON!!

Try something NEW!!

Do you like to exercise?  From what I hear, many people dread it.  I’m lucky that I love everything about it.  I seriously get that endorphin, natural high from physical exertion.  I love feeling strong and healthy.  If you are in an exercise rut think about trying something NEW!!!!  Get out of your comfort zone and get to some new classes at the gym.  No one is looking at you because they are all looking at themselves.  To get results, lose weight, or tighten up, you NEED to change your routine.  Do not think that the same 5 miles you run 3 days a week is going to do anything for you.  Yes, it is better than nothing, but you need to trick your body and work it out of the comfortable zone.  You’ll FEEL so much better….after.  I promise!  Here are a few of my FAVS at the gym.

BODY PUMP.  Do not be intimidated by weights.  They are the best way to get lean, toned muscles!

      

Love this quote!!

Super funny!!

When Zumba first came out I thought it would be the lamest, easiest “workout”.  It has now become one of my favorite classes that I always look forward to.  PLEASE give it a try!  I’m lucky one of my good friends is a Zumba instructor and I think she’s the BEST!!  You will have so much fun you won’t notice you’re sweating like CRAZY!!

A must!!

BODY COMBAT!!  If you love to workout with loud, awesome music you will love this class!!  Works your entire body and you feel totally tough and fit.  Once again, don’t be afraid to try something new.  Find workout buddies to help you motivate each other.  Download new songs to your ipod and MIX it up!!  Have you ever finished exercising and wished you didn’t do it?

JUST DO IT!!