Motivate myself

Hey!  Spring is in the air.  I’m hoping to recommit myself to what I love and believe about exercise and fitness.  I’ve been off on my blogging for quite awhile now and last night after caving in on the Easter candy, I once again decided I needed to get my butt in gear.  I looked up my own blog for motivation!  I’m not even close to knowing how to make my blog look all sweet and professional, but I know how to find stuff by typing in key words or remembering when I did something.  About a year and a half ago (I can’t believe it’s been that long) I did a super strict 21 day Les Mills Grit Challenge with my good friend.  People may say this is a fad diet and too extreme, but as I reread my posts and feelings about how I felt, I couldn’t believe I did it!  It makes me happy to do something hard and achieve it.  So, for the next 21 days, which happens to be how many days I have until my trip to Key Biscayne, I’ll be following this program to a T!!!  ABS will be my goal (:  To stay on track and for my own reference, I’ll check in often to post workouts, recipes, and more.  I can’t wait. DAY 1 starts tomorrow!

Eat smart be happy!

Well!  It’s been a few!  I have so much good stuff this might turn into a long ramble.  It’ll be good though.  Thanksgiving has come and gone.  We had a wonderful weekend.  It’s my favorite holiday!!  I did fall into a food coma/hangover on Thanksgiving night.  Too many pies to choose from.  Here are a few pictures I took.  Me and my daughter have a tradition going on with this one!  Here we are on Thanksgiving last year and the year before:

And here we are this year!  She’s getting bigger.  Thank heavens I’m not (: ha ha!!  It was pretty cold this year too!  Brrrrrr!

We also took a quick family picture for the annual Christmas card!  Cuties!

Next up, ski season started!  Yay Yay Yay!

I’m looking forward to a great season.  The kids love it!

Now, on to my healthy side, I finished my Jamie Eason Dietbet challenge and I won!  That means I lost 4% of my body weight and won $47.00.  So what’s next, you wonder??  I’m going to try a new program by Amber Dodzweit.  When it comes to anything I want to do well at, I copy what someone else has already done successfully.  She has the most amazing legs.  My focus will be on that.  Her method is about having lean muscle and not the bulk.  She’s not into lifting super heavy but more HIIT workouts.  It’ll be a nice change!

Of course I do have a small injury to report and this one is such a dumb one.  I slipped and fell on a slippery deck down a few stairs and landed on my tailbone.  It’s thrown me out of whack and is such a PAIN! (: It is slowly healing.  This Friday we’re going to Mexico so I’ll have plenty of time for R & R.  I’m so excited and need this in a big way.  I’ll take lots of pics.

I need to say a little bit about FOOD too!  It is everything.  Get used to eating less and cutting out the crap.  No matter how hard you work out, you will be spinning your wheels if you can’t get over your food addictions.  I still fall back many times, but I get back up and keep trying.  When I get back from Mexico I’m going to start this new training program.  One day a week I’ll have a treat meal.  That’s it (: I found a great quote that makes me laugh:

Here are a few of my favorite food staples.  I have them almost daily!

PROTEIN POWDER.  This time I made pancakes with it!

VEGGIES and CHICKEN (or another protein source) and food that is HOMEMADE!  This tomato soup was the BOMB!

My favorite SNACKS.  These are seriously a must for me.  I eat the apples and Quest bar as a one of my meals and the protein balls and fudge bites are usually after lunch or dinner and I need a sweet treat.  I eat one or two.

And lastly, this is a vitamin drink I give my kids every morning.  I swear by it for helping them not get sick.  It’s the best and they tell me they can tell the difference when they drink it.  It’s elderberry juice concentrate and liquid vitamin D.  Stay healthy!

O.K.  I also have a workout for you and a workout pic.  Most of my favorite clothes are exercise clothes (:  I loved this workout!

O.K.  I need to get going and organizing the grand schedule while we’re away.  Enjoy this new song by ONE D.  They have a new album out that my daughter and I listen to almost every day!

And I love this quote.  Live life happily.  Work Hard Forever*

Tips to stay motivated through the holidays!

November 10th and winter has arrived at our house!  Today I was thinking about what motivates me to exercise.  I know the way I think is not the norm so I was trying to think about the average person and what would help motivate them.  Two things came to mind.

The first was feeling good about your body.  You don’t have to be in the perfectly fittest shape to love your body right here and now.  When I feel good about myself I want to workout more.  Get rid of the negative thoughts about ANY body part.  Focus on what improvements you are working on and forget the rest.  For example, I thought the dumbest thing the other day.  Someone gave me a compliment on my arms and I instantly thought, “Well, what about my legs?”  They must not look good since they didn’t mention them.  OH!  Never do that!  I LOVE Demi Lovato’s new song, Confident!  Check it out:

Second motivator and almost more important than the first is to have a good support group or just ONE friend!  Today my friend and I taught our HIGH FITNESS class and we had our best turn out yet.  I looked around the room and almost every person had a friend there.  When it’s cold and 6 am, you need that!!

Crazy Fitness Friends!

This one is from 3 years ago!  My besties on a cold winter run.  Why oh why would I want to run in the dark and cold if I didn’t have my friends pushing me along.

Here are a few other ideas to keep you from gaining the dreaded holiday weight!

• Keep up with your workouts!  No matter how busy you get, don’t miss your workout.  When you stop exercising you start eating more and more of all the tempting food that’s everywhere this time of year.
• Eat healthy food often!  Don’t let yourself get too hungry and whatever you do, never go to a holiday party on an empty stomach.  Drink a big glass of water and eat something small before you go.  A little bit of protein and veggies is your best option.

Lastly, I have an amazing lower body/glute and ab workout for you to try brought to you by my favorite fitness gals, Amber Dodzweit and Jamie Eason.  I’ll be doing this tomorrow with my friends!

Have a wonderful day and stay warm.  I’m off to make lunch for my son and his friend now (:  Work Hard Forever!

Cut out these 2 things to shrink and a HIIT workout!

Hello!  Time to mix things up again.  I’m always looking for new and different variations of workouts.  Lately I’ve been working out with my friends.  We decided to do 30 days of NO SUGAR AND NO WHITE FLOUR.  I have to say I’ve been nailing it!  Today is DAY 9 and even with a trip to St. George and 2 family Halloween parties over the weekend, I’ve stayed STRONG!!  My one mess up was buying a bag of kettle corn at the gas station on the way home from our trip.  I’m notorious to fall asleep the second I get in a car so since I was driving for 4-5 hours I had to munch on food almost the entire ride home.  After the carrots, apples, nuts, and protein bar were gone I opted for a Diet Coke (which I don’t really like anyway) and kettle corn.  Not so bad!  Everything really is about FOOD!!  I saw this funny quote on Instagram today.  Ha ha ha ha!

When it comes to weight loss and muscle gains it’s about what you put in your mouth!  After that it’s about killer HIIT and weight workouts.  Here’s one I’m going to try with my friends this week!  Can’t wait!

Workout #1  This is weird.  I guess you have to click on it to open it up!  Makes it more fun that way.  My binge problem has been fine.  Challenges keep me motivated.  Along with my 30 days of no sugar I want to start a 4 week eat clean plan on Monday that Jamie Eason is hosting.  What better time to get rid of the garbage right before Thanksgiving (:  Next week I’ll post about all the GREAT food you CAN eat.  Sunday night I was looking for a snack and I cut up a pear and had some sweet potato chips with guac.  The pear tasted like candy.  Real good food tastes better when you take out the SUGAR.

Alright!  I’ll end with a couple pics. of my trip.  We saw this rainbow as we turned a corner and it was so bright and perfect.  A little gift of happiness for me to see (:  Have a good one.  Work Hard Always.

Nutrition Tips from Arnold

HOWDY!!  I’m doing good here.  Can I just say that I love the first of weeks!  I have tons more energy and I like the routine.  I can’t believe I like to lift weights like I do.  When I was in college, I never set foot in the weight room and now it’s one of my favorite things to do!

Yesterday I was at the gym with my cutie pie friend that just ran a 100 miler!  Here we are AFTER the race!  Can you believe she looks like this!

We had to take a picture because it was Monday morning after her Saturday 100 miler and here she was at the gym!  We of course did upper body and abs (:  I laughed when I saw this picture because my arms look crazy Arnold size!  I promise I wasn’t even flexing, just holding the bar!

So, here’s my ARM shot and a normal pic of me the next day.  Interesting (:  Must be the lighting!

I like having a body that doesn’t look crazy muscley, but when you want to flex, there really is something there.  Like this picture here of a fit chick I follow on Instagram.  Love it!

OK!  Speaking of ARNOLD, I read a great article about his 13 nutrition tips!  Here is a summary of them.  You can read the details at Bodybuilding.com right HERE!

1-Up your nutrition knowledge.  The most successful bodybuilders are those who study and understand nutrition and actively seek out cutting-edge information.

2-Prioritize protein.  The importance of protein for a hard-training lifter can’t be overstated.

3-Calculate your protein intake.  He goes with the 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight daily.  Simple.

4-Don’t trash your yolks.  The yolk contains almost as much protein as the egg white, as well as a majority of an egg’s vitamins and minerals.

5-Don’t fall for fat-free.  Get about 10-15 percent of your daily calories from saturated fat sources, including beef, poultry, dairy, and eggs.

6-Supplement with protein.  Easy to use and whey is an incredibly high-quality protein source.

7-Grab a multi.  If you train hard it’s easy to become deficient in one or more micronutrients.  Take a multivitamin daily.

8-SACK SUGAR.  IF I COULD ENCOURAGE INDIVIDUALS TO MAKE JUST ONE DIETARY CHANGE, IT WOULD BE TO ELIMINATE SUGARY FOODS.

9-Pick your foods carefully.  Today, you hear a number of fitness pros say you can’t out-train a bad diet, and that’s absolutely correct.

10-Make your post-workout meal count.  If you’re training twice a day, it’s especially important to get quick nutrients into your system after a workout.

11-Eat more for mass.  If your training is on point and your diet is clean but you’re still struggling to gain weight, consider adding an extra snack worth 350-500 calories.  (not my problem!)

12-Ditch dessert.  Eat big, but eat smart.  Fill up on protein rich foods instead of sugar.  Again!!

13-Eyeball your portions.  One of the biggest mistakes a bodybuilder can make is never learning how to eyeball a given amount of food.

There you have it!  All the nutrition you need to know.  I gotta go get carpool.  Train hard, work hard, play hard.  SMILE (:

12 Week Oxygen Challenge

Alrighty!  I’m going to start off telling you that my computer is having major SLOW issues!  This post will be short and sweet due to my lack of patience!  I have a WONDERFUL trip to report on and an AMAZING 12 week challenge that I’m about to EMBARK on coming up TOMORROW!!!

I have been waiting through the longest month to get started on this.  With my injuries and knowing I’m starting a strict challenge, my exercise and healthy eating life have taken a small dive!  Yesterday I took before pictures and went through the whole measurement thing.  I’m going to weight myself a lot, but I’ll only do measurements and progress pictures every 2 weeks.  This is what I’ll be talking about clear up until October 7th!!!  Seems so far away!  I’m excited to get in the best shape of my life.  My stress fracture is healing up awesomely and hopefully I’ll be able to step it up big time next week!  I do have a small snag in my calendar this week.  For 3 days we’ll be on Pioneer Trek.  I won’t be by a gym (: nor will I be eating exactly what I should, but at least I’ll be walking and walking and walking!

First off, back to my wonderful and amazing trip to SAN DIEGO!  Last December, I purchased 2 tickets to ONE DIRECTION for my 14 year old daughter.  Best money spent!  This trip was a dream come true for her and I was so happy to be a part of it.

We had so much fun being inseparable for 3 days!  We rented a cute mustang convertable and drove all over.  My brother lives close by so we stayed with him and did a few things with his family.  His cute twins enjoyed riding in the backseat as we cruised around singing!  We loved the beach, shopping, sight seeing, and of course One Direction!  Just watching my daughter at the concert was entertainment enough with her crying, jumping up and down, and screaming!  I was quite proud of myself for my mad navigating skills.  I never imagined a concert so huge!  It was in a football stadium that was completely sold out.  65-70 thousand people!  Not to mention Comic Con was going on at the same time and I guess San Diego is headquarters to that big deal too!  Here are some pictures from the trip!

As for my challenge, I’ll get ONE good day in and then be AWOL for a few.  I’ll be following the plan 100%  Back to My Fitness Pal too!  I took a little break from that!  After reading through the material and nutrition program, I wasn’t surprised by anything!  Mostly, I need to remember to eat more often, protein, drink water, and eat lots of veggies.  I haven’t seen the workouts yet, kind of dying to see them!  I’ll be back soon with Trek adventures and tips on how to STAY in the game with being healthy!  My FAVORITE way to be!  I also have a slew of family coming to town right now!  We’ll be hoppin’!!  (:  Remember:

LOTS of Workouts and Weight Loss Strategies (:

Hello and Happy JULY!!  Our weekend was a little bit of a whirlwind and I’m thinking the rest of this month will be the same way!  I’m still working on healing my stress fractured foot.  It’s getting a little old.  I want to run and work out hard and I just have to wait.  It’s much better, but I can still feel a little pain without my shoe or boot.  Next week I’m going on a pioneer trek and walking somewhere around 25 miles.  Crazy!  My doc says I should be fine if I wear my boot.  After trek I’m hoping all will be well!  Looking forward to that!

Today we started the week off AWESOME with my track workout!  It’s so great to be outside for a workout!  Here are the last two weeks of workouts!  They were both hard core sweaty fun.  I kinda just stood there and did a few abs, biceps, and triceps…very few.  It’s hard to even push myself with upper body or abs when I’m injured.  I took some great pics. though!

JUNE 29 WORKOUT

1 MINUTE EACH EXERCISE X 4

SPEED SKATERS

HAND RELEASE PUSH UPS

WALKING LUNGES

HIGH KNEES

JUMP SQUATS

HIGH SUMOS

MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS

AMRAP (AS MANY ROUNDS AS POSSIBLE) 15-20 MINUTES

20 BICEP CURLS

20 WEIGHTED SIT UPS

10 BURPEES

20 TRICEP EXTENSIONS

20 AB JACKS

1 RUN UP THE HILL

TRACK WORKOUT JULY 6, 2015

20-18-16-14 DO 20 REPS OF EVERYTHING ON THE FIRST ROUND,

18 ON THE SECOND, AND SO FORTH

THRUSTERS

LATERAL RAISES

BURPEES

TRICEP KICKBACKS

REVERSE LUNGE WITH BICEPS

RENEGADE ROWS

SNOW BOARDERS

FULL SIT UPS

RUN THE HILL AND BEAR CRAWL DOWN 3 X

5 MINUTE POWER WORK

DO THE FOLLOWING EXERCISES EVERY MINUTE ON THE MINUTE 5 X

10 JUMP SQUATS

10 PUSH UPS

10 SPLIT LUNGES

My Friendsies!

This weekend I’m taking my daughter to San Diego!  We will be there for 3 days.  I found a few workouts that we’ll be able to do together!  Some of these exercises I will modify because of my foot!

Mostly we’ll be spending our time sight seeing, going to the beach, ONE DIRECTION, shopping, eating, and hanging with my bro. and his family.  I’ll be sure to take lots of pictures.

Next week I’m going to talk more about food.  July 15th I start my Oxygen Challenge.  I’m so excited!!  One of my friends is doing it too with her 14 year old son.  I’m so glad!  I will FOLLOW it 100% unless I have to be on pioneer trek for 3 days (:  12 weeks!  I’d like to take progress pictures along the way.  Stay tuned!!

One quick weight loss story to share!  My friend’s husband recently dropped a LOT of weight.  I think he’s 6’1 and weighs 170 right now.  He’s actually a little too thin.  He told me he runs 10 miles every day!  GEEZ!  His diet is pretty boring and almost the same every day.  He eats instant oatmeal for breakfast, yogurt for a snack, KFC grilled chicken breast and green beans for lunch, and whatever the family is having for dinner.  For his treat at night he eats Kipper Snacks.  I’d never heard of them, but apparently they are very stinky fish in a can.  He also eats fruits and vegetables to snack on.  Hmmmm…sounds like a successful plan!

That’s all for today.  Here are a couple pictures from our 4th of July weekend and my latest 26 mile bike ride with my friends!  Keep Working Hard and Smile!

Workouts for injuries, biking, and MORE

Hey there!  I missed last Friday so I have a few thoughts from life to share!  I have a new workout plan for 3 weeks that is great for someone with a foot injury (that would be me) or anyone who wants low impact, but kick your trash workout!  First off, I have a picture of my beautiful bike that I LOVE so much!!!

I might look like I know something about biking, but really I don’t!  I’ve gone about 7 times now.  I live in a pretty hilly neighborhood and HOLY COW I think biking a hill is harder than running it!  I LOVE it!  My friends are already planning a race to do together in AUGUST.  I need to learn a little bit more biker lingo and etiquette.

Biking will be my cardio of choice for at least 3 weeks while I heal a STRESS FRACTURE!! I finally went to the doc.  Wish I went 3 weeks ago, but it’s good to know that it is a stress fracture and if I wear this beautiful STORM TROOPER boot for 3 weeks I will be healed!!  I try not to think about how it felt to RUN or do my HIGH FITNESS classes.  I’m hoping to come back even stronger.  Summer injuries are especially not fun!  ANYWAY!!!  HERE I am with my boot!  Everyone tells me how cute my purple running shoes are.  Before the boot that’s all I was wearing because it felt good on my foot.

The other day I was at the gym and I LOVED my workout.  I found it from a fitness girl I follow and yes she’s doing a 12 week training program too.  Awww dang, too many workouts to choose from I can’t decide!

I changed it up a bit to fit my needs right now.

WARM UP

5 minute row machine

5 minute eliptical

5 minute spin bike

3 X

15 Push ups

10 Pull ups (that would be assisted for me!)

20 Thigh Adductor (inner thigh machine)

20 Leg Extensions

3 minute bike

3X

20 Alternating biceps

20 Weighted sit ups

20 Tricep Extension

20 Thigh Abductor (outer thigh machine)

20 Lying ham curls

I usually move at a fairly quick pace through each exercise.  Yesterday, I thought of workouts I could do over the next 3 weeks.  This is what I’ll be doing!

Bike 3-4 days a week

Strength Train 3 days a week:

Back Biceps Abs

Chest Triceps Abs

Shoulders Legs Abs

I’m not sure of the days yet and all the exercises involved.  I’ll be putting that together tonight so I can bike to the gym and  lift on Saturday!  Here’s a fitness tip to remember!  I’ll be o.k. if I can’t run or do a crazy amount of cardio!

I’m loving SUMMER and the warm weather and relaxed FUN schedule!!  Last weekend we went boating with friends.  Here’s a pic. with my daughter.  She’s been working hard with a musical she’s involved in.  She’ll play Gabriella in High School Musical this weekend!!  Can’t wait to see her!  Have a GREAT sunny weekend.  Enjoy the outdoors.  (: Smile

Oxygen Challenge and Biking!

Happy Summer Day! Every week I’m sure I talk about a new challenge or goal I want to work on. Well, I found one that I will not change for 3 months!! This last challenge I did with my friends was o.k., but I felt like I didn’t really get into it like I wanted to. SO, when my Oxygen magazine came in the mail on Saturday, I was so HAPPY to find just what I was looking for. Two of some of my favorite fitness gals are teaming up with Oxygen magazine and offering a 90 day challenge!

You pick which team you want to be on and then follow the workouts and nutrition program for 90 days.  Look it up at Oxygen Magazine.  I’ve always wanted to try a personal trainer or to get in such crazy fit shape for awhile and well…I’m not getting an younger so SEIZE THE DAY! My only problem is that it doesn’t start until July 15th!!  One month!  I don’t want to get in too good of shape too soon (: so I think I’ll coast for a few weeks, which I NEED to do.  Both of my feet have very annoying injuries right now.  I’ll use this month to rest up and take up BIKING!!!

Last week, I borrowed a friend’s bike!  I really should of taken a picture.  She leant me the WORKS, outfit, shoes, helmet, and an incredibly nice road bike.  I’m pretty sure it was the bike, BUT I think I have a knack for it (:  We went along an awesome 12 mile out and back hilly road.  I LOVED it!  #nevertooyoung right??  And the best thing, my feet didn’t hurt at all and I felt like a got a killer workout!  I’d love to bike in the summer just around sunset when it’s cooled off or in the early morning when the sun comes up.  I just need to convince my husband now that this is a good thing!

Back to my challenge, I’m picking Erin to follow.  I bounced back and forth a little bit, but I think she is more like my personality and style!  Here are a few pics. of her with words I live by as well!  I think I need to get my sister on board with this one at happybeinghealthy! 

I’m kind of in a quote mood!  I’ll end with a few more that I liked today and a pic. from my latest HIGH class!  I will miss my HIGH and RUNNING, but I’m tired of only being able to go 1/2 way!  A rest will make me stronger I know!  Have a wonderful DAY!  Enjoy every golden sunshine and SMILE!

8 week challenge, oatmeal, and sample workout!!

I’m back again so soon!!  How nice of me (:  I have 3 things to talk about!  #1 My 8 week challenge!!  I know I have many challenges and goals and modifiers etc….Oh well.  Go with me!  I’ve kept this sweet and simple!  This is what I’m doing:

8 WEEK CHALLENGE April 6-May 31

7 hours of sleep 5 days a week

80-100 oz. water

No eating past 8:00 p.m.

Jamie Eason Live Fit every day

2 treat days

Results (weight, measurements, bodyfat)

I’m on DAY 4 right now and things are lookin’ good.  I didn’t specify my eating, but I’m eating low sugar and with as little processed foods as possible.  Lots of lean protein, fruits, and veggies.  I’m going to have my body fat tested at the end of April and evaluate and then check again the end of May.  I started Jamie Eason phase two and I will not miss a workout (:  I’ll keep you posted.

Today as I was making breakfast, I thought I’d share what I’ve been eating every morning this week!  It’s called Baked Oatmeal.  I cook it in 12 muffin tins and then store them in the fridge.  I heat 2 up each morning and add a little milk and berries and then I whip up some egg whites with green onion, tomatoes, spinach, and avocado.  I’m trying better to drink my vitamins and take my BCAA’s.  I think that helps with the muscle soreness.  Here is my not so professional food pic!

Oh and here’s the recipe!!

Baked Oatmeal

2 c oats

1/4-1/3 c agave

1/2-1 scoop vanilla protein powder

1 t baking powder

1 1/2 c water

1/2 c applesauce

1 T flaxseed

Combine everything in a bowl and scoop into 12 muffin tins.  Sprinkle with nuts (I used pecans) and cranberries or raisins.  Bake at 375 for 20 minutes. YUMMM!!

And lastly, here is a sample workout from the Live Fit program.  I modified it a little.  I loved this workout and felt perfectly spent when I was done.  It was Chest/Abs day!  I started out with a pretty fast 1 mile run followed by the weight workout and then ended with 20 minutes of intervals.  20 second sprints with 10 second rests.  It took about an hour.  Whew!!!

SuperSets 

Wide Grip Barbell Bench Press 3×12

Push Ups 3×15

SuperSets 3×12

Incline Bench Press

Side to Side Push Ups

SuperSets 

Cable Crossovers 3×12

V-Ups with 10 lb. weight 3×20

TripleSets 3×12

Reverse Crunches with ball between legs

Captain chair knee raises

Cable Crunch machine

Today is going to be a great day!  I’ll end with my favorite happy thoughts.  My daughter is trying out for cheerleader this week.  She’s never felt super confident at anything involved with cheer, especially tumbling.  She’s struggled with throwing her back handspring all year.  With tryouts coming up she started worrying non stop and practicing every day after school!  Finally, last night at 10:30 p.m., SHE DID IT BY HERSELF and then she kept doing them over and over!  I wanted to cry.  I’m so glad she kept at it and did not give up!  Life lesson.

I’m looking forward to a relaxing weekend with family and friends.  I want to take the kids to see the movie HOME.  I heard it was really good.  Next week, I’m looking forward to making dinner for my son’s prom!!  I’m so glad he wants me to!  I’m also working on recertifying my personal trainer certificate.  I’m thinking I’ll take a big nutrition class.  I’ve started training a little on the side again too.  Well, I need to be off.  Today’s job is clean the entire house and laundry.  Can’t wait!!  Smile (:  Happy Spring!  I want to buy a bird bath too!