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FREE 7-Day Clean Eating Challenge

I’ve posted this on my Facebook page and at my workplace and have gotten such a huge response. If you want in on this too, leave me a message and I’ll add you to the group. Did I mention it’s FREE!!!

I’m trying something new and leading a FREE 7-day Clean Eating Challenge, starting Feb 8, leading right up to Valentine’s day. Clean eating is a great way to “refresh” the body and get you into the habit of eating whole, natural foods. This is not a “diet,” this is about creating an overall healthy lifestyle that aligns with your health goals. Clean eating goes hand-in-hand with exercise to deliver powerful results.
My hope and goal is that after these 7 days, you’ll feel so much better and want to continue eating this way. I want to help you kick the packaged, fast-food habits in favor of energizing, nutrient-filled eating with daily tips and motivation. I’m going to share my secrets for meal planning and prep and offer shopping lists and recipes to guide you.
If I give you 7 days of my undivided attention, will you put yourself ALL IN for ONE week? Leave a comment or message me if you’re interested in signing up. If you have a friend that might be interested, feel free to share the invite. You don’t want to miss this freebie because I probably won’t do another one for awhile!

Fresh Start Fitness Challenge

It’s never too early to get a jump-start on your New Year’s resolutions. Here’s a call for participants for a challenge group that I’m starting up on January 1. If you’re interested, leave a comment or email me and I will get in touch!

I’m looking for 5 people who are tired of looking back year after year, wishing their bodies would change and riding the weight loss roller coaster. Or maybe you’re like me and tend to hit plateaus that last…years! This year, we do it differently. This year, we lock arms on Jan 1 and forge into the New Year with renewed dedication, as a team!

The New Year is the PERFECT time to make healthy changes. It takes just 21 days to form a new habit, so we’ll spend those crucial first 3 weeks of 2015 together to set you up for a fit, successful new year. It’s only 21 days!

I myself need to lose some baby weight and I’d like to support you through whatever challenges you! From meal planning to motivation to workout support, let me give you my complete attention, guidance and support. The added bonus is that I’m a certified personal trainer and sports nutrition specialist in training, and I will be coaching you through the whole thing. I’m ready to change my life and I can’t wait to help you too!

You’ll be able to pick your challenge of choice from several rewarding options. And you can do any one of them at home! And make sure to get back to me quickly, because there are only 5 slots available and the clock to join is ticking.

If this interests you, Comment below and I’ll get in touch with you.

Together, let’s make 2015 your BEST year ever!

Ticker Update

I am beyond thrilled to announce that my ticker is in fighting shape. Being a devoted runner and soon-to-be second time momma, I am very reassured by this. My echocardiogram came back completely normal. My pulse was a bit high, but that’s pretty normal for pregnancy. The Holter monitor caught in the 6,000 range!!!!! of PVC’s, or skipped heartbeats, over the 48 hr period I wore it (3,000-something per day). However, no arrhythmia was detected.

My cardiologist said that they have patients with PVC’s in the 20-30,000 range, which is when they start having some concern. On a scale of 1 to 10, my benign “problem” ranks around a 1. However, she did offer a small dose of a beta blocker that’s safe for pregnancy. With her guidance though, I am not going to take them, at least not yet. I have them on standby in case the PVC’s really do become bothersome. Since the meds are not really medically necessary, they’re really only for my comfort, I’d rather wait this thing out and just tolerate it than medicate it.

My blood pressure this time was well back in the normal range–and actually a bit low for a preggo at 110/70. I was starting to worry that pre-eclampsia was sneaking up on me, but I think the higher readings were just because of nerves. Thank goodness. We pregnant ladies sure do worry a lot, don’t we?

It’s kind of neat to understand how my heart is working. I do get lightheaded once in awhile (though it’s a pregnancy-related symptom, not a heart problem-related one). The nurse practitioner explained that my heart is working fast right now, and she used a sponge analogy. If you were to squeeze a sponge long and hard, you’d get more water out of it. If you squeeze it fast and incompletely, not as much water will drain. That’s how the heart is working during pregnancy. It’s not as efficient at getting all that extra blood where it needs to go. Hence, the lightheadedness at times and the PVC’s. Beta blockers help smooth out that heartbeat, so the beats are good and hearty.

Well, I’m just so thankful that that’s out of the way and I’m doing fine. It was a few emotional days being hooked up to wires and waiting for those test results. Now that I know nothing is wrong, I’m not as anxious about or attuned to all the PVC’s I’ve been having. It has made a huge difference just knowing that I’m going to be fine.

Weekly Workout Rundown

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Monday:

Tuesday:
  • 30 min moderate walk at lunch

Wednesday:
  • 30 min run in the AM
  • 30 min moderate walk at lunch

Thursday:
  • 40 min Tracy Anderson workout
  • 30 min moderate walk at lunch

Friday:

Saturday:
  • 35 min run

Sunday:
  • Rest

Now that I’m finally feeling a whole lot better, I’m able to work out with a little bit more consistency, albeit on a much lighter-scale version. After three weeks of spotty workouts, I’m trying to ease back into my routine and regain my endurance. This week, I was finally able to participate a little bit in the Love Your Body series, bit by bit. 
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Hubster just decided this week that we should look at new houses. We went from being content where we are to surveying properties at the snap of a finger. I’m kinda thrilled and terrified at the same time. One house we looked at has THE perfect room for a treadmill and weight set, not to mention a magical backyard. I hadn’t really anticipated any of this, so I haven’t had a chance to wrap my head around all the nesting details that a woman is inclined to have. I had to start a Pinterest board just for my ideal workout room. My dream room would have a wall of long mirrors, inspiring images, perhaps a TV and DVD player for all my workout videos, and a pretty place to film workout videos for you all. #dreaming
This week, I also signed the whole family up for our now-traditional yearly fun run. I ran the Half Marathon section of this the very year of its inception. Last year, we enrolled Peanut and he excitedly asked to do it again. We’re all 3 going to participate, as per tradition. I can’t wait!
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How are you staying fit this week?

Where did I go?

I’ve been completely MIA for about three weeks. MIA from my social life. MIA from motivation. A little too MIA from work. Almost nearly MIA from fitness. And most certainly a bit MIA from here. I had a few things I needed to work out with my health before I could tackle any other aspects of my life. It’s Maslow’s pyramid in full effect y’all. You know how sometimes when you’re feeling sick or just not yourself, you just want to lie around watching Netflix all day? Yeah, that’s been me since about the week of Christmas. And I hate TV!

You see, I had this major list of stuff I wanted to get done on the 12–Twelve!!!–days off I had during Christmas break. These were exciting things, not stressful things. I wanted to work on an e-course, more blog posts, sewing projects, and all kinds of things that make me happy. But right before Christmas I started to feel really odd. I don’t want to get into the specifics, but my anxiety problems were coming back full force and there was no amount of meditation, relaxation or chamomile tea that could make it go away. Finally, after seeing a doctor about it, I started some medication. I tried to tough it out for about 7 days, but things got worse and worse to the point where I didn’t think I could stand it anymore. I was assured that no, I wasn’t supposed to be feeling that way, and that I should discontinue use. I had lost several nights’ sleep, laid around without motivation, lost my appetite, and just felt junky all around.

So, I stopped that medication and tried a new strategy that seems to be starting to work, but in the midst of that, I got sick with the flu, which lasted 3 days (and cost me precious PTO time already in January), and which amplified everything I was already feeling by about 100. I was terrified! However, after some rest and some things that I really needed and love and kindness from my family, I’m finally starting to feel like myself again. I got in about four workouts in the last few weeks and am slowly regaining my running charisma.

So anyhow, thanks for sticking it out with me. It’s been a long, scary three weeks, but this experience has taught me more than ever to be grateful for wellness.

So, instead of being too much of a bummer, let’s switch gears and celebrate health. Here’s what I’m finally excited to be able to do:

  1. Participate finally in the Tone it Up Love Your Body series. I’m waaaay behind on the 100 miles by Valentine’s Day challenge, but I’m still going to try my best.
  2. Run my little heart out. I’m going to have to start slow and build up my endurance again, but I’m just so happy to be able to put some time back into this love of mine.
  3. Eat! I’ve been on the bland, toast and soup diet for a few weeks now and really want to be able to look a Swiss mushroom burger in the eye without gagging.
  4. Play Legos with Peanut. He’s been begging me for days to play with him. I didn’t know how many more times I could tell him I wasn’t feeling good and couldn’t play before one of us would burst. Poor kid.
  5. Go out in public. Not to be melodramatic, but I was worried for awhile there that I would get sick or panic in public until I started feeling better. Now I’m good to go.
  6. Work. Did I mention I’m sick of TV?! I watched waaaay too much TV while I was at home in bed. It was about the only activity that I could muster the strength for and at some points, the nonsense of my favorite familiar characters on the Big Bang Theory or King of Queens seemed rather comforting. But now, I’m sick of being at home in bed in front of the TV and am really loving being back at work, focusing on something other than my own ailments.

I’m back! Full force. I will be posting regularly again, so thanks for baring with me:)

Weekly Food Prep

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Upon entering Phase 2 of the South Beach Diet, I’d like to share what a typical menu looks like on this plan. No, I do not eat salads for every meal (hardly eat them at all!). And yes, I do cheat just a little bit. This week, I’m finally allowed to have a few carbs including one fruit and one starch, which will be quinoa.

Left to right: salsa meatballs over a bed of quinoa,
egg scramble and turkey sausage, broccoli/cauliflower, apples

Breakfast, 265 calories:

  • 5 egg whites + shredded zucchini, mushrooms, onions and a sprinkle of cheese
  • 3 breakfast turkey sausage links

Snack, 210 calories: 

  • Apple with cinnamon
  • 20 almonds

Lunch, 299 calories:

  • Quinoa + salsa meatballs with sauce (similar to this recipe, but with ground turkey)

Snack, 177 calories:

  • Raw broccoli and cauliflower with hummus
  • 1/2 cup 1% cottage cheese

Dinners: 

  • Turkey chili dogs (minus the bun)
  • White bean chicken chili
  • Taco salad
  • Something with turkey bacon
  • Etc.

I’m really loving the variety I’ve found with the South Beach and low-carb recipes out there. I brought a stack of cookbooks home from the library, flagged pages like crazy, and saved all the recipes I knew I would actually use to a Google document. Then, when I sit down to plan my menu for the week, I just scroll through to see what looks good. I’ve been sticking with eggs and sausage in the morning and just change up the veggies in the eggs because I don’t see myself getting sick of this breakfast. I try to keep the snacks easy too, usually along the lines of plain Greek yogurt with nuts, cottage cheese or veggies and dip. That way, most of the planning goes into lunches and dinners and prep time is still manageable. I also eat the same thing for breakfast and lunch every day to keep things simple.

Dinners, we typically plan like normal for the family, but I just switch things up a little bit for my diet. For example, this past week we had spaghetti on the menu. Instead of having noodles like Hubster and Peanut did, I used shredded zucchini that I roasted on the stove for a bit. I still eat hot dogs and burgers too, just without the bun or wrapped in lettuce instead. They still taste great! Really, you have to try it to dig it. We had pizza mozzarella burgers on the grill and it tasted so delicious wrapped in lettuce, I didn’t miss the bun. All the great taste is in the burger itself, not the bun!

Every night before bed, I pack all the various pieces of my lunch in my big lunch bag and stash it in the fridge. The next morning, I literally only need to grab the bag and go. This food prep plan keeps me on time for work, fully prepared and allows me to fully adhere to my meal plan.

What are you eating this week? What are your best tips for meal planning?

Sugar Shock

Now that I’ve given carbs the boot temporarily, I can understand how our society is so sugar-crazed. Everywhere I look, it’s carbs, carbs, carbs. We made a quick convenience store stop on our way home from Christmas tree cutting this past weekend, and I just stood back and looked around me. Everything in the gas station was a carb, from the fruit in the coolers to the aisle of chips and candy, to the ice cream shakes, boxes of donuts, cases of soda and shelves of bread. All that was left for a person like me to eat was a two-pack of hardboiled eggs and string cheese. Kinda depressing and eye-opening all at the same time.

Thanksgiving was another carb explosion. Other than the stuffed mushrooms I brought, I could have chosen only pickles and turkey to completely avoid carbs. I didn’t pass on pecan pie just this once, but mashed potatoes, stuffing, chips, and desserts galore were like insulin hell. They tasted great, but their effects were immediate and detrimental.

This past week, I was faced with three shelves worth of specialty candies at work and a buffet with an entire section dedicated just to sweets–let alone the carbs everywhere else on the buffet tables too. Another luncheon at church allowed me a plate similar to Thanksgiving. Turkey and sloppy joe mix without the bun, pickles, and olives were all that were left for me. Even healthy-seeming carrots couldn’t be had, along with the chips, potato salad and table full of goodies. Normally, I would love all those things, but right now they’re presenting challenges while I’m in Phase One of the South Beach Diet.

Good thing buffets offer plenty of carb-less options like this and salad.
And good thing I really love all these things!
Gourmet treats at work. Thank goodness there were all sorts
of roasted peanuts. I settled on a vessel of pistachios.

I don’t say all these things to complain. It is just really tough to take on a low-carb diet in this society. We are a nation hopped up on blood sugar, that’s for sure. I think Dr. Agatston’s work shows that it is plausible that all these processed foods and sugary things everywhere have been a major contributing factor to our country’s obesity rates. Once you can’t eat carbs, especially refined ones, you really notice how they’ve become our most major food group.

On top of the availability of carbs, incessantly within arm’s reach, we are a society of sitters. My own job requires at least 8 hours of sitting in front of a computer. Although the job naturally presents a sedentary environment, there are ways to combat sitting disease. I myself hit up the gym three days a week at lunch and take walks the other two.

I also requested a prescription for a raised desk at work when I saw my doctor last. A lack of physical activity during working hours contributes to the problems I’ve been having. I do work out hard 6 days a week, but the hours of extended sitting during the day are not helping my insulin resistance problem any. This strategy of standing must be working, because I’ve been trying to stand for at least two hours every afternoon, and it almost makes me a little sweaty. I love being able to raise and lower my desk at will and get my butt off that chair!

I was successful in my diet this week, despite just a few tiny little cheats. I was able to bypass all the decadent goodies all around me for lean meats, low-fat dairy, nuts and veggies. The recipes I’ve used this week have largely been the reason I’ve been able to stick so closely to Phase 1. They’re tasty and satisfying, so I haven’t really felt deprived. Plus, I think it’s true what they say. After two weeks on Phase 1, you just don’t have those frenzied cravings for carbs anymore. Sure, they look good, but you eventually feel like you could take them or leave them.
From the weight I woke up at on the day after Thanksgiving to the weight I woke up to today, I have already lost around 5 lbs–the same 5 lbs I couldn’t get rid of no matter how hard I tried (6 intense workouts, calorie deficit, food tracking, etc) before giving up carbs. Hopefully I’ll have another successful week to report back on when I update next. Until then…
Have you ever noticed the sugar and empty carbs everywhere? How do you avoid them?

Weekly Workout Rundown

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Monday:

  • 50 min 12WBT run in the AM

    • Tuesday:

  • 45 min Jillian Michaels Hard Body in the AM
  • 30 min casual walk with mom at lunch

    • Wednesday:

  • 50 min 12WBT treadmill interval run in the PM, 4 miles

    • Thursday:

  • 30 min Quick Fix strength workout: 10 min abs, 10 min arms, 10 min legs
  • 30 min moderate walk at lunch

    • Friday:

  • Active rest


    • Saturday:

  • 60 min 12WBT run 


    • Sunday:

  • Rest

    • We are officially finished with our 4 week sneak peek at the US launch of the 12 Week Body Transformation. I really loved the resources that this program provided. And even though I didn’t lose the weight I should have (due to medical reasons), I really think that Michelle Bridges did a top-notch job putting together this program.

    Friday was the only day I kinda “skipped.” It was reserved for yoga, but became an active rest day instead. I took a 1/2-day at work and went to the park with Peanut instead. We jogged and played and although I didn’t stretch out like I should have, I still had a pretty active day.

    This week I’m moving on to the South Beach Diet, because it’s what the doctor ordered. Today was the first day on the plan, and I’m doing ok so far. I’m thinking ahead to Thursday–Thanksgiving–and hoping there are lots of veggies to go with the turkey. I’ll bring some of my own with my dish to pass–cheesy stuffed mushrooms, so at least there’s that. In the big picture though, it’s only one meal on one single day, so if I have a little pecan pie, I’m not going to worry about it, because pecan pie is the jam!

    A girl from work graciously offered me her stack of dust-collecting South Beach diet books, which I told her would be put to good use. Type A that I am, I scarfed up a handful of low-carb cookbooks from my library too, and have been typing the recipes that I actually liked and know I would make into a Google document. I’m so ready! This week, I prepped egg whites with veggies and sausage for breakfast, a big salad with toppings and creamy feta dressing for lunch, roast cauliflower and cottage cheese for snacks, and meat- and veggie-based stuff for dinner. And it all sounds really good to me! So let’s just pretend there never was such a thing as carbs, ok?

    How was your week in workouts?

    What the Doctor Ordered

    Disclaimer: this post is pretty personal. Please be gentle with me.

    I’ve been having an issue with my weight lately that I think I can finally get off my chest. I’ve not been discussing it on here too much because of my uncertainty about the root cause and the risk of sounding like a hypochondriac or someone all too concerned about weight.

    But I have been having a real issue. Something that actually started to worry me. I was averaging about 1500 calories per day and working out for at least 50 minutes, 6 days per week–you can see exactly how I’m working out here on the blog. Even with my diligence at measuring and tracking everything, I was not losing weight. In fact, there were a few upticks in weight here and there over the past two years. Not enough to be too alarming, but enough to make me want to throw my hands up. Ok, I’ll say it, I even cried a little. Hubster knew how upsetting this was to me that something just wasn’t adding up, and he’s been super supportive this entire time, even coming to my appointment with me.

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    I went to my appointment with about 15 pages of food tracking 
    and my agenda book with all my workouts recorded in it. I was
    determined not to have my problem be dismissed.

    I can assure you that none of this was about vanity or body image issues. It was completely about health at this point. I was genuinely concerned that something might be wrong. I just wanted so badly to be in the “healthy” BMI range, so I wasn’t headed towards a life of chronic disease.

    I’ll lay the rest of it all out there too, because this is no place for being guarded and discreet (I want this to be a place for honesty and connection). I haven’t done a whole lot with my personal training certification yet. To be brutally honest, I felt like a complete hoax. How could I help other people lose weight when I couldn’t even help myself lose weight? Even though I knew something had to be wrong health-wise, I still didn’t feel qualified. But, as my doctor pointed out, now I will have even better insight to help others because of my own experience. I have an even harder time losing weight than most normal people, so if I can do it, certainly everyone else can. And certainly I will be able to help them do it.

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    So, what’s happening?

    I am most likely in the pre- pre-diabetes stages. Not far along enough to warrant a diagnosis, but just far enough for my insulin to play mean tricks on my body. We did some thyroid testing too, just to rule that out (no results yet). What’s happening in my body is a vicious cycle. When I eat carbs, they cause my body to go crazy pumping out insulin. Later, when the excess insulin piles up, I will then have a low sugar crash–the shaky, nervous feeling from which my anxiety problems are originating. The insulin causes my body to store more fat, which causes my body to produce more insulin, which causes my body to store more fat and on and on. Awesome.

    In short, I need to follow a low-carb diet. I will be adopting the Atkins/South Beach style diets and following carb restrictions per my doctor’s instructions–not just to lose weight but to heed off a full-blown diabetes diagnosis in my future with all my might. I am really excited to get started, mostly because I want to learn as much about this as I can to help other people, including my own family, and because I just want to feel better. You’ll probably find me in the low-carb recipe section at the library really soon.

    So, here I am on a trip down the low-carb highway. By the way, I love carbs, so this feels like a carb funeral. But anyway, I’m scheduled to check back in with my doc in three months. If I’ve successfully lost a certain amount of weight on this diet by then, we will have isolated the problem. Although this diagnosis isn’t the best news a person could hear, it’s certainly not the worst, and I can’t tell you how relieved I am to finally have an answer to a few of my most disconcerting health problems. Now, I can tackle them proactively because I actually know what I’m up against. And it’s not a giant growing tumor–haha! Sorry, I had to.

    I’ll keep you updated on my progress, as I hope my experience might be able to help others.

    Anyone have any advice/resources for low-car/diabetic diets? Send them my way.

    Six Great Fitness Articles This Week

    I stumbled upon some great reads this week that were far more than worth sharing, they’re worth practicing! Grab your pumpkin spice latte and have a read in between trick or treaters:

    1. 25 Ways to Learn to Love Running
    2. Top 10 Sources of Protein
    3. 5 Global Fitness Secrets to Steal
    4. Proper Running Form 101
    5. 26 Reasons Not to Run a Marathon (a good follow-up to my popular article, It’s Ok to be a Runner and Not Race).
    6. Marathons Can Damage the Heart of Less Fit Runners (I keep seeing this report pop up all over the internets, a nice follow-up to the above)

    Enjoy!

    ***P.S. I had to come back and share an amazing workout site I just found with tons of free workout videos: Fitness Blender. You’re welcome! 🙂