Running, Amazing Shoes, and a 12 week keep the holiday weight off fitness plan

Hello!  Happy October!!  Love this month.  O.K.  it has almost been a week now since my latest 1/2 marathon!  Sorry for the delayed report.  I was slightly nervous for this run because of my injury and I felt like I wasn’t in the best running shape.  The  weekend turned out perfect except for I could have been about 18 minutes faster (:  I finished in 2:00!  The course was beautiful, weather was perfect, and I loved finishing!  I was a little sore for a couple days, but I jumped right back into my normal workout routine on Monday and I feel great!

This week I started running with my 14 year old daughter!!  I’m so happy about this.  We ran 3.2 miles.  We want (or I should say I want us) to run two days a week!  I also ran my favorite trail with my friends!  One thing that’s good about me is I’m stubborn and ultra committed.  I’m going to take one of my runs every week to be my improvement run.  I’ll do the same distance faster each week (:  I also want to work on hills more.  Here are the photos from my latest runs!

Next up!!  My favorite shoe to report on!  I stubbled across this shoe from someone else who bought it.  I did a little research and noticed people were raving about it.  The best part is you can buy it on Amazon for as low as $28.00 right now.  Click HERE to see all the color selections!! It’s called the PUMA Women’s Pulse XT Geo Cross-training shoe.  I do a lot of high intensity jumping and moving laterally and these are the comfiest shoes with the perfect amount of stability and cushioning.  I’ve already bought two pair!  Here I am looking rather sporty in them (:

Well!  My 12 week Oxygen Challenge is coming to an end so normally I say to myself, What’s next!  Well, major improvements is what’s next!  I was good with the workouts, but the eating was another story!  I follow and read about so many different workouts and fitness that it can get overwhelming in my brain at times.  As with everything, I need to simplify!  Here is the official 12 week plan!!

Start Date: Monday, October 12.  I’m not off the wagon right now, I’m just starting it on the 12th because that is 12 weeks till the end of the year!

Diet: Healthy, clean eating.  Small portions.  Fruits/Vegetables.  Protein.  Supplements.  Tons of water.  No white flour or white sugar.  Once in awhile I’ll eat a little white flour.  I’m reading labels and nothing over 6-7 grams of sugar per serving.  No eating after 8:00 p.m.  I’ve done all this before (: nothing new.  Here is the NEW twist!!  I’ll eat this way 9 out of 10 days.  I’ll pick 1 day in 10 where I can eat treats!!  Only on this day will I eat whatever I want guilt free and then the next day, I’m back on 100%.  The rewards are definitely worth it!!

Exercise: Throughout the Oxy Challenge I kept looking at Jamie Eason’s 12 week Show Me The Weigh program.  It’s on bodybuilding.com HERE.  The best thing is she posts every exercise in video on Instagram!!  Like this:

So, I’ll start with week 1 and not miss a day (:  I’m going to keep track of weight and measurements once a week too.  The biggest thing I want to stay true to is the 9 on 1 off eating approach.  100%  I’ll keep you updated!

Well, I gotta get going!  Time to run with my daughter and her motivation is waning!  To end, I follow this girl on Instagram.  Her bod will be my goal (:  She leaves motivational quotes all the time too.  This one is good, but my favorite one she said recently was, “A lot of people wake up on Mondays with a sense of I have GOT to get myself together.  By Wednesday, they can’t wait for the weekend to engage in the things that made them hate Monday!  Don’t let this week own the rights to your motivation!  You dictate the terms!!  Have a GREAT one!!  WORK HARD FOREVER!

Feeling Grateful

Happy Monday!  I just have a minute to write a few thoughts about today and this weekend.  Number one is right here!

A family in my neighborhood is getting ready to move.  A couple friends and I were helping them pack up the house today.  They have challenging circumstances.  The mother is in a wheelchair for life due to complications from a surgery.  They have 4 children at home, two of them have special needs.  The mother was in the hospital last week with pneumonia.  On Sunday, emails and phone calls were sent out to all those in the neighborhood.  I’m humbled by the blessing it is to be able to help.  To have a healthy body that I take for granted almost everyday.  To see so many others stand up and offer what they can to help another.  We spent much of the day with their 14 year old daughter.  She needs to stand up and be Mom most of the time.  It’s amazing what you can do when you have to.  When life’s adversities fall upon us we somehow find the strength and hope to keep going, to learn, to be happy, and to overcome our weaknesses.  It’s experiences like these that put my thoughts and actions into perspective.  What really matters?

Running and races are much like life.  This last Saturday I was able to be a spectator and helper runner at the Ogden marathon.  I had 3 different friends running, all at different times.  I’m grateful I was able to be there for them.  It made me think of our journey called life and those times when we have friends to lift us up and help us along life’s road.  It was a beautiful day and a beautiful race course along a canyon river.  I saw my first friend coming down at mile 20.  She’s a strong runner and probably didn’t need me, but it was good to talk to her and keep her mind off the miles.  I ran with her till the last mile and then her son met her for the rest of the way.  I went back to catch my next friend.  I was happy to see her cruising along.  We ran all the way through the finish line together.  It was a hot day and as always marathons are no easy task.  My last friends were especially sweet since it was a father and son running together, good friends of ours.  This was their first marathon.  The son is 11.  Many people might think this is too young.  Running has been the activity in their family that brings them together.  They love it!  They were happy to see someone who wasn’t draggin’ and could give them a little pep talk.  Amazingly, the boy picked up his speed on the last couple blocks.  It was hard for me to keep up with him!  The cheers from the crowds were inspiring!  Much like life’s race, we have people along our path sent from heaven to be with us in our time of need.

My friends look better than me in this picture and they ran the marathon!  Keep makin’ goals and working hard.  Celebrate the little victories.  Celebrate life!

2 week countdown

One post before we take off for Florida tomorrow!!  I have a few 2 week goals that I REALLY want to keep!!!  I haven’t been as committed with my nutrition or exercise believe it or not!!  Sooooo…this is it!

2 WEEK HEALTHY GOALS

• Sleep 7-8 hours every night.  This will be #1!!  I think my sleep deprivation effects my running more than anything else.
• ONE treat day.  This Thursday night in Florida.
• Run 4 days a week plus my Jen Jewell workouts.  I miss my weights and these are some of my favorites.
• Healthy clean eating and lots of water.

Sound easy enough!!!  YES!!  Here are the workouts I’m doing.  My running will be heavenly since this is taper time.  I’m also going to work on a super nice tan too!

Also, two pictures to share for the week!  The first one is me with my daughter and a friend at a wonderful church meeting and the second is a SWEET gym outfit.  ZUMBA day!!  Keep working hard!  Stick to your goals and be HAPPY!!!

OH!!  P.S.  I have a new song to add to my playlist for my RUN on the beach!!!  Love it! (:

 

What is the most OPTIMAL fitness solution?

My posts have been random lately.  LIfe is good!  This morning I taught my 5:15 training class at my house.  So fun!  I don’t know if my friends would say that!  It’s been super cold here and I have a back door that I keep open to cool them off.  However, I don’t move enough to stay warm and while they are taking breaks running the stairs outside, I’m shivering and it takes me forever to warm up.  Oh!  Sad life I know (:  I am counting down the hours till I’ll be on this beautiful beach in Naples, FL!  Sun is like water to me!  3 miles of pristine beaches.

OK!!  We had a marvelous Spring Break!  Short and sweet!  Full of GOOD food, laughs, games, movies, hot tubs, and more.  Here is a pic. of the girls in beautiful Heber.  If it wasn’t such a cold place, I could live there!

I’m notorious for falling off the healthy eating wagon when I go on trips.  I guess I’m normal?  No big deal!  I started following Eat to Live this week and it’s going well.  This is what I had for dinner yesterday!

A simple salad with black beans and Butternut squash and apple soup.  I admit I made my kids chicken enchiladas and made myself something else.  I hate to do that, but now I have 5-6 more servings of soup to eat for the rest of the week!  A friend of mine asked me today about losing weight.  She was frustrated because she says she’s been working out every day for 2 weeks and eating healthy.  She’s not seeing results.  She’s tired, hungry, and discouraged.  I think everyone can relate.  The fitness industry is HUGE!!!  One person will tell you one thing and the next person will tell you the exact opposite.  I think she’s probably not eating enough.  I’m going to give her a nutrition plan and exercise program for 3 weeks and tell her to follow it to a T and then we’ll evaluate.  I’ll post that SOON!!!

I do want to share 3 HIIT exercises.  I think the majority of people are not working out in the most effective way.  I LOVED this article about high intensity interval training.  CLICK HERE to read!  This leads me to my schpill on marathons (:  I love running.  BUT…training for a marathon is NOT when I feel at my optimal fittest self!  My endurance is strong and my heart and lungs, but my body is weak.  I usually am up 5 lbs.  I’m more tired and more hungry.  I stress a little which leads to bad eating choices.  Starting on Monday, April 28th I’m going back to 6 straight weeks of Jamie Eason and I’m contemplating hiring a personal trainer for myself.  I figure it would be added training for my own business.  Weight lifting and HIIT coupled with clean eating will give you more happiness, energy and a rockin’ bod!!  Optimal Fitness.

I’m writing too much!!!  Here are the 3 HIIT workouts from the article.

Lastly, a cute pic. of me and my shadow.  Outfit of the day from Sundance Catalog Outlet.  My husband picked this one out!  Keep moving and smiling!  Check out my instagram under hollsfitlife.  Simple recipe and workout posts.  Have a great day!

 

10 healthy habits to live every day

Happy Green Day!  To celebrate St. Patrick’s day I’m going to buy some primroses like these and make flower pots for my front porch!  I’m hoping the deer STAY AWAY (:

I have had too much going on this last week!  That’s all I need to say about that!  Here I am again on a MONDAY, ready to be better, prioritize, and say no to requests I get every day.  I LOVE them all and wish I were 3 people sometimes!  How nice would that be!!!

This morning started out great with a warm morning run!  Exercising in the early AM is my favorite time to exercise.  I come home with energy and more time to tackle the house and projects.  So of course, here is my NEW and improved 3 week goal.  I was looking at my list of healthy habits that I’ve had taped to my bathroom mirror for months now and realized that I’m not really doing them!!  Hello!!  This is what I preach!

I’m pretty good for a short time at following all of these but then I want to quit (: So, for 3 weeks this is what I’m doing.  I will take ONE day off over Spring Break!!  We’ll be with friends partying and that is legit to me!  I have a reward of course in my little brain if I succeed!  AND YES I WILL!!!  I talk big I know.  One thing I have kept up for almost 3 months now is NO CANDY (:  I’m thinking next year might be my year for no TREATS at all!

I’m also going to chill with my exercising for the next 3 weeks.  My running will be first.  I’m not worrying about weights until after the marathon.  I’m sure I’ll still go to classes and find time to do a least one or two good weight workouts a week.  Exercising is the ONLY habit I always consistently keep!  I loved training this past week with new clients.  I have so many workouts all over my computer, I need to work on organizing that today too.  I also need to go EAT because it has been 2 1/2 hours already since I ate last.  This will be interesting!

My two pictures for the day were taken yesterday.  A sunny Sunday outfit and a pic. with some of my favorite people.  We had dinner together with our families and noticed we all had the same color on.  I love having friends over for dinner!

This week is play week!!  Every night we’ll be busy.  So much fun.  I’m blessed to live where I do!  Have a great one!!

13 mile fashionista and 131

Hello!  Glad it’s the weekend!  Me and my friends were able to crank out 13 miles this morning.  It feels good to be done.  Tomorrow will either be a short run or gym.  I just got back from a fun field trip with my 5 year old.  We went to the library and Great Harvest bread.  Two of my favorite places.  I think I could work at either one!  I need to go to the library more.  I was there all the time when my older kids were little.  Good memories!

Well my happy FIT LIVING news today is that I weigh 131.  Just over 2 weeks on our healthy challenge.  We changed a few rules due to vacations and worrying that we’ll never end anxiety.  SO!  Our challenge will end on May 31 unless the others fall away and I win (:  We decided we can take 3 cheat days.  I’m going on a few vacations in the next few months so I’ll use mine then.  On JAN. 4th I weighed 137.  Yes, I do gain weight.  Some of my clients have done incredibly well on my challenge and others are frustrated because the scale is not moving!  I have to remind and remind them that it’s not all the scale.  I know I’m kinda a bad example of that.  But, one of my running friends this morning told me that she weighs the same as she did last year and her body fat is down 5%!  I did think of a few supplements and super foods that I’ll talk about on Monday that will speed up the process.  As always, STAY CONSISTENT AND DO NOT GIVE UP!

Lastly, I have a few favorites of the week to share!!  My new perfume is Chanel chance tendre.  Perfect scent.

I got the Boden catalog in the mail this week.  Here are my favorite skirt and shoe!  They obviously don’t go together.  I would love the pink skirt with a denim button down and my hot pink sandals.  The animal print sandal just had my name on it!  (:

And to top it off an enchanting pair of earrings.  These are from Sundance.

Alrighty!  I need to go play a few serious games of UNO with my little guy and maybe catch a few zzz’s.  4:45 a.m. is wearing on me.  Have a SWEET day!!!  Oh!  I almost forgot.  Outfit of the week is what I wore to church last week.  This dress is from Boden too!

Full body love

Today was a run day.  I love running, but marathon training is a little more than I like, especially in the dead of winter!  I can’t quite figure out when or where I’ll be running 13 miles this weekend!  I ran 6 on the treadmill this morning.  Yesterday was such a great girlfriend workout.  It was a huge group and everyone was dying (:  My abs, legs, and arms are sore today.  Success.  This is a classic favorite of mine!

WARM UP-  20 rounds of tabata planks.  Hold the plank for 20 seconds and rest 10.  Do this 20 times!  It takes 10 minutes.

WORK OUT-4 SETS of 2 exercises.  Start with 50 reps of the first exercise and immediately go to 10 reps of the second.  Then do 40 of the 1st and 20 of the second and so on until you reverse it to 10 reps of the 1st exercise and 50 of the second.  

1-Air Squats and Overhead Press

2-Step ups with weight and Push Ups

3-Stiff leg deadlifts and Tricep dips

4-Scissor jump lunges and full sit ups

That’s a lot of reps.  We were spent!  I’m trying to clean up and organize my computer and folders and found this great saying for today’s speech!  Good advice.  I love training and giving people hope!

A happy part of today is that it’s my brother’s birthday!!!  We were always close…that is AFTER the younger years when we beat each other up.  He’s in Georgia and I don’t see him, but he always makes me happy!!!  Here we are every 20 years of my long life (:

Keep smiling and eating healthy.  Find ways to be happy every day!  I’m excited for the Olympics to start and hopefully I’ll find some moments to watch a few events!  On to help my last child get out the door today!  Work Hard!!

 

Zucchini Brownies

YELLO!  Today is a cooking and baking day for me.  I have a minute while my rice is cooking to drop a few lines!  I’m so happy I have such a giant kitchen so I can cook 3 different things at once and kids can still sit around the bar.  LOVE IT!!!  Here’s a recent PIC!

I’m making dinner for a couple friends and the yummiest ZUCCHINI BROWNIES!!!  I made them for my kids the other day and they devoured them happily (:  That doesn’t happen all that often with my concoctions!  I looked up the recipe online!  This BLOG posted them so pretty!

For the brownies:

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 cups shredded zucchini

For the frosting:

• 6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 350F and grease a 9×13 inch baking pan with PAM or your preferred baking spray.
2. In a large bowl combine the oil, sugar and 2 teaspoons vanilla until well blended.
3. In a medium bowl combine the flour, 1/2 cup cocoa, baking soda and salt.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, stirring just to combine. Fold in the zucchini and mix well. The batter will be very dry and you’ll think you should add eggs or milk, but don’t do it!
5. Spread into the prepared pan, gently tapping the mixture down.
6. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until brownies spring back when gently touched.
7. To make the frosting, melt together the 6 tablespoons of cocoa, the butter and the milk in the microwave for about 40-60 seconds. Mix well with a spatula or metal spoon. Allow to cool slightly, then add the vanilla and the confectioners sugar 1/2 cup at a time, mixing well between additions.
8. Spread the frosting over the brownies once the brownies have cooled. Allow to set for an hour before digging in. Store in the fridge for up to 3 days.

I don’t consider them 100% healthy!    Not bad though!  80% healthy (:

I read a GREAT article the other day about boosting metabolism, increased energy, and lowering body fat levels.  WOW, WOW, and WOW!!!  Those all sound great!!  I’ll research it a little bit and hopefully post about that on FRIDAY!!

Well, I have 3 photos from the race course!  I could have SMILED a little bit more!!  Here they are in order.  Beginning, Middle, and END!!  I’m mostly recovered.  Legs are slightly jello-y and I wear running shoes around all day because they make my heel feel better.  Nice to have a little break anyway!  I need to figure out a new fitness challenge NOW!

Have a happy day!  RELAX and ENJOY a Zucchini Brownie!!!