June Fitness

So I was (past tense for sure) doing really well with working out and eating fairly well for a few months early this year, but then somehow I just got lazy and fell out of doing it. So today I am recommitting. The 'type-A' in me likes to have a schedule and a clear idea of what to do, so today I am sharing the two things I am working on.

The first is the June Strong Arms Challenge from Sisterhood of the Shrinking Jeans. Now that its summer, and with the wedding coming up (less than 150 days!) I want to get my arms, shoulders and upper back toned for that wedding dress! It is only the 6th so I am just jumping right in. For sure have to work on my push ups though I can't even do one correctly I am sad to say!

The second thing I am going to do is this PopSugar Crunch Challenge. I am feeling really good with the weight I have lost, but I for sure need to tone up in the tummy area. This one I just started on Day 1, since it is a 2 week challenge.

Another thing I am working on is getting back into running. Running is such a struggle for me! The biggest setbacks I deal with are shin splints and blisters. I have never, in my entire adult life, had a pair of running shoes that has not given me blisters. It is so discouraging! If anyone has any tips, or a shoe they really love I would love to know! I have a really narrow foot, which is probably part (most?) of the problem. 

I also wish running was just easier! I know that seems like a silly thing to say because, duh, it's running, but I wish I could just be one of those people who running comes easier to! Listen, I know running is a lot of hard work, and that everyone that runs has put in the time. But uhhhgggg, so frustrating! I want running to feel therapeutic like it does for some people, where for me it is just hard! I wish I had the mental strength that those people have but I just don't, wahhhh!

Seriously I am so jealous of this girl! But I still love her :)
She's amazing!

Really, Dude?!

Yesterday I stumbled upon this Buzzfeed on facebook, 27 Painfully Awkward Things That Never Stop Being Awkward. It's pretty funny you should check it out. And then, today at the gym, #21 happened to me.

Except with treadmills. 

Really, dude?!?

Isn't it just some kind of common courtesy, when there are 30 other empty treadmills! It was 2:30pm on a Monday afternoon, not like it was 5:30 and the place was packed. He was weird too. He ran the whole time holding onto the top of the treadmill, and he was short so it put him in a weird reclined position. 

I purposely picked a treadmill next to one that was out of order on one side of me. Maybe I will start bringing my own out of order signs. Ha. That's actually a great idea I think...

It's Not Time For Dinner Yet, But I'm So Hungry!

Since Jeffry doesn't get out of work until later (usually 10 o'clock), we don't eat dinner until later. It's totally worth it to me to be able to eat together, but it does pose a problem around 7:30/8 o'clock. Because by then I. AM. STARVING!

It's a problem because I know that I am going to be eating a full meal soon, but I still need to eat something. Normally I'm craving something terrible like nachos, but what I really need is something healthy.

Yesterday I made this salad recipe from Real Simple. Kale Salad with Sweet Potatoes and Apples. It was a great choice because I felt really good about getting my greens in, and the sweet potato and apple are high in fiber and nutrients also. It was easy to make too.

Another staple lately has been green smoothies. You may have seen this pic on my Instagram yesterday:

I shared one of my favorite green smoothie recipe a couple weeks ago. Since then I learned a great tip! To avoid leafy chunks, blend your greens and liquids before you add the rest of the ingredients. I've been doing it ever since!

Lately, along with my green smoothie, I have been having a string cheese just for a little more protein. I was given a chance to try Sargento, and I chose the sharp cheddar jack flavor. So yummy! I mean who doesn't love cheese?

Look at all that protein and calcium! Great for me, since I don't ever drink milk. And under 100 calories.

They also gave me this cute insulated carrying case so that I can bring my string cheese snack to work!

Tropical Green Smoothie

Green smoothies seems to be all the rage, and the other day I whipped one up with stuff I had on hand, so I thought I would share. Its a little random, but super yummy, and packed with the nutrients you need after a workout. Its a great snack with some steamed veggies to hold me over until Jeffry gets home.

Tropical Green Smoothie

1 c. Frozen Pineapple

1 pkg. Dole dark chocolate covered banana slices

1/4 Avocado, diced

1 c. (or so) Spinach

1 c. Trop50 Orange Juice

1 tsp. Lemon Juice

Pack in all into your blender or  Magic Bullet and whiz away!

I use these because they're pre-measured and only cost $2

I told you I just used what I had laying around.
You could use plain frozen bananas too of course. But this was what I had.

The nutrient count couldn't be better either. The whole thing is about 250 calories, perfect for a snack, and contains loads of Vitamins like A & C, iron, potassium (which helps with muscle cramping!) fiber, protein and good fats from the avocado. You could even use more avocado but I don't like to taste it. And I also don't like the slimy texture it gives if you use too much. Experiment! Use what you have! This would be good with all types for fruit and greens. Berries.... mangoes.... yum!

Let's Talk About Shin Splints

I feel a little bit like a broken record saying this, but I have been trying to get back into working out lately. It's been a couple of weeks now, and this is usually about the time that my enthusiasm wanes, and I fall back into my old lazy routines. And one of the reasons for that is, after 2 weeks of some pretty good work outs, I develop excruciating, debilitating shin splits. Shin splints that could take down a water buffalo.

this guy ain't no wimp either

If you have never suffered through a run with shin splits, you are one lucky mother. They are not. fun. So this time I have been trying a couple new things to help with them, and I thought I would share my findings.

Let's start with a couple things that I have been doing wrong:

Cheap shoes. I don't run marathons. Heck, I barely run a mile. And without knowing if I'm going to actually stick with running, I sure as heck am not going to drop 100 bones+ on some primo running shoes.

These are my shoes. They were on sale for like $15 at Target. What can I say I'm a cheap mother.

Neglecting stretching. Here's another no-no. What do you mean you can't just hop on the treadmill, run a mile and then plunk down in front of E! network? ....

So here's what I've been doing differently this time around:

Insoles. Trust, homegirl is still on a shoestring budget, but what I can afford is 20 bucks for some insoles. These are the ones I've been trying out:

$19.99 at Target

Lots and lots of stretching. Maybe it's overkill, but for the time being, I've been stretching. Alot. Can't hurt right?? I do a warm up stretch series, as well as a 3 minute walk before my run, and a cool down stretch series after. Then after a smoothie and a shower, I do ANOTHER leg stretch series. Maybe its overkill, but I can't lie when I say my legs feel great today. Here are 2 of my favorite calf stretches for shin splints:

hold each for 30 seconds, then repeat on other side

Warning: I am about to sound like an infomercial. I was not paid or perked for any of this, I just REALLY love these apps. Apparently I like being told what to do. But only with my workouts. Who knew. But here is what I have been using. All apps are by lolo, just go to the app store and search lolo. They aren't free, but if they actually get my butt working out, I think they're worth the couple bucks.

Performance Stretching

I use this for all my stretching routines. They have running warm up and cool down, as well as targeted (such as legs or back, and full body routines.) And it counts for you.

Easy 5k with Jeff Galloway

I like this so much better than Couch to 5k, which I have also used. Jeff Galloway is a marathoner and coach, a huge proponent of walk breaks (probably the only thing we have in common) and he'll even pipe in during your work outs with affirmations and tips. 

7 Minute Workout

One of the things I dislike most about working out is the time it takes! So whats nice about this app is getting a full body work out in only 7 minutes! You tell the app what equipment you have available (like dumbbells or a stability ball) and it whips up a total body workout you can complete at home in 7 minutes. 

So that's been the deal lately. I also have to give a shout out to my sister-in-law. Even though she lives hundreds of miles away, she just always seems to know when I'm sitting on my ass, and will tell me to get the hell off of it. She's been the best motivator! 

Check back tomorrow for my favorite green smoothie recipe!

Pick-Me-Up Playlist

Monday work was crazyyyy. So the only thing I wanted to do was go home and plop myself on the couch. But as it turns out, a head clearing walk and some happy tunes were all I needed to get out of my fog.

I told Ruby we would just take a short walk around the block, but once we were out, we ended up going farther because it felt so good, and I was rocking out to my music. So I thought I would share my playlist from Monday. I had my iTunes on random and apparently we were in a classic rock mood!

And now for a song that I do NOT like, Redneck Crazy by Tyler Farr. Here are some of the lyrics:

Did you think I'd wish you both the best, endless love and happiness

You know that's just not the kind of man I am

I'm the kind that shows up at your house at 3am

I'm gonna aim my headlights into your bedroom windows

Throw empty beer cans at both of your shadows

I didn't come here to start a fight, but I'm up for anything tonight

Seriously!?! The video also shows him vandalizing this poor girls house. Way to go, condoning domestic violence, and just being a COMPLETE PSYCHOPATH in general. NOT OK! No wonder she dumped his ass...

End rant.... :P

On The Cusp

Well folks, we are right on the cusp of the weekend!! I'm hoping to do some serious relaxing this time. Especially after today at work, it was just one fiasco after another!

This is the last week of working on my top 3 fitness goals! (check out week 1 & week 2 if you'd like) Here's a quick recap:

Fitness Goals

1- I'm a lazy ass B

2- I cook mostly fatty comfort foods since that it what Jeffry likes to eat

3- I love junk food snacks

And here is how I planned to work on those 3 things over the last 3 weeks:

Week 1- Be active 4 days a week, even if it is just taking walks with Ruby.

            - Each walk try and increase our speed until  I can jog bits

            - Try to add some strength training after each walk even if it is a short workout video.

                (Update: Week 1 is over but I am for sure still working on not being so damn lazy)

Week 2- Use this book which I already own to make Jeffry's favorite foods healthier.

(Update: Week 2 is over, but just like week 1 where I actually did better the week after, the same happened this week cooking healthy dinners)

Week 3- Only buy healthy snacks this week so we don't have junk around

So like I touched on above, this week I did so much better cooking healthy dinners. Maybe it's easier now that the weather is nicer? We're not craving heavy food with lots of cheese and gravy so much. You all (hopefully) saw this yummy yummy chili lime pork that I cooked Tuesday night:

We broiled chicken again Wednesday, paired with sweet potatoes and cucumber salad, and chicken again last night with green beans and rice. Nothing spectacular, but yummy and not too terrible for us. 

I grabbed this cool salad kit at Wegman's and made a yummy salad for lunch with the leftovers. 

I've been doing pretty good with snacks too. Here's what the lineup has looked like:

Those smoothie kits are really yummy after work, and nice and chilly after a workout too. The shakers are nice because you don't have to use a blender, but I really like the Jamba Juice ones too. I feel even better because I chose a fruit & vegetable juice blend to make it with. Also for an after work snack, I made tuna melt bites on tomato halves. Super yummy, low carb and filling! For snacks at work I have been loving the applesauce packets. They're easy to eat since I don't need a spoon, and they're pretty filling. I bought some seaweed crisps to try, but I did not care for them at all. Oh well! 

I also got some happy mail last night in the form of healthy snacks, and I'm really excited about it. It's a subscription box just like Birchbox or all the others out there, except it's healthy snacks! I signed up as soon as I started keeping track of my goals, and it came last night just in time for me to share it with you guys! It's called Naturebox!

Spencer is SO sure that there is something in there for him. I mean, there has to be right??

The standard Naturebox, which is what I signed up for, comes with 5 packages of healthy snacks. Each month you can let them choose for you, or you can even pick and choose your own if there is something you love. It's only $19.95/mo and that's what sold me. If I were to go to the grocery store and pick out 5 healthy snacks, I'm sure it would cost me more than that.

This months box is Spring themed, and came with honey mesquite almonds, cherry berry granola, granny smith apple slices, sunshine chips (a mix of veggie chips) and toasted cheddar stix. Yum! I can't wait to try everything. Added bonus: Naturebox donates 1 meal for every box, to help feed over 14 million children in America who go hungry! So if you're interested, head over and sign up. But don't forget to check out RetailMeNot first because there are a bunch of coupon codes, even as much as 50% off your first box!

I was not paid or perked for this post, just hungry!

by the way......

How happy am I that it's the weekend? This happy:

Have a great weekend everybody!

Just Working On My Fitness

Today is an update on my fitness goals! Remember when I talked about them here and here? Well here's an update for you....

Fitness Goals

1- I'm a lazy ass B

2- I cook mostly fatty comfort foods since that it what Jeffry likes to eat

3- I love junk food snacks

And here is how I plan to work on those 3 things over the next 3 weeks:

Week 1- Be active 4 days a week, even if it is just taking walks with Ruby.

            - Each walk try and increase our speed until  I can jog bits

            - Try to add some strength training after each walk even if it is a short workout video.

                (Week 1 is over but I am for sure still working on not being so damn lazy)

Week 2- Use this book which I already own to make Jeffry's favorite foods healthier.

Week 3- Only buy healthy snacks this week so we don't have junk around

So this week we were working on healthy meals. Just like my walking goal didn't go so well last week, my food goal didn't go so well this week. Which is very interesting to me because this week I did so much better with walking!

I'm really happy with the walks we got in this week, and I did the Tone It Up Bikini Series workout for Tuesday too. I wish I had gotten in more of the Bikini Series but I definitely felt it for a few days! If you want to see what Tuesday's workout was you can check it out here!

Here is Ruby on our walk on the canal, and enjoying a refreshment back at the car!

I ended up only cooking dinner twice this week, but the dinners we had were more healthy than fried chicken and anything with gravy! I made a recipe that I found from Real Simple and changed it just a tad. It called for andouille sausage but we had some sweet Italian sausage in the freezer, and I used organic penne. I would have liked to use whole wheat, but I'm not sure if Jeffry would like it. There were a lot of veggies in the pasta so I felt pretty good about that. 

This week I also made Polynesian Chicken, a recipe I got from the Mama & Baby Love Slow Cooker Freezer Recipes eCookbook. I HIGHLY recommend this to anyone who uses their crockpot. You throw everything in a freezer bag, file it away, and then just dump it, frozen, into the crock pot! These are great for when you get home after a busy day and don't want to think about what to make. I think I had a promo code when I got it but even at full price it's only $9.99. The recipes are almost all grain, gluten and dairy free. 

This particular recipe we had with brown rice for extra fiber and protein, and its just chicken, onions, peppers and pineapple! I added the pineapple and onions, I don't think the recipe called for either. The first time I made it I added matchstick carrots and that was really good but we didn't have any this time. Really any veggies would be good in this, it would be great with pork, and I want to try adding peanuts or cashews next time too!

So I guess I do feel pretty good that the meals I did cook were healthy, I just didn't have a chance to cook much this week. Maybe like my walking this week, next week will be a huge success! To recap, my goal for next week is to health-ify my snack choices. (I might even have a healthy snack surprise to talk about!)

And speaking of surprises.......

Yikes....

I just signed up for my first 5k!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The race is in Syracuse in October. If anybody wants to sign up, you can use promo code LETSDYEFRIENDS for $5 off your registration fee!

I'm nervous but October is pretty far away and maybe this will be the motivation I need to get my booty in gear!

Anyway, I'm super glad it's Friday. I have a couple friends running Color Me Rad 5k tomorrow, and if I can get my butt out of bed we'll be cheering for them! Sunday, Ruby's training classes start! Jeffry is bummed because they're the same time as the Mountain Goat 10 miler, which he always runs. Bummer :(

BTW, what is with all this running going on?! :P

Friday Fitness & 7 Weeks til Vacation!!

Happy Friday guys! (Thank goodness) I have been sooo tired this week I feel.

So last Friday I told you all about my 3 mini health goals, here. But to recap, I chose my top 3 get healthy goals, and each week I'm tackling a new one. Here's the list:

1- I'm a lazy ass B
2- I cook mostly fatty comfort foods since that it what Jeffry likes to eat
3- I love junk food snacks

And here is how I plan to work on those 3 things over the next 3 weeks:

Week 1- Be active 4 days a week, even if it is just taking walks with Ruby.
            - Each walk try and increase our speed until  I can jog bits
            - Try to add some strength training after each walk even if it is a short workout video.
                (Week 1 is over but I am for sure still working on not being so damn lazy)
Week 2- Use this book which I already own to make Jeffry's favorite foods healthier.
Week 3- Only buy healthy snacks this week so we don't have junk around

This week was tough. I had two birthdays this week so there was a lot to do. I only got in 2 walks so far (insert shame face) but Sundays was a great one. My sister and I took Ruby, and it was the perfect day. Nice and sunny, but just chilly enough that we weren't hot and sweaty.

I also took a nice walk Tuesday with some friends around the neighborhood but I forgot to start my pedometer. It was leisurely, but probably a half hour or so. Taking Ruby brings a walk to a whole 'nother level since my arms get a great workout yanking her around lol.

As you guys (maybe) know, last week I linked up with The Foley Fam for her summer shape up. Today she posted about this workout and I'm gonna try it! I have had the Tone It Up app for a while now but have never done a single thing with it. Cue shame face again. I really need to get my act together guys! Beach vacation in 7 weeks!

Can I look like this please???

If you want, head over and sign up for free! I need all the motivation I can get... Anyway, I'll be back next Friday to let you know how I'm doing, and hopefully I'll have some healthy recipes to share too. If you join the Bikini Series let me know! We're in this together!

A Tribute Mani & Weekend Recap

Some of you might have seen on my Facebook that I was brainstorming ideas for a Boston tribute manicure. I also happened to order some nail polish pens that came in the mail last week. So here is what I came up with.

See how cool those pens are? Super easy to use. Don't mind how messy my fingers are btw.

For anyone who doesn't know and might be interested, there is a Boston tribute run at Onondaga Lake Park starting at the Salt Museum at 6. Jeffry has to work tonight and is super bummed he can't participate.

To find a run in your city check out pavementrunner.com

And as for what I did the rest of the weekend...

*Second hockey game in two weeks! We're getting to be regulars. Bonus! We won this time! 

*Spencer has never sat in this chair in his. entire. life. Until the day we decide to get rid of it. Now it is his little throne.

*Ruby loves my parents front door. The window it the perfect height for her! In this picture she is wondering why her friend Bill left all of a sudden. (My dad had to leave for a structure fire during dinner. and those two are besties)

*Ruby, my sister and I took an awesome walk yesterday. it was the perfect day, sunny but brisk so we were sweating our butts off. More about our activities for the week to come on Friday.

As you can see we didn't do too much. We went to a friends house Saturday night for cards and actually all just ended up sitting on the couch talking while the dogs played! It was still fun though :) 

Here's to an easy Monday!

High Five!

Yay it's Friday again! Here are my top 5 for the week.

1- Garden update: Well I can say that the zucchini is going strong! I think it grows about an inch a day practically. The onions are looking pretty scraggly and I'm afraid they might not make it much longer. The beets are floppy too but at least I am seeing new growth.

2- Ruby and I are loving this nice weather! Hopefully we have many more walks in out future.

3- I love it when my man does manly things :) Especially in t-shirts from college when he had about 20 lbs less muscle on him. Better not make the Hulk angry ;P

4- I got ice cream with a friend and her kids last night. First of the season!

5- New (and bargain!) prettys came in the mail this week. Can't wait to bust out those nail polishes!

Also something new for today, I was inspired by both Kristine @ The Foley Fam & Monica @ Run Eat Repeat. So here are my goals for the next three weeks. I wrote down my top 3 worst habits, and each week I will focus on one habit to be more healthy. Here's my list:

1- I'm a lazy ass B

2- I love junk food snacks

3- I cook mostly fatty comfort foods since that it what Jeffry likes to eat

And here is how I plan to work on those 3 things over the next 3 weeks:

Week 1- Be active 4 days a week, even if it is just taking walks with Ruby. 

- Each walk try and increase our speed until we I (who are we kidding, she's a dog) can jog bits of the walk. 

- Try to add some strength training after each walk even if it is a short workout video.

Week 2- Only buy healthy snacks this week so we don't have junk around, even if that means hiding the candy bowl. 

Week 3- Use this book which I already own to make Jeffry's favorite foods healthier.

Amazon $15

So now that it's down on paper it really doesn't look all that terrible. Wish me luck! I hope you all have a great weekend!