Category: boun-see balls

April 16, 2012

My favorite fitness tool: ripped magazine pages

Let me introduce you to one of my favorite collections from my house. It’s not the run-of-the-mill collection. If fact, I don’t know anyone else who collects ripped magazine pages like I do. But I do. Oh, do I.

People, I could practically make an encyclopedia out of these (maybe there’s already an app for that). I’m not normally predisposed to hoarding, except when it comes to magazine workouts. Ok, ok…and workout videos. But you see, the workouts only fill up two file folder envelopes, so don’t call the A&E network on me, ok?

I have been a loyal subscriber to SELF magazine for at least 10 years and Shape magazine for almost as long. Each fitness mag has at least two workouts printed in it each month. That adds up to zero boredom for me!

I love that I have a mix of everything, from cardio to strength. I have workouts for specific body parts and equipment–whatever I’m in the mood for. I have capoiera, yoga, pilates, prenatal and all other different forms of exercise. Some are appropriate to do in front of the big windows at the gym. Some I will only do in my own home. Haha! And I never have to do the same one twice, which is a priority on my list.

And I love to give copies out to friends. Most recently, I made copies of all my prenatal workouts for a pregnant friend. I’ve tried to pare back the bulk of these folders, but…I just can’t. These pulled workouts are such a crucial part of my fitness happiness. Many of these workouts are available on the magazine websites for free. If you don’t already use these valuable, readily-available resources for getting fit, start today!

March 29, 2012

Eat Like a Kid

In one of my college writing classes, we read a narrative by Terry Tempest Williams about a boy sitting next to his mother peeling potatoes. The narrative was only one paragraph yet so exquisitely written. We were instructed to write our own narrative involving a poignant food memory. I still have mine:

My mother taught me how to eat grapefruit in our living room one balmy summer evening. She instructed me to cut the large fruit in half between the two ends so there were perfect triangular pockets to scoop from. She even let me use a special spoon with a serrated edge to scrape out the fleshy pulp. She laughed at my persistent efforts, swiping a blush across her brightening face, even though her stomach was always tied with anxiety from the pervasive stress of piling bills. She handed me sugar to sprinkle over the half I held in my sticky, dripping hand. Her face was beaming as I took a spoonful of the bitter fruit, sweetened to enjoyment by a simple touch of sugar.

Source

Coming across this again inspired me to start thinking about the way we approach food in our homes and how eating like a kid could really be healthy.

1. Make your best memories revolve around healthy food. Wouldn’t it be great if our kids had predispositions to eat berries because the family always went berry picking in the summer? Or cucumbers because they nurtured them from seed? Or veggie skewers because that’s what you always served at family picnics? Or spinach because that’s what turned their “Zombie” smoothies green? I’m so glad my memory revolved around a grapefruit and not a Snickers Bar. I admit, we occasionally ate Oreos by the row, but if you can make an equally poignant memory revolve around healthy food instead of junk food, then by all means try it!

2. Turn away your head when you’re full. Something happens between our first bites of food around 6 months of age and adulthood. We stop taking cues from our bodies somewhere along the way. Feeding an 8-month-old is easy. You just feed them until they turn away their heads. As we get older, we fight those natural signals and stuff ourselves until we’re uncomfortable. Stop eating when you feel sufficiently full or when you know you’ve eaten enough.

3. Make food fun. Did your mom ever plant “trees” (broccoli) on a hill (of mashed potatoes) for you? Did your dad ever drive your spoon around like it was a train headed for the depot (your mouth)? Food was fun when you were a kid. I encourage you to make food fun again! Make it a point to try a new food or healthy recipe each week. Toy around with the colors, textures, spices, pairings and presentation. Cut fruit out with cookie cutters. Lick the spoon. Become familiar with the playground. Food should not be your enemy, it should be your plaything.

4. Don’t think about food while you’re playing. When you’re not eating, don’t obsess or worry about food. You’ve never seen a child in the throes of a playground wondering if dinner will come soon enough. Let yourself get carried away with non-food activities. Believe me, when you’re busy with an involved project, you won’t be thinking about the Girl Scout cookies calling you from the cupboard. Don’t allow thoughts about food to control you. You get to control your thoughts!

5. Eat slow. Your toddler isn’t allowed to leave the table until he’s cleared his plates, and that usually comes about a half-hour after everyone else is finished. We may practice better manners as we get older, but we surely forget how to eat as mindfully as a child. Slow down. Taste, I mean really taste, every bite. Chew it. Put your fork down. Look away from that screen. And take a cue from Junior.

March 25, 2012

Weekend Family Fitness

The weekends have been very kind to us lately. Although we woke up to clouds and rain this morning, it stopped about mid-morning so we toyed with the idea of a little excursion. Hubster found an article about the rare phenomenon that is sturgeon spawning, happening nearby in New London. Although fish aren’t really my *thing* I thought it would still be nice to be outside and we knew Peanut would love it.

And love it, he did. When he spotted his first sturgeon, he was sure he had spotted something huge. “Look mamma, a whale!” He’s even been to Sea World, so he’d know a whale when he saw one, right?

There were schools of giant fish bumping up very close to shore. The sheer number of people that come to view this phenomenon is amazing. And all the pointing, oohs and ahs, and hushed anticipation are worth the trip in itself. Not only that, but it was a beautiful 60-degrees. Still unheard of for a March in Wisconsin.

See I think those fins make them look more like sharks, but that’s just me. *Wink*

At the assistance of a charming 3-year old, grandma and grandpa were strongly encouraged to ride along. They obliged and had just as much fun as he did.

There were some nice trails and bridge walks in the area that we happily ambled along. It was truly refreshing to be out in that fresh air, walking altogether as a three-generation family, and witnessing a rare phenomenon of nature. Sure, we enjoyed some family fitness, but we barely even noticed! Especially with views like this:

March 18, 2012

My Healthy Plate Lately

Here’s a look at a few healthy dinners I had this week, courtesy of Hubster. He made this wonderful, easy crockpot pork roast (seriously, just a pork roast and reduced fat cream of mushroom soup) that just fell apart at the touch of a fork. I roasted up some Brussels sprouts in olive oil and soy sauce, because I’ve had a huuuuge craving for them lately. Sprinkle a light dusting of Parmesan and sea salt over the top–Hea-ven! And fresh plain radishes, because I just like them.

Try not to worry too much about my whole grain intake (because I know you are…ha!) because I had plennn-ty much for breakfast and lunch.

The next night, Hubster made pancakes, from scratch, and blueberry syrup, from scratch. From scratch! He tried, he really did, to make the healthiest syrup he could find. He did some Internet scouring to try and find something especially diet-friendly for me. He ended up using real sugar instead of Splenda, because I refused the $8 price tag. But still, the recipe is pretty dang healthy anyhow. Look at all those antioxidants dripping over those perfectly-round, fluffy pancakes. He’s really the king of pancakes, didn’t you know?

Now, how come no one told me about the healthy-ness of sweet potato fries? Oh wait… I think someone probably did. But the fact that Hubster does the grocery shopping means that I don’t remember to remember them. We’re definitely skipping the crap-in-a-bag regular fries for these orange beauties. They were a nice accompaniment to our roast beef, Swiss, and piled-high spinach sandwiches, that’s for sure.

Just check out the stats on these puppies:

Funny story, I got up to photograph this last handful of crisp orange fries and Hubster actually tried to race me into the kitchen for them. Like I was threatening his food supply or something. Haha! I didn’t want any more, I just wanted to blog about them. Woah, my bad! But you realize what this means, don’t you? Hubster really really liked them! And what he really really likes, he will buy again. Victory!!!

He’s a keeper, isn’t he?

March 18, 2012

Family Fitness Lately

Today was a doozy of a fitness day. I’m taking these extra pounds I recently put on and showing them where to shove it, you know, family-friendly style. Family fitness happens to be one of my favorite things. Usually, the calorie-burning just happens as a result of us doing some of the family activities we enjoy, especially with the record-breaking weather we’ve been having here in Wisconsin this week.

The day started with a long bike ride around the neighborhood.

Here’s daddy bike, mommy bike and baby bike, in case Goldilocks wanted to try them out. Peanut didn’t actually ride his little bike. He road in the child seat on the back of daddy’s bike, but he wanted to get his bike out when we got home for the pretty picture. And look, his bike matches his child seat!

Later in the afternoon, my workplace sponsored an employee open house at our local YMCA. Peanut got to try out these new ice skate-clad feet for the first time. He kept saying he just wanted to go in the pool, but I think he actually liked his first try out on the ice.

Um, seriously, I didn’t notice this until now, but there is definitely a Goldilocks theme going on here. Daddy, mommy and baby ice skates.

Then, it was on to the pool. It was nice to have the place practically to ourselves without having to fight the usual crowds at the Y family pool.

In fact, there was hardly anyone waiting in line for the slide, so Peanut rode it and rode it and rode it.

Guess whose snores I can hear from the other room as I sit typing this? Oh, it didn’t take long. We tuckered him out. And we tuckered ourselves out too.

Oh yeah. And in between all these festivities, I snuck in a Youtube Tracy Anderson rebounder workout…in the dining room. Because, you know, you can’t see the computer screen when the bright sun is shining on it. She’s really hard to follow, and provides no verbal direction, but as long as you’re kind of doing what she’s doing, you’ll feel it the next day. Trust me. Warning: high jumps on the trampoline are not for the faint of bladder. I do not have a weak bladder, but even I found myself thinking an extra Kegel or two would be beneficial. The workout is definitely a sweat-inducing one. And the trampoline happens to be one of our family favorites too. In fact, I had to bribe Peanut to be able to use it for the half-hour workout.

With the way we’ve been training, we probably could’ve signed up for a triathlon instead of a measly 5k, right?

March 15, 2012

Best Free Online Workout Videos

As you know, I was completely devastated to have found out that ExerciseTV was discontinued. Is that what you’d call it, discontinued? I prefer to call it an act of abandonment. Anyway, I would like to share with you some free quality online exercise options that I have found in my voracious quest for a replacement.

1. Exercise.com: the videos here do not offer the same type of interactive experience as ExerciseTV offered, but you’ll still get one heck of a workout. A model will guide you through an exercise for a certain number of repetitions. Sometimes the video just replays a few times to get to the proper number of repetitions. The workout sessions just go from one move to the next. That’s ok with me, because I’m not very good at building on dance moves to form a complete routine. But believe me, I was a hurtin’ the next day.

2. Blogilates and POP Pilates: Cassey Ho’s story is a very inspirational one. She went to school for Biology to pursue the medical degree her parents wanted for her. In college, she started teaching Pilates and fell in love with it. Her blog, fitness accessory line, and YouTube channel have become quite popular. I think it’s great that she offers an extensive number of free Pilates classes online for anyone to access. And these aren’t your traditional Pilates classes; each is filled with a whole different set of innovative moves you probably haven’t tried before. Cassey’s upbeat, down-to-earth, sometimes-goofy attitude endear you to her from the first move. Her and her sister do most of the video recording themselves!

I tried this standing Pilates workout from the Pop Pilates channel this weekend. You might like it too:

Hopefully I can come back with even more free quality workout videos in my search. Stay tuned!

February 16, 2012

Welcome to the Running Community

I wish the whole world could be a big version of running events. Have you ever seen how awesome people are at 5ks and other events? Even the winners come back and cheer on those that are bringing up the tail end. Everyone’s automatically amiable those days. And at the end, everyone gets to revel in the feeling of having accomplished something.

I never really was a runner until my later college years. One day, I just decided to enter a Half Marathon. I mean, usually people start a little smaller. But not me! And boy am I glad I did. My second run was a measly cross-country 3-mile run in hot, humid temperatures. I always say, if that had been my first run, I would’ve given up road racing right then and there. But the Half was one of the best experiences of my life. People were cheering at every corner the whole 13.1 miles. It felt like I was partying inside a huge celebration.

If you’re thinking about entering an upcoming race, I encourage you to go for it! To help you decide, I’ve listed my most favorite parts about running road races:

1. You get a nice solid run in on a Saturday before most people have even rolled out of bed.

2. The quiet sound of thousands of feet on the pavement! I wish I had a recording of this so I could use it for meditation. Yes, it’s truly that amazing!

3. You get some fun swag and usually a free T-shirt.

4. The amazing people who come out that early just to wave flags, direct traffic, ring cowbells and encourage runners. I need some of these people in my life every day. Imagine how much we could all get done with that level of enthusiasm and encouragement!

5. Vendors selling last year’s shoe models for less than a cheap meal!

6. The feeling of community. No one cares how fast you are or what you’re wearing, you just automatically belong. You’re all there to run and encourage each other and that feeling of connection is amazing.

7. Water stations. I love them. People volunteer to just stand with their arms out to hand you a cup of water or Gatorade. Such a gracious act. And you totally have permission to litter afterward!

I’m sending in a 5k application today for my husband and I. It’s become one of my dearly favorite yearly tradition with us. We plan on making running dates from now until April. How sweet is that?

February 7, 2012

Chia Seeds, the Next Superfood?

I’ve been reading Born to Run (which I highly highly recommend!), and these amazing little nuggets keep popping up out of the book. I just want more, more, more, just like those running endorphins. I can’t help but be mesmerized by the feats of Ann Trason, the mystery of the Tarahumara, and the discovery of chia seeds.

Ch ch ch chia! Yes, those same chia pets from the 80s will get you pretty darn close to a mega-loaded superfood. Let’s not pretend that these are a “secret cure” to anything, but they are really packed with so many amazing things. Even WebMD says: “Enjoy chia seeds for their flavor and to boost the fiber, protein, calcium, antioxidants, and omega-3s in your diet. But don’t expect a big weight loss boost.” Obviously, I’m not a doctor, so don’t take it from me. But even Dr. Oz has something to say about the teeny powerhouses. Because you know if Dr. Oz says it, then…

The Tarahumara, these seemingly superhuman long-distance runners in Mexico, use chia seeds as sort of our version of an energy gel. They mix the seeds with water and a little lemon juice and the mixture seems to give them an energy surge. The cool thing is, chia seeds hold water, which is a great benefit for the endurance athlete.

I don’t normally eat fish, except for canned tuna, due to a taste aversion. I’ve always leaned on walnuts, flaxseed and Smart Butter for small hits of Omega 3s. This, to me, sounds like another good way to squeeze a few more vitamins in. I’m putting my order in!

This book is just fascinating. It makes me want to get up and run 100 miles every time I pick it up, because a 5k sounds really wimpy. I highly suggest you pick up a copy or rent it from the library.

February 6, 2012

Weekly Health Newsletter Subscriptions

I recently read an article about how Kaiser Permanente studies the effects of weekly fitness emails on weight loss. Turns out, weekly emails do have a significant impact on weight loss. Kaiser used a program called ALIVE (A Lifestyle Intervention Via Email) where they sent participants tailored weekly emails with simple lifestyle steps they could take to lose weight, such as walk for 10 minutes during lunch.

Since regular emails are probably a great weight loss strategy, I thought I would share my own personal list of newsletters that I subscribe to. Not all of these are great for everyone, and you may not want to subscribe to this many all at once, but here goes:

1. FabFitFun: easily digestible daily fitness tips for the modern-day, trend-conscious girl. Today’s feature was about hot new youtube fitness stars. E! News’ Giuliana Rancic is the driving force behind this fab website.

2. Prevention: this might sound, um, a little old, but prevention magazine has 12-and-counting great health newsletters, some of which even fit into a younger lifestyle, such as the “Feel Your Best Fitness Newsletter” and the “Eat This, Not That Newsletter.”

3. Real Age: first, I highly recommend taking the Real Age test, which asks you a bunch of personal questions to tell you how old your body actually is. Then, subscribe to the Tip a Day newsletter. Today, for example, there were articles about the evils of soda and the 25 most healthy cities. Dr. Oz is one of the big names behind this site.

4. Whole Living: It all started when I signed up for a New Years’ 30-day challenge. That easily turned into a whole-year-and-beyond challenge. The Challenge of the Day email sounds like it might be somewhat similar to the idea of the Kaiser ALIVE emails. One recent challenge was to give up one processed food today. The emails really do take a Whole Living approach, touching on so many doable mind-body subjects. The spa-worthy pictures and gentle personal-caretaking approach are refreshing.

5. Everwell: touches on subjects from healthy food (Carrot Camouflage Cupcakes) to fitness (at-home workouts) to consumer health tips (dangers of reusing plastic bottles). It’s really a nice well-rounded approach to leading a healthier life.

6. Self: A handful of newsletters are offered by Self Magazine. The Move of the Week and Recipe of the Week newsletters will steadily build your repertoire on the fitness and food fronts. Other monthly newsletters explore news, tips and health topics.

7. ACE: Get tips and research insider information straight from the organization that trains the trainers. They explore fitness trends of the year, healthy food makeovers, fitness product reviews and of course links to exercise move videos. The newsletters also include handy links to thought-provoking conversations in the forums.

8. Sparkpeople: once you open your FREE (yes, no-strings-attached-FREE) account, you can manage your newsletter subscriptions under the Account/E-mail Preferences link at the top left of your home page. They offer 10 great health, diet and inspirational newsletters and 8 condition-specific newsletters (i.e. Seasonal Allergies and Heart Health). I really enjoy the member-written inspirational emails. They are very well-chosen and highly motivational posts, which always strike a chord with me.

Not only do these newsletter provide a wellspring of helpful information, they’re just great reminders throughout the day and week to stay on track. They keep bringing your thoughts back around to getting up and moving, passing on the cupcakes, and taking your kid for a walk when you get home. After all, if studies are showing that daily emails can encourage your weight loss journey, you might as well take advantage of these wonderful, free resources. My theory is that the more knowledge you have about health and fitness, the easier it is to maintain a healthy lifestyle. It can change your whole mindset.

Do you have any other favorites that are not on my list? Please share! And Happy Reading!

February 1, 2012

Weight Gain Confession

On a site where I have journaled about my weight loss adventures and posted tips on fitness topics, it feels really discouraging to have to admit that I recently gained weight and have not been able to effectively remove it. I know 8lbs might not be a big deal to many people, but it really is to me. For all the hours and work that I put into fitness; for the three years that I’ve been able to maintain a steady weight; for all the things I know about weight loss, I haven’t been able to come to grips with this quite yet.

I thought once one or two of these pounds came on, I would easily lose them like always and there would be nothing to talk about. But the 8 lbs came on suddenly three months ago, and they seem to be stuck. But I don’t want to gripe about them or keep them secret any longer. So, I’m setting up a game plan instead, because I’m just proactive like that. Ha! Here’s how I’m hoping to combat the creep:

1. I need to set up an appointment to rule out anything health-wise that might have caused this. Hopefully, some basic thyroid tests and such can rule that out. I did have one medical health change in October, and I’m now wondering if it may have had an effect.

2. Adding 1 more day per week to my exercise schedule. I met with a fitness expert who advised this step (even though she said I look slimmer–thank you!). I have a hard time hearing that I’m not doing enough (I already work out hard three days a week, walk to and from work some days, walk on my lunch breaks, have an astonishing amount of self-control, etc), but I am willing to try this out. Two concerns: one, finding the time when I already pack in the workouts and two, my level of soreness and burnout after a solid week of working out.

3. Minding my Peas and Cucumbers: I’ve found in the past that tracking my food is one of the most effective ways for me to combat weight creep. Just being aware of my calorie intake is enough to fend off weight gain. I like to do this only about a week at a time or it feels overwhelming. Which leads to my next step:

4. Set up an appointment with our dietitian at work. Perhaps she can look over my food intake and tell me what I can do better, because there’s always room for improvement.

5. De-stress. A job loss in our family also happened in October, which has led to a lot of stress in these last few months. This may have had an effect on my frame as well. I need to carve out time to deep breathe and dream until the situation changes. I also need to get my butt to bed a little earlier to decompress.

I’ll let you know how it goes…