Tuesday, August 25, 2009

1/2 or Whole


So today in my inbox at work i received a very surprising email. The Gasparilla race committee has decided to stop having their full marathon and next year will be the last time that they sponsor this marathon... okay...i really wanted to run this race because it is in Tampa...however, i didn't want to race it next year. Now i am dealing with what i am going to do. I have two options however on how everything is going to go


Option 1: Run the full marathon 26.1 miles in one day


Option 2: Run the Bud Light Challenge (25.5 miles)


a. Run 15k 9.3miles


b. Run 5k 3.1 miles


c. Run 1/2 marathon 13.1 miles


I am leaning towards option 2, however I never do anything easy for my self and i kind of feel that running the race this way is a cop out....but it will however mentally prepare me for a full marathon.




Sunday, August 23, 2009

Everything but the kitchen sink

So, the man remodeling my kitchen had an emergency so i will be without a kitchen sink for the next three days. Becasue of this i wont even bother to make a list of meals for this week. I am however going to post my fitness list...its not that hard to follow after working at it for a while.

I did however, get my new Oxygen magazine and it has some recipes that i want to follow. I wont be doing any this week but hopefully on Sunday i will be enjoy cooking on of these meals withing my new kitchen for Sunday dinner. Well, i am off i got some miles to put on the pavement.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

SPINING MY LIFE AWAY

So, I woke up this morning to walk Zaire like I do everyday. Which I swear doesn't even work, because as i am typing this post he is running around the second floor of my house....SAD FACE. I may one day post a video for you all because to see it is to believe it. Back to the subject at hand, so jumped on the scale and am down another 2lbs. Its not a hundred dollars yet, but at least the pain i feel in my strength training class is not in vain. Now, its time to get ready for Reaction Cycling AKA Spinning and i want to work in a 3 mile run, but my legs might only give me 2 miles.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

85+15=100%

Okay so today during Open House at my school, YES I SAID OPEN HOUSE. I was reading my favorite blog and came across this post from earlier today. I found it to be really informative and wanted to share it with yall...

You need to eat in order to lose weight. If you don’t need to lose weight, you need to eat to be healthy. EAT! Just don’t eat garbage.


This is something that took me a long time to learn. Magazines, media, and other girls tricked me into thinking that in order to for one to lose weight or look their best, one would need to always be on a “diet”, deprive themselves and exist in a constant state of hunger.


That, my friends, is the biggest LIE ever. Right now, I eat more than I used to (a few years ago), even though my activity level (pretty darn high) has remained the same for most of my life. Significantly more. And I’m also the same size/weight/jeans size as I was when I wasn’t eating enough to sustain my activity levels.


When you don’t eat enough food to support your activity levels, your body goes into starvation mode and holds onto all of the fat it can. This is why people can work out like maniacs, not eat enough food, remain the exact same weight and scratch their heads about why this is happening. By eating, you keep your metabolism revving at full force and actually burn more calories. The thing is, you have to eat whole and healthy foods.


I’ve said it a million times but I’m going to say it again- the calorie count of a food doesn’t say much about how that particular food will be used by the body. The calories in a large salad chock full of veggies are going to affect your body much differently than a Krispy Kreme with the same caloric count as the salad. Our body knows how to process the salad and can efficiently break it down, whereas the donut, nutritionally-devoid and laden with trans fat, white flour and refined sugar, will spike our blood sugar and sit in our body for much longer, causing us to gain weight. This is the number one reason why I can stuff my face with salads, veggies, whole grains, fruit, (moderate) nuts and seeds and not gain an ounce… but filling myself on junk food with the same calorie count would cause me to become smushy and render my favorite pair of Sevens too tight.


I eat a lot because I eat well. I’m also highly active, as I teach aerobics every day and train clients, which makes me hungrier. This will make it easy to maintain my weight when I don’t teach aerobics, as I don’t plan on doing it forever. When that happens, I’ll eat less, because I won’t be as hungry.


The reason why I was overweight to begin with (you can read about my weight loss story here) was because I overate and ate a lot of junk. As soon as I changed my eating habits to the healthy stuff, the weight started to fall off and I was pleasantly surprised with my increase in energy. The best thing about my new eating plan was that I didn’t need to count calories—I could eat to my heart’s delight (I needed sufficient fuel to dance as I danced an average of 5 hours each day) and just had to ensure that it was all healthy food.


I still treat myself to junk every blue moon, but in all 100% honesty, I’m not a huge fan of it. White flour isn’t appealing to me (100% whole grain products are much heartier and delicious in my opinion) and I don’t crave sugary sweets and chips the way I used to. When I do have a craving for something delicious that isn’t necessarily the healthiest choice, I eat it, and move on. No big deal.


This turned into a much longer spiel than I anticipated but the main point of what I’m trying to say is EAT. Eat often. Eat until you’re perfectly content and eat well. Your energy levels, tummy and jeans size will thank you.

I can truly say that i agree with her, when i was in college i lost a lot of weight. I could relate as to how when you are doing a lot of activity you don't notice that when you are doing all those things diet isn't an issue. But now I know that what I eat truly is driving my weight lose, which is helping me improve my times.

REMEMBER THE RULES OF WEIGHT LOSE
15 % IS ABOUT EXERCISE, HOWEVER 85% IS WHAT YOU EAT

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Trainer SAY WHAT!!!

Today, while running on the treadmill I started to feel my butt hurting. I started to laugh a little because I am reminded of the time i blurted out in class that my butt hurt and my trainers response was good. TRAINER, SAY WHAT!!! He then proceed to say that this was my body way of telling me that the fat is leaving my body. So, I guess that's how you get the saying "NO PAIN, NO GAIN".
The other thought that ran across my head today while walking Zaire, was if I am gonna be doing all of this walking i better get myself some good walking shoes. I looked at the Shape Ups by Sheckers and couldn't get pass the price. So I remember when I visited Kim Kardashian website http://kimkardashian.celebuzz.com/, she keep talking about these shoes called EasyTone
after going online, I saw that they also make flip flops for about $40 less then the Sheckers shoes. So, next week when I go for my shopping trip to O-town, I am so getting myself a pair. GOOD DAY, AND GOODNIGHT....

Monday, August 17, 2009

BAC 2 WORK

WOW....back to the days of waking up early and going into work so I can teach the children. This morning went very well, Zaire woke me up before the alarm went off and then proceed to jump around my bed until i woke up. It was really easy this morning to walk Zaire this morning, but it also made the rest of my day seem to go by faster.
So, after going to the gym today and doing my 2.5miles I needed to get something to eat and also restock my protein powder. I ended up eating a Supreme Protein Bar, because I was not going to be able to get my protein shake in today.

Okay this thing was really huge, and for some reason it is only one serving...YEAH RIGHT...but I still couldnt eat the whole thing. After, I got home I walk Zaire for the rest of his daily mile and came and made a jumbo Ceaser salad...YUM-O....and now a little television then off to bed.




Sunday, August 16, 2009

KITCHEN?

I am so waiting for my kitchen to be finished. I never realized how hard it is to eat healthy and have a kitchen remodel. Thank God, for a grill and also a microwave. But this week has been extremly dificult for me to exercise, because I have to actually be home for the man to work on my house. No matter what I am completing a whole week of exercising. Now i did lose 2lbs so I guess I should be happy for that. However, I want to be three pounds lighter by the time school opens so this is about getting my grind on.

MONDAY
BFAST: 2 egg white omelet with salsa+ mini tortilla with banana and flax seeds
SNACK 1: String Cheese stick with cucumber slices + 1 cup strawberries
LUNCH: Tuna Wrap (Carrot slices, Spinach, Tuna, and Tomato) + Apple SNACK 2: Protein Shake (recipe to follow)
DINNER: Turkey sausage with string beans + mango slices

TUESDAY
BFAST: Cottage cheese with blueberries, bananas and strawberries + ground flax seeds
SNACK 1: 100 Calories Bagel with Almond Butter + 4 prunes
LUNCH: Curry shrimp with brown rice and broccoli + Apple
SNACK 2: Protein Shake
DINNER: Grilled Salmon with Cesar Salad

WEDNESDAY
BFAST: Oatmeal with strawberries (made with Cinnamon, nutmeg, water, strawberries, and oats...ONLY)
SNACK 1: Two boiled egg whites + apple
LUNCH: Tuna Wrap (Carrot slices, Spinach, Tuna, and Tomato) + Apple
SNACK 2: Protein Shake
DINNER 2 Large Turkey Meat Balls with grilled veggies

THURSDAY
BFAST: Two egg white omelet with salsa + mini tortilla with mashed banana and flax seeds
SNACK 1: String Cheese with Cucumber Slices + 1 cup strawberries
LUNCH: Sausage with Whole Wheat Pasta + Grapefruit
SNACK 2: Protein Shake
DINNER: Shrimp Cesar Salad

FRIDAY
BFAST: Cottage Cheese with blueberries, strawberries, bananas and flax seeds
SNACK 1: 2 Boiled Egg Whites + Apple
LUNCH: Grilled Chicken + Brown Rice with broccoli
SNACK 2: Protein Shake
DINNER: Salmon with string beans

SATURDAY
BFAST: Oatmeal with blueberries +flax seed
SNACK 1: Cheese stick with mini bag of kettle corn popcorn + apple
LUNCH: Turkey Burger + Grapefruit
SNACK 2: Protein Shake
DINNER: Shrimp Cesar Salad

SUNDAY
BFAST: Two egg white omelet on toast + half a banana
SNACK 1: Sting Cheese + Apple
LUNCH: Sausage with Whole Wheat Pasta + 4 prunes
SNACK 2: Protein Shake
DINNER: Turkey Meatball salad


Also, if you are following my meal plan, please whenever you feel hunger eat a piece of fruit or have a cheese stick. Also make sure that you are drink atleast 64oz of water especially if you are exercising.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

UGGH!!!!

I just left a six hour training for the district...and am having a detox headache. Detox headache you may ask...that is when your body is pushing out whatever is not good for you. I usually have these for two days whenever I go back to eating good. I think it is all of the veggies and fresh fruit. Also could be the lack of baked goods but, BOY O BOY does this mess hurt...usually by dinner time i have to go to bed. So the post will be super light today. To not make it worst I will just walk two miles today, only one mile with the dog. I think he liked it, slept all night long...LOL. So, i will drink my unsweet ice tea from Micky D's and see how i feel in an hour.

Monday, August 10, 2009

MAKING A MOUNTIAN OUT OF A CLOTHES HILL

So, this morning I woke up and decided to take the task on of putting up all of my clothes. Why? Because over the past four days I went from having new carpet put down in my house to moving the furniture to finally having to put my clothes back. When i jumped out of bed this morning i went and had my favorite BFAST...

But the joy lasted for a minute, i then tackled the first phase of the clothes hill, and put all of my fold ables up 3 1/2 hours late (YES) it was time for a snack...i wanted mango now so the cucumbers slices got bumped.

Then i moved to putting up anything that had a hanger this was the problem, I was working for like two hours stop watched some television and then went and made my lunch. Curry shrimp...YUMMY...my sister Faith was really upset about this since for the last two weeks she has been trying to make it, but oh well.



So after lunch I decided to finish some work for grad school and make some phone calls about items for the remodel. (if i had a general contractor, i know i wouldn't work this hard). Then i decided to move some furniture upstairs from the garage and was off to walk Zaire. We walked an entire mile today, yes...little man walked the whole mile. So when my walk was over I choose to make a protein shake


Protein Shake Recipe

1/2 Banana

3 Strawberries

1/2 Cup Spinach

1 Cup Chocolate Protein Powder

1 Scoop Amazing Greens






Today, exercise was basically me walking, due to me moving furniture and putting away clothes I got side-tracked and missed the time to got to my gym for spinning class. Because of the popularity of spinning and the summer time, if i am not there thirty minutes before the class i miss out on having a bike, so i just walked my mile and half today and will spin tomorrow...Good day yall (SAY IT LIKE PAULA DEAN).

Sunday, August 9, 2009

ITS GOING DOWN....

Okay Gurls/Guys...in terms of gettin into the total fitness plan, every week on Sunday I am going to outline what is going to be my meal plan and exercise regimen all for Monday to Sunday. Please take note that if you want to follow along with my meal plan BE MINDFUL, that i dont count calories, rather i try to follow a clean eating diet. So I try to eat as much fresh veggies and fruit that I can and I also try to go with a proper ratio of good fats, carbs, and protein. If at anytime you are following my meal plan and you get hungry first drink some water and if still hungry twenty-thirty minutes later each a serving of nuts or a string cheese. I am drinking a protein shake for recovery of my muscles at night and to help build muscle. If you dont want to have a protein shake that is fine but find another supplement to take.


MONDAY
BFAST: 2 egg white omelet with salsa+ mini tortilla with banana and flax seeds
SNACK 1: String Cheese stick with cucumber slices + 1 cup strawberries
LUNCH: Curry shrimp with brown rice and broccoli + Apple
SNACK 2: Protein Shake (recipe to follow)
DINNER: Turkey sausage with string beans + mango slices

TUESDAY
BFAST: Cottage cheese with blueberries and strawberries + ground flax seeds
SNACK 1: 100 Calories Bagel with Almond Butter + 4 prunes
LUNCH: Tuna Wrap (Carrot slices, Spinach, Tuna, and Tomato) + Apple
SNACK 2: Protein Shake
DINNER: Grilled Salmon with Cesar Salad

WEDNESDAY
BFAST: Oatmeal with blueberries (made with Cinnamon, nutmeg, water, blueberries, and oats...ONLY)
SNACK 1: Two boiled egg whites + apple
LUNCH: Fish burger with brown rice and string beans + 1 cup strawberries
SNACK 2: Protein Shake
DINNER 2 Large Turkey Meat Balls with grilled veggies

THURSDAY
BFAST: Two egg white omelet with salsa + mini tortilla with mashed banana and flax seeds
SNACK 1: String Cheese with Cucumber Slices + 1 cup strawberries
LUNCH: Turkey Burger ( Slimmie Bun, Spinach, 1/4 cup shredded Mexican cheese, jalapeno peppers) + mango slices
SNACK 2: Protein Shake
DINNER: Shrimp Cesar Salad

FRIDAY
BFAST: Oatmeal with blueberries
SNACK 1: 2 Boiled Egg Whites + Apple
LUNCH: Grilled Chicken + Boiled banana with broccoli
SNACK 2: Protein Shake
DINNER: Salmon with string beans

SATURDAY
BFAST: Cottage Cheese with blueberries, strawberries and flax seeds
SNACK 1: Cheese stick with mini bag of kettle corn popcorn + apple
LUNCH: Turkey Burger + Mango slices
SNACK 2: Protein Shake
DINNER: Shrimp Cesar Salad

SUNDAY
BFAST: Two egg white omelet on toast + half a banana
SNACK 1: Sting Cheese + Apple
LUNCH: Paella + 4 prunes
SNACK 2: Protein Shake
DINNER: Turkey Meatball salad

DONT BE SCARED OF THE PRUNES, FLAX SEEDS, OR AMAZING GRASS....IT IS GOOD TO BE REGULAR...THATS ALL I AM GONNA SAY

EXERCISE
Follow along with the picture posted at the bottom of the screen

Thursday, August 6, 2009

WHO SAYS YOU CANT EXERCISE ANYWHERE….yesterday was a gravy day. I started the day off moving all of the furniture inside of bedroom either downstairs into the garage or inside of my bathroom. I must have burn like 600 to 800 calories moving furniture and ripping up all of the carpet on the second floor. Even this morning I believed I have burnt like 250 calories just by moving all of the carpet pieces from the second floor of the house.
I have decided that every Sunday I am gonna put up my weekly meal list, also with times that I usually will eat these meals. Also, I will be including a weekly schedule of my exercise for the week. I will be posting recipes that I either make myself, acquire online, or get out of magazines/cookbooks. So keep up for the ride or shall I say run of my life



Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Going Going GONE!!!

Okay, so yesterday wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I went thru my normal food withdrawals (yes like a crackhead) and drank load of water until I can go to bed. Physically unless I am dog tired I would never be able to get to be before 11pm, however eating after 8pm is forbidden. So I drink loads of water or water products till I go to sleep and urinate tons of clear liquid (sorry for the TMI).
Today, all of the carpet has to be removed from my house and taken to the dumpster. Well of course I am gonna be the workhorse on this job. But I wasn’t gonna pay for something that I could do myself, that is just crazy. So me and my utility knife bout to tear it up. I will post back later with food info and of course cardio is cover by doing manually labor, however I do want to get to my cycle extreme class today so I gotta double time it.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Abut two years ago I decided that I wanted to start to live a healthier life. By doing that I had to learn how to eat the correctly and really start to exercise. I initially lost 15lbs and then just stayed the same. That weight loss translated into me going from a size 16 (YES, cant believe it either) to a size 12. So this year, for my New Years resolution I decided to run a half-marathon. Well in order to accomplish this goal I would have to drop some weigh so that I would be able to run the entire 13.1 miles without dieing, so I started training for a 5k and a 12k. During that time I drop another 15lb going from a size 12 to a size 10/8 (YEAH BOI). So now I have 20-30 more lbs to go until my ½ marathon on November 21, 2009.

Before


Midway




So join me on this journey, as this blog is going to be used as my exercise, diet (what you eat), and shopping journal. Yes , a shopping journal, because every five pounds I lose, I go out and spend a BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.