This is what I saw when I pulled out of my driveway this morning! Sunrises are beautiful and remind me to be grateful for a new day, and that anything is possible.
Showing posts with label Thoughts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thoughts. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Early workouts
This is what I saw when I pulled out of my driveway this morning! Sunrises are beautiful and remind me to be grateful for a new day, and that anything is possible.
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Started with this
I started the week off seeing this picture on line. It made me happy. Beautiful colors and simplicity in motion. Often we forget how simple life should be. Yes life is busy and yes there will never be enough hours in the day but look how calm and peaceful these two boys are. Stopping to "smell the roses" or take a time out is healthy and necessary.
Friday, February 21, 2014
Keep calm and eat good
I'm becoming passionate about eating well. Today I made an amazing salad.
Spinach*Chicken*Feta Cheese (basil & tomatoe)*Purple Onion*Cranberries & Almonds*Strawberries*Light vinaigrette dressing. It was filling and only about 400 calories for the entire thing.
So then as if my salad wasn't enough brilliance for one day, I got totally domesticated and made homemade green chili enchiladas for the fam bam tonight. The two on the end are mine (wheat tortillas). Good balance of protein & carbs. Workout hard today so must. eat. good!
I'm lovin where this week has taken me. I'm feeling healthy, strong & lost 7lbs. Going into the weekend ready to take the challenge. Weekends are usually where I fall hard off the wagon so I'm holding tight to those reins and staying in control....at least that's the plan!
Spinach*Chicken*Feta Cheese (basil & tomatoe)*Purple Onion*Cranberries & Almonds*Strawberries*Light vinaigrette dressing. It was filling and only about 400 calories for the entire thing.
 |
| The Ingredients |
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| TA DA! |
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| The bottom of the salad is always the best part. Where all the yumminess hangs out |
I'm lovin where this week has taken me. I'm feeling healthy, strong & lost 7lbs. Going into the weekend ready to take the challenge. Weekends are usually where I fall hard off the wagon so I'm holding tight to those reins and staying in control....at least that's the plan!
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| Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas |
Monday, February 17, 2014
DAY ONE.....again
Every Monday is like groundhog day but Todays the Day! I'm excited and motivated. Reminding myself that the journey of a thousand miles starts with one step. Great workouts today. Eating good and clean. I've got this!!!!!
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
In the mood
Finally I feel somewhat motivated to blog again. Life is just like that, don't ya think? For me it is anyway, I get on these "up hills" of doing things and then plummet to the valley of nothing-ness.....
I found myself in the diet pill section of Sam's Club, desperate for a quick fix after three weeks of gorging myself in Florida (vacation - why?) and a road trip to Yellowstone that was filled with snacks, rich food, cakes, chips and soda, which I don't even normally drink. All reason had gone out the door and I was spiraling into the valley of nothing-ness aforementioned. Don't judge me......I am human and have a hard time finding balance when it comes to food.
In that oh so familiar moment, I yet again talked myself out of buying some "cheap shot" that doesn't work and talked myself into getting back on the wagon that I'd fallen of over summer vacation. Whooohoooo...bottom is hit, motivation sets in, vegetables are bought, and a workout schedule for the upcoming week planned.
All of that went wonderfully until the weekend. Weekends are the worst for me but I'm not going to whine and moan about that. I am going to tell you what worked.
PREPARE
A serious key for me! If I don't have good food & snacks to turn to, I will eat anything in sight, including nasty tasting candy or those cheap Walmart knock off snacks. I find when I load my fridge up with vegetables (corn doesn't really count) and fruit (but take it easy on the fruit), I am actually more likely to eat them. Another tip I learned during Weight Watchers is to wash, divide, measure...whatever you have to do to your fruits & veggies and put them in baggies. Then they're ready to go. My new favorite is slicing up green, red, yellow peppers and mixing them with snap peas. I've also thrown tons of red cabbage into stir fry's and its super yummy!
SCHEDULE
If you didn't know already, I LOVE to workout. It just makes me feel so good and I have energy (for a few hours anyway) after. Teaching Zumba is a blast and I sweat buckets so that covers the cardio, but cardio alone will not cut it. I find the best results when I partner cardio workouts with weight training of some sort. Please refer to a previous post about Pump class. You will not end up like a bodybuilder from pump class.....I promise.
I haven't taken a spin class for months and haven't been regularly cycling (indoors) since February. From my experience, NOTHING makes you're legs look better. Cycle class should be a good combination of cardio endurance and strength building. My endorphins soar when I'm done with a cycle class. It's exhilerating and wonderful.
BUT my new obsession is 8 Strikes, a cardio kickbox class at LVAC. Kicks my tail - in a good way. Sweaty doesn't even describe what I look like when I'm done, more like I just got out of the pool. It is a complete body workout, arms, legs, butt and core! AMAZING.....try it.
TRACK
One of the most vital keys in Weight Watchers is to track what you eat and the points value of every item you put in your mouth. Whether you do weight watchers or not, you should track your food and your activity. Just write it in a journal or ask me about a tracking app for your phone. You will be amazed how many things you eat that you're not even aware of.....left overs from the kids, the samples at the store, tasting the frosting from your kids birthday cake just to make sure its yummy -guilty. If we get in the habit of thinking before we eat, we will make better choices with what we eat. THIS IS TRUE!!! Tried and tested...... Tracking activity makes you feel good about the work you've done and allows you some more calories to eat if you want.
CONSISTANCE
This one is my least favorite and the least fun. So the first two weeks of my brave new world went pretty good. I try not to judge progress by the scale but its hard not to. I didn't loose much weight, a pound or two of my 6 vacation lbs. I definitely felt better and feel a difference in my body and strength and energy. This week (week 3) not so hot! New things are always exciting.......then they loose their sparkle. Hmmm what to do? Do what works......start over.....go buy veggies, make a workout plan, track, be positive. That's what I'm going to do.
I found myself in the diet pill section of Sam's Club, desperate for a quick fix after three weeks of gorging myself in Florida (vacation - why?) and a road trip to Yellowstone that was filled with snacks, rich food, cakes, chips and soda, which I don't even normally drink. All reason had gone out the door and I was spiraling into the valley of nothing-ness aforementioned. Don't judge me......I am human and have a hard time finding balance when it comes to food.
In that oh so familiar moment, I yet again talked myself out of buying some "cheap shot" that doesn't work and talked myself into getting back on the wagon that I'd fallen of over summer vacation. Whooohoooo...bottom is hit, motivation sets in, vegetables are bought, and a workout schedule for the upcoming week planned.
All of that went wonderfully until the weekend. Weekends are the worst for me but I'm not going to whine and moan about that. I am going to tell you what worked.
PREPARE
A serious key for me! If I don't have good food & snacks to turn to, I will eat anything in sight, including nasty tasting candy or those cheap Walmart knock off snacks. I find when I load my fridge up with vegetables (corn doesn't really count) and fruit (but take it easy on the fruit), I am actually more likely to eat them. Another tip I learned during Weight Watchers is to wash, divide, measure...whatever you have to do to your fruits & veggies and put them in baggies. Then they're ready to go. My new favorite is slicing up green, red, yellow peppers and mixing them with snap peas. I've also thrown tons of red cabbage into stir fry's and its super yummy!
SCHEDULE
If you didn't know already, I LOVE to workout. It just makes me feel so good and I have energy (for a few hours anyway) after. Teaching Zumba is a blast and I sweat buckets so that covers the cardio, but cardio alone will not cut it. I find the best results when I partner cardio workouts with weight training of some sort. Please refer to a previous post about Pump class. You will not end up like a bodybuilder from pump class.....I promise.
I haven't taken a spin class for months and haven't been regularly cycling (indoors) since February. From my experience, NOTHING makes you're legs look better. Cycle class should be a good combination of cardio endurance and strength building. My endorphins soar when I'm done with a cycle class. It's exhilerating and wonderful.
BUT my new obsession is 8 Strikes, a cardio kickbox class at LVAC. Kicks my tail - in a good way. Sweaty doesn't even describe what I look like when I'm done, more like I just got out of the pool. It is a complete body workout, arms, legs, butt and core! AMAZING.....try it.
TRACK
One of the most vital keys in Weight Watchers is to track what you eat and the points value of every item you put in your mouth. Whether you do weight watchers or not, you should track your food and your activity. Just write it in a journal or ask me about a tracking app for your phone. You will be amazed how many things you eat that you're not even aware of.....left overs from the kids, the samples at the store, tasting the frosting from your kids birthday cake just to make sure its yummy -
CONSISTANCE
This one is my least favorite and the least fun. So the first two weeks of my brave new world went pretty good. I try not to judge progress by the scale but its hard not to. I didn't loose much weight, a pound or two of my 6 vacation lbs. I definitely felt better and feel a difference in my body and strength and energy. This week (week 3) not so hot! New things are always exciting.......then they loose their sparkle. Hmmm what to do? Do what works......start over.....go buy veggies, make a workout plan, track, be positive. That's what I'm going to do.
Saturday, May 12, 2012
It's just a number
I could care less how old I am.....I tell people proudly that I just turned 24! That is because I kinda stopped aging (well in my head at least) around my early 20's. Seriously most of the time I forget how old I am. I stink at Math....like, bad enough to have graduated college with a Math 100 class. I swear I didn't pick my major based on that. I majored in Sociology and Social Work, by the way, and was required to take a crazy Statistics class that I think a great professor and tons of prayer helped me get through.
When people ask how old I am, I usually say 32....in fact I will be 35 this year. It's not that I'm slicing years off on purpose, like I said, I suck at Math (2012-1977 too much work) and I honestly forget my age! Haven't you seen me bouncing around like a 16 year old? Age is just a number to me. I've always said, "you're as young as you feel," or in my husbands case "As young as you act," which is usually like an adolescent boy! Jk.....he's awesome! I like to tease!!!!
With all that being said, I am honestly AMAZED at how well some people age. I know quite a few "mature" and "wise" friends/members at the gyms where I work and they look FABULOUS!!
For real!
Zumba does not have a targeted demographic, it's for young, old, male, female, Latino, Irish girlies like meself, coordinated and uncoordinated alike. This is why I love it. It's for everyone. In each of my classes, there are a handful of AMAZING women and men who are in their 70's, I kid you not. You are my HEROES! I've asked some of them how they've kept looking so great and still able to move so well? There are days that I feel immobilized as I wake up and the thoughts of "boogying on down" definitely does not appeal to my aching, aging body! The responses are usually along the lines of "A CLEAN LIFE" "NO SMOKE OR DRINK" "ALWAYS ACTIVE" even if it wasn't at the gym....walking, hiking, dancing.... Sometimes they'll say, they've slowed down a bit, well for crying out loud, you deserve that much! I see them moving, shaking and shimmying and I love it.
Good for you and good for the rest of us around you..........you inspire us to keep going, live every day to the fullest and enjoy the journey. To each of you I say, well done and keep it up! I hope I can be just like you as I approach my golden years!
Check out my friend Esther (middle) who just celebrated her 77th birthday yesterday.
Case in point! Feliz Cumpleanos :)
When people ask how old I am, I usually say 32....in fact I will be 35 this year. It's not that I'm slicing years off on purpose, like I said, I suck at Math (2012-1977 too much work) and I honestly forget my age! Haven't you seen me bouncing around like a 16 year old? Age is just a number to me. I've always said, "you're as young as you feel," or in my husbands case "As young as you act," which is usually like an adolescent boy! Jk.....he's awesome! I like to tease!!!!
With all that being said, I am honestly AMAZED at how well some people age. I know quite a few "mature" and "wise" friends/members at the gyms where I work and they look FABULOUS!!
For real!
Zumba does not have a targeted demographic, it's for young, old, male, female, Latino, Irish girlies like meself, coordinated and uncoordinated alike. This is why I love it. It's for everyone. In each of my classes, there are a handful of AMAZING women and men who are in their 70's, I kid you not. You are my HEROES! I've asked some of them how they've kept looking so great and still able to move so well? There are days that I feel immobilized as I wake up and the thoughts of "boogying on down" definitely does not appeal to my aching, aging body! The responses are usually along the lines of "A CLEAN LIFE" "NO SMOKE OR DRINK" "ALWAYS ACTIVE" even if it wasn't at the gym....walking, hiking, dancing.... Sometimes they'll say, they've slowed down a bit, well for crying out loud, you deserve that much! I see them moving, shaking and shimmying and I love it.
Good for you and good for the rest of us around you..........you inspire us to keep going, live every day to the fullest and enjoy the journey. To each of you I say, well done and keep it up! I hope I can be just like you as I approach my golden years!
Case in point! Feliz Cumpleanos :)
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Happy to Fail
these notes are stuck on my mirror to see ever day
Sometimes it does a body good to fail....I know that doesn't sound like my usual peppy, motivating, excitable self but never fear....failing sometimes propels you to a place you want to be. Not the chocolate section of Walgreens........back on track, back to what you know works, back to happiness and all things great!!!
What am I talking about? I am not sure but this morning I went to weigh in at Weight Watchers (who btw had moved their location since I had been there a month ago....that was annoying....) anyhooooo, last day of the month - I have to weight in monthly to maintain my lifetime status - and that last day would be TODAY!
I knew I was going to be over. I knew it because I had been to the Silverton Buffet and gorged myself on crepes, drowned in berry sauce and melted chocolate (just gained 2 lbs typing that...lol...jk) we've had company, i don't wanna cook at home, I can't stop eating bread and its the season of chocolate eggs and such - grrrrrr.
I didn't expect to be up 4 lbs. Dang it! I always weigh in in the morning so I hadn't even eaten. The receptionist said "ok, you're up 4 but you're still 3 less than your goal weight, so you're ok"
That was nice of her, because inside I was ticked - ticked at myself. No one else to blame (other than the crepe guy at the Silverton)! Immediately I remembered feeling this way another time at Weight Watchers. I had been .2 YES point 2 over my max weight and FAILED!!! I know that sounds ridiculous, really I didn't fail because if you know anything about Weight Watchers, if you have a bad week no one ridicules you or calls you a looser, they encourage you to do better next week. I was mad at myself though. I came home and stuck my weigh in on my bathroom mirror. I seriously didn't want to feel that way again.......
I kinda felt like that today. I guess its accountability and that's why I continue to check in monthly. I know all heck might break loose if I didn't have that scale waiting for me monthly. With that being said.....tomorrow is a new month (you know how I am about new starts....) so I will turn this "failure" into a MOTIVATOR to be a more moderate with my choices in April.
The pitfall for me is telling myself I work out so much that I can eat what I want. This is a myth.....umm unless you have magical metabolism (which you may have) but for the majority of us, even if we work off our crappy food, the sugary/greasy grossness lingers somewhere between the head and toes....I hate that feeling!
I don't even know if anyone reads this blog.....hahahaha but if you do and you've ever felt this way, don't feel alone. I know many people struggle with eating habits, motivation to workout, wanting to be a certain weight or feel a certain way in their clothes and body.....IT IS ACHIEVABLE, I know it is. I will tell you IT IS NOT EASY....but is definitely worth it.
Lets go get 'em.....tomorrow!
Monday, January 23, 2012
I'm Back
What is it about the holidays that puts certain parts of life on hold? I have been completely unmotivated as well as having little time, to blog! I've missed it. They say writing is therapeutic and I need a lot of THERAPY....so here we go!
My arms are sore from class the other day - my own class. One of my new songs "Gimme dat" by Ciara just about had my arms detach from my body! I will let you in on a little secret, which then wont be much of a secret, but anyhoooooo.......I choreograph in the car while I drive. Did you get that......I put some of my routines together in my car while I'm driving.....eeek! I drive with two feet (don't ask....it's just how I learned) but I pinky promise that I DO NOT try to dance while I drive, I run them through a few times before class haha. I spend so much time in my van and I listen to music non-stop, so it just seems smart to "work it out" while I'm driving. Many times the routine makes perfect sense (in my van) but when I actually dance it out, it's kinda crazy intense.....that's what we Zumba peeps love though huh?
So back to my Gimme Dat song.......ya.......squeezing fists, high energy pumping = really sore arms the next day. The good kind of sore though. Did you feel it? Come back for more, I promise I will keep playing it.
I LOVE the new year.....LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!! I'm a little obsessive compulsive and along with that love new starts, fresh and new......I love Mondays, the 1st of any given month and especially the first of the year. It just feels like a second chance, fresh, clean and motivating. I don't really do big resolutions because I tend to sabotage myself before I begin, but I do try harder with the things I want to improve on. Last year I gave up treats (cookies, brownies, ice-cream....the good bad stuff) and I survived until March when my Dad sent chocolate from Ireland...... I cracked and convinced myself that I deserved it because after all I am 100% Irish. It was MY decision but then it was all over, it was too hard to continue without sweets. So...... when this year rolled around, I decided to do it again and with my sisters, went back on what we call "the pact". I have to say I feel sooooo much better, it's not really about not eating the treats to loose weight, although that's a nice side-effect, but I just feel better, physically and mentally.
My arms are sore from class the other day - my own class. One of my new songs "Gimme dat" by Ciara just about had my arms detach from my body! I will let you in on a little secret, which then wont be much of a secret, but anyhoooooo.......I choreograph in the car while I drive. Did you get that......I put some of my routines together in my car while I'm driving.....eeek! I drive with two feet (don't ask....it's just how I learned) but I pinky promise that I DO NOT try to dance while I drive, I run them through a few times before class haha. I spend so much time in my van and I listen to music non-stop, so it just seems smart to "work it out" while I'm driving. Many times the routine makes perfect sense (in my van) but when I actually dance it out, it's kinda crazy intense.....that's what we Zumba peeps love though huh?
So back to my Gimme Dat song.......ya.......squeezing fists, high energy pumping = really sore arms the next day. The good kind of sore though. Did you feel it? Come back for more, I promise I will keep playing it.
I LOVE the new year.....LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!! I'm a little obsessive compulsive and along with that love new starts, fresh and new......I love Mondays, the 1st of any given month and especially the first of the year. It just feels like a second chance, fresh, clean and motivating. I don't really do big resolutions because I tend to sabotage myself before I begin, but I do try harder with the things I want to improve on. Last year I gave up treats (cookies, brownies, ice-cream....the good bad stuff) and I survived until March when my Dad sent chocolate from Ireland...... I cracked and convinced myself that I deserved it because after all I am 100% Irish. It was MY decision but then it was all over, it was too hard to continue without sweets. So...... when this year rolled around, I decided to do it again and with my sisters, went back on what we call "the pact". I have to say I feel sooooo much better, it's not really about not eating the treats to loose weight, although that's a nice side-effect, but I just feel better, physically and mentally.
So lets talk about some good things I found to replace my treats. OMG.....have you had an orange lately? D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S!!! I don't even know if they are from Florida or Cali, who cares....they are my new favorite thing. Cardenas had them on sale for two weeks for 8lbs for $1 so we loaded up. I think I was eating 3-4 a day. They are juicy and beautiful. YUM!!!
Another new favorite are those Kelloggs Cracker Chips. They're light and tasty. There's a couple of different flavors (Sour Cream & Onion, Chedder and Southwest Ranch). 27 crackers are only 110 Calories and if you do Weight Watchers that's only 3 points. Great Snack and it feels like you're eating chips without the grease and fat!
Monday, September 19, 2011
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