Week Three Results!

And the scale said... 162! We are entering week 5 of the 5K Podcast Mix. This week has 3 different mixes which makes me think that i am going to be running more than walking this week. I peeked and the friday mix has a 20 minute run in it. Wish me luck on that. I'll post on Wednesday about the first 2 out of the 3 mixes and we shall see how that goes.

And it is time to stop talking about doing Insanity and to actually put the money where my mouth is...
Insanity asks for a Fit Test as a way to assess how your progress is going.

Fit Test (Start)
Switch Kicks - 44
Power Jacks - 36
Power Knees - 80
Power Jumps -20
Globe Jumps - 7
Suicide Jumps - 5
Push-up Jacks - 10
Low Plank Oblique - 13

Here's hoping that these numbers improve. I'll keep you posted as to how it goes. Good luck this week and remember...

Pumpkin Bread

So a few weeks ago i bribed the boyfriend by telling him that if he watched my dogs for the weekend that i would make him some pumpkin bread. So now it is time to deliver... looking for a recipe isn't hard since it seems like everyone has a recipe.

I however was on a mission to figure out if i could make pumpkin bread with Pumpkin Pie Mix instead of just canned pumpkin. A month ago i was so excited about the prospects of pumpkin hitting store shelves that i neglected to read the can and i ended up buying several cans of pumpkin pie mix. Now i don't intend to make 20 pumpkin pies so i set out in search of alternate recipes using this ingredient. After several tries, i think i found a recipe that works and uses he whole 30oz can of pie mix.

Pumpkin Bread

4 eggs
2/3 cup water
1 cup veggie oil
1 can pumpkin pie filling (30oz)
3 1/2 cup flour (i used whole wheat flour)
3 cup sugar
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
sugar and pumpkin pie spice sprinkled on top

• Preheat oven to 350
• Add oil, water, and pie filling and mix well
• Mix dry ingredients together in separate bowl
• Add to egg mixture and mix well together
• Makes 2 (9-inch) loaves
• Bake a 350 degrees for 1 hour or until knife comes out clean. After 30 minutes, sprinkle sugar and pie spice on top of loaf
• Allow to cool

Mid Week Check-In Week 3

Ran 2.7 miles this morning... well walk/ran it would be a more accurate phrase but still. Quite an accomplishment!


I found these sheets in a SHAPE Magazine that i had lying on my coffee table and thought that i should share.

While we all know these moves and have done them in a aerobics class, sometimes we need to have it in print form before we would actually do it.

Thinking about the plank move makes my stomach muscles begin to shake as i contemplate how many reps of these i might have to do. The way i get though it... remember that it is only 30-seconds or 1-minute. In the grand scheme of your day, this is nothing and a very minuscule amount of you day.

Resistance bands are something that everyone should have at home. I was able to pick mine up at Walmart for under 9 dollars. These can be used for things like this as well as Pilates.

What do you think of the Balancing Fly?

 

Weights?!?!?! Are you kidding me! Who has those lying around? NOT ME! So what did i do, picked up my piggy bank full of coins and using it as my weight. You can also used a canned food product depending on how much weight you are trying to use. Go For it! Give it a try.

Keep up the good work!

Week Two Results!

And the scale said... 162 pounds. I lost a pound!! Small success but it's a success still. This week kicks on week 4 of the First Day to 5K mix which includes 2 5-minute and 3-minute sets. If you would have told me a few weeks ago that i would be able to run for 5 SOLID minutes, i would have said that you were crazy. I am excited for it!! Can't wait til tomorrow.

Today is a rest day so my cardio will be a vigorus dog walk. I think that they will both enjoy it although after a few minutes, Baines will look at me and send me signals that he wants to go home. "Fattie" doesn't realize that he needs to get in shape too.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Waffles

Ok, so as winter approaches and pumpkins surround us... recipes using this ingredient tend to consume my mind. I looked online at several recipes but they all seemed to call for things that i did not have readily available in my kitchen (i.e. wheat germ, buttermilk, etc.). But i finally found one that had all of the ingredients that were in my kitchen but i wanted to make sure that i maximized my ingredients and wouldn't have any leftovers. This recipe is perfect as a "make your own eggo" recipe where you will have plenty left over to freeze and warm up in a toaster throughout the week. :)

Pumpkin Waffles

2 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
4 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1  1/2 tbsp pumpkin pie spice (or 1 tsp each of cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg)
3/16 tsp salt
3 eggs
3/8 cup brown sugar
1 can pumpkin puree (15oz)
2 1/2 cup milk
3/8 cup canola oil

Combine all dry ingredients together in a bowl. Combine all wet ingredients together in a bowl. Combine all ingredients together, do not over mix.

Spray waffle iron. I used a 3/4 measuring cup to pour it onto the waffle iron. Let them cook. My first 2 waffles came apart when i lifted the lid when my waffle iron told me that they should be done. So the moral of this story is to ignore the light on your waffle iron and let them cook a little longer. Do not pull them off until you know that they are done. This makes 12 waffles.

Top with a sprinkle of cinnamon and powdered sugar and enjoy! :)

Mid Week Check-In Week 2

Jumping to Week 3 of the Podrunner Intervals mix has kicked my butt this week. My legs are a little sore but they always say... No pain, no gain. I think next week i will start the Insanity Program again to kick this weight loss into high gear. I was a slacker on Tuesday and Thursday this week and did not go to Pilates. I think that this has been a tough week. My legs hurt but nothing major just not used to the effort. I also think that this week has been telling in terms of commitment. It truly is easy to slip back into old ways and i really need to not allow that to happen. Having a schedule is the only way to keep it up. Taking the first two weeks to figure out the time for YOU helps with getting it done. I have realized that i am a morning person and they afternoon/evening commitment requires a whole other incentive. Before Sunday's weigh-in my homework assignment is to come up with an incentive for my afternoon/evening exercises. Any ideas????

I have found some good tips to share with you courtesy of the September 2011 Women's Health. See below for tips to help you shed those pounds based off of how many pounds you are trying to lose.

I found that using a chair for the balance ball exercises works just as well for these exercises.

Happy exercising!

Week One Results!

I got up this morning and stepped onto the scale... 163 lbs. It's only a week so i don't expect crazy results. I then began my morning routine of doing the Week 3 of the PodRunner Interval Mix. By the end of this 20-some-odd-minute routine, i have run/walked more than 2 miles. A few weeks ago i would have laughed in your face had you told me that i would have done this and still been able to move. I am hopeful for this week.

Peanut Butter Yogurt Dip

A sale on celery this past weekend led to a surplus of celery in my veggie drawer. oops!

I found a recipe for a Fruity Peanut Butter Dip which sounded like a good idea for my celery snack. It have a few variations to choose from so use whichever one sounds like the best one for you.

Fruity Peanut Butter Yogurt Dip

from the wannabe chef

Ingredients(Makes 6-8 servings):

• 6 tablespoons vanilla yogurt
• 2 tablespoons blackberry jam/preserves
• 1/2 cup natural runny peanut butter
• 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• Fruit/veggies for dipping

It tastes like a pb and j. Yummy! Safe to say, the celery is GONE!

Mid Week Check-In Week 1

Alright folks, in an effort to prevent injury but work my way up to the insanity program, i am gradually increasing my daily activity.

Sunday I did a 20 minute Yoga Session from Yoga Download.com entitled Sun Salutation Flow #1. This podcast is absolutely free and also comes with a Pose Guide so that me, as a beginner, know what i am supposed to be doing. This session was a Level 1 session so it should have worked perfectly for me. One this i realized is that i have little to no upper body strength. One pose i am determined to master and so i have added it to my daily workout is going from High Plank to Chaturanga to Up Dog.

The two poses on either side seem relatively easy but it is this one...

that seems to be tough since the elbows are kept in and my body naturally wants to collapse to the floor.

Then like i do for everything else in my life, hairstyles, makeups tips, etc. I went to You Tube to see if there was a tutorial for how to do this move in the Sun Salutation series and much to my amusement there was a video of how to do this move. I am so excited to go home tonight and try this move using Sadie's tips.

Last week I had started the First Day to 5K series using Week 1. This series is set up to be done 3x a week. You can download it from iTunes or from the Podrunner Intervals website directly.Using my Rec Center Pass and the treadmills there, i am doing this interval series at 3.5 for my walking pace and 5.5 for my run/jog. This week i started with Week 2 of the interval mix and the beats make me want to dance while on the treadmill which is probably not the best idea for me and my klutzy ways.

I took a break from the cardio on Tuesday and decided to attend Pilates. This was a burner for my core and midsection so i think that i will continue to do this on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

I am excited to see how the rest of the week goes so wish me luck!

Roasted Pasta Broccoli

I love food and i love looking for new recipes to try. One that i tried tonight was Roasted Broccoli Pasta from Skinny Taste.

There are so many great recipes on this site but this one was quite tasty and made enough for leftovers. I live by myself so the idea of mass portions is not something i enjoy. So i cut it down to a double portion so that i had a leftover serving for lunch tomorrow. So good, enjoy!!

• 4 oz high fiber or low carb pasta (I used whatever was in my cabinet)
• 1 1/2 cups broccoli florets (use fresh or frozen)
• 3-4 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• kosher salt and fresh pepper
• 1/8 cup fresh grated Pecorino Romano

Preheat oven to 450°. In a baking dish combine broccoli, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Roast broccoli about 20 minutes, tossing half way, until broccoli is browned and tender. (If you are using frozen broccoli, i boiled the broccoli with the pasta and then once the pasta was done, i quickly sauteed in the oil, garlic, and salt and pepper. )

Meanwhile, boil salted water in a large pot. Cook pasta according to package directions for al dente. Before draining, Reserve 1 cup of the water from the pasta.  

Drain and toss pasta with broccoli. Add 1/2 cup reserved pasta water (I didn't do this!), Pecorino Romano, salt and pepper to taste.

Looking into tools and programs

As we prep for the start of my fitness routine, we need to examine the tools. I am poor and cheap when it comes to equipment and owning it. The only gym-like equipment i own at home is a yoga mat. And this yoga mat looks a little chewed.. i blame the dogs or maybe a mouse.

I have a morning rec center pass so i can use any sort of equipment there when I'm there. That being said, I did look into some "do it yourself" videos for the winter days when it is too cold/frosty to go to the gym. Living in Charleston, we tend to be cold but no covered in snow. We're in the icy mix belt and that just leads to quarter inch freezes where it becomes impossible to get into my car door at 5:15 in the morning.

I have both the Insanity and P90x DVDs and so i think i can work this into my plan as well.

I have done the Insanity Month 1 Workout, and that kicked my butt. Now i'll try to make it through Month 1 and 2.

I have never tried any of these workouts for this but i might consider doing the lean program. The tricky thing about this program is that you have to have extra equipment.

Another motivating tool is that i intend to use is the popular podcast of First Day to 5K, Gateway to 8K, and Freeway to 10K. I am determined to learn to love running. I have a companion for the running part of this.

Bess, Bess-a-roo, Bess-a-nese, mer mer mer, simple dog is a ball of energy and i think she will enjoy running instead of walking.

Baines, bubbas, boo-ba-doo is a total couch potato and he will be my relax and recovery buddy. This shouldn't be a stretch for him since his favorite pastime is napping and snoring.



Happy Lose the Bulge!

Fitness Goals

I'm gonna lose 10 pounds, no maybe 5, now maybe 1. ugh!
Now i'm trying to prevent the winter weight that we all put on because "it's cold and hiberation" is the theme.

So i figure that the only way that i am going to get in shape and stick with it is by documenting it online. This way i feel like there will be some sense of accountability. Hoping... Fingers crossed.

I will also document the things/recipes/whatever that i find interesting. So get pumped