Addicted to crack

No 2 ways about it..breakfast 2 mugs hot lemon water with cayenne pepper..2 tablespoons ground phsyllium husks..4 egg whites-tomato-persian cucumbers..
Lunch- romaine- red pepper- celery- 6 egg whites- basil- dash garlic salt- ume plum vinegar
Snack- apple and Starbucks
Dinner- grilled chicken salad
Workout was 4 mile run- 2 circuits with clients
Operation detox day one completed..tomorrow is a new day..bring it

Operation detox

4 days of out of controlLness! Nuff said

Junk in the Trunk?

Growing up I always knew that I was a bit more "endowed in the rear" than my fellow smaller framed females. I was never considered skinny, willowy or petite. I was bigger, taller, and more athletic than all the girls (and boys) in my class through 8th grade. I hated it all through elementery school, high school, and years following. I tried covering it in skirt sizes way too big making sure not to hug an inch (my parents must've been proud) and spent countless hours at the gym crying to the trainers "JUST TELL ME WHAT I CAN DO TO GET RID OF IT". You see for some, including my former self, a big butt or curves as we consider it now, resonates with extra fat in the behind. It went hand in hand with considering yourself a fat a**. To some it was considered being curvy or bubbly, to me it was hell- and I wanted it gone. But no matter what I did, it never went away.

Over the years, my "curves" have defined me as a woman and as a mother. It's something I'm proud of, and Ive learned to defend. I wasnt fat, I was healthy and athletic. I was curvy, voluptuous and till this day would not trade my big hips or rear end for anything in the world. It may not be ideal to other standards of a female body, but its my perfect body. I'm a woman and a mother. My hips carried me through pregnancies and child birth. I've learned to love them, work em, and be proud of them. Thanks to the help of the J.Lo's, Beyonces, Rihannas and Christina Hendricks of the world its now more appreciated and accepted than ever. Whether you've got it or you dont- and this post is all about loving and embracing whatever body form you were given- its important to develop a stronger lower body. Many people think squats and lunges on the legs will make them bigger than they already are- but its not the case. Dont use heavy weights- you can get a killer leg workout with no weights at all. 

One of my favorite glutes exercise (a fancy word for saying butt) is the pelvic lift. Lie on your back on a mat, knees bent and hands by your side. If you're more advanced you can put a weight on your pelvic bone (between 10 and 20 lbs). Squeeze your glutes and lift your butt high off the floor. Thats one rep- go as long as you can- then rest. Do this 3 times. If you want to challange yourself, leave one leg on the floor and lift one leg at a time. Enjoy!

The fat thats not fat...

I've always been curious about that little pooch by the belly..its technically not considered fat- its called bloat, dead skin, after baby belly, whatever you call it- its there..and while there are reasons for it being there it doesnt mean it belongs there! I've noticed through my own journey that there are times when my stomach is more "bloated", and times where its leaner. There are so many reasons for this, I've done some research and came across this article by Greg Joujon Roche, celebrity trainer that I think sums it up and provides great detailed info on the "fat thats not fat".

As a rule, I’m contemptuous of fast weight loss methods, because they invariably trigger rebound weight gain. But there’s one way to lose weight quickly without causing a rebound: losing what some doctors now call “false fat.” False fat is the five to ten extra pounds of water weight, generally accompanied by abdominal bloating from gas, that comes from eating foods that cause food reactions. False fat isn’t really fat, or adipose tissue, but it looks like fat, feels like fat, and can last forever if you don’t do something about it.
Most people think of food reactions as allergies, but allergies are just one type of food reaction. The other, more common type of reaction is a food sensitivity, which is an allergy, but milder. All forms of food reactions, however, have similar symptoms: water retention, abdominal bloating from gas, food cravings, heartburn and indigestion, facial puffiness, and low energy. If you frequently have more than one of these symptoms, it’s quite possibly due to food reactions.

Food reactions typically occur when people can’t fully digest what they eat. For example, the food reaction of lactose intolerance is an inability to fully digest lactose, the sugar in dairy products. When food molecules can’t be fully digested, the body identifies them as foreign invaders - such as pathogens - and tries to get rid of them, in part by washing them away with extra water.

This inability to fully digest foods is extremely common these days, because:
• We eat too narrow a range of foods. Most people get about 75% of their total calories from only about 10 of their favorite staples. Unfortunately, when you overeat any one food, you can exhaust your body’s ability to digest it, by depleting specific digestive enzymes.
• We eat artificial foods that the body doesn’t recognize as foods.
• We eat foods we’re not genetically programmed to eat. The easiest foods to digest are those your ancestors thrived on. The hardest to digest are the foods your ancestors rarely ate. For example, Asians and African Americans have extremely high rates of lactose intolerance, mostly because their ancestors didn’t consume many dairy products.
Because it’s hard for your body to digest foods that you eat too often, the foods that most often cause food reactions are usually very common foods. The six “repeat offenders” that cause a huge majority of reactions are:
The Six Repeat Offenders:
1. Wheat
2. Dairy products
3. Eggs
4. Corn
5. Soy
6. Peanuts

Others that often cause problems are shellfish, chocolate, gluten (in wheat, rye, and oats), citrus fruits, M.S.G., and aspartame.

People often love the foods to which they are most reactive, because reactive foods can cause a drug-like response. As they enter the bloodstream - and trigger a distress alarm when they’re identified as a foreign invader - part of the body’s distress response is a release of feel-good endorphins, and energy-boosting insulin and adrenaline. This creates temporary spikes of contentment and satisfaction - which inevitably subside, causing a desire for more of the food: cravings!

It’s easy to find out if you’re reactive to various foods, by taking a rather expensive doctor’s test. Most people, though, can figure it out just by avoiding certain suspicious foods for about a week, to see if their symptoms subside. To do this, restrict all of your suspicious foods - the ones you eat most often, and seem to crave. Then add them back in one at a time, looking for symptoms, such as indigestion, or the gain of water weight. This procedure can be challenging, because it’s hard to avoid your favorite foods. But it can really pay off.

When you eliminate all your reactive foods, you’ll probably lose several pounds of water weight, or edema, almost instantly. You’ll look and feel much better. And after you rid your system of the last vestiges of your offending foods, your cravings for them will drop dramatically. Conquering cravings will benefit your dieting efforts tremendously.

You’ll quickly find that there are numerous substitutes available for virtually all foods. Why? Because millions of people need them, since food reactions are so common.

Give this some consideration. It’s very important.

In light of this, I've cut down on Diet Coke- and have decided to switch things up as far as eating goes. My body has gotten so used to the foods I've been eating and frankly- I'm getting quite sick of them myself! So I loaded up on some foods that Ive never tried, or have tried and just never stuck with.

This mornings breakfast was quinoa, 2 eggs, and a bowl of strawberries. I got some almond butter last night from whole foods that I fresh ground- something about fresh ground makes it more exciting to eat- so will that as a snack soon with some celery.

I did an hour of plyometrics this morning that were torture! Think anything that includes jumping. Jumping jacks, jump squats, jump lunges, squat jacks, shuffling, kicking- I broke it down into about 20 different moves, did each for 30 seconds to one minute. Did each sequence twice, then rested 30 seconds. Did the entire thing for an hour. It's been getting hotter here earlier so I've been getting up earlier to do my workouts, its not always ideal doing a 6 am workout- BUT the increased energy, better mood, I can do anything attitude makes it all worth it :)

What the bleep were those cards about?

The other day I posted this picture of cards on my facebook asking anyone if they knew what they were for..squats and lunges was the closest response. Yes you do squats with these..but how?

The idea is that you're doing 100 squats. Before starting this exercise you must make sure your form is good- so that you dont hurt your back. You're starting straight, feet are shoulder width apart. When you squat down to pick up the card, you're using you squat to bring you down to pick up the card. DO NOT bend over to pick up the card- this will cause injury to your back. You will be doing a very deep squat to allow you to go low enough to pick up the card. Once you've got the squat down, you focus on speed. Up and down up and down- feel the burn. When doing this exercise imagine as if you're doing it with a friend, and its a competition who will win- better yet do it with a friend!

Stand at the front on the mat, in starting position.
Squat down pick up the first card.
Place the first card on top of the second card.
Pick up the first card and the second card SEPARATELY.
Place the first card, then the second on top of the third.
Pick up card one, then card, then card three.
Place card one, card two, card three on top of card 4.
You get the drift...

Your butt will be burning, your thighs will be screaming, your heart will be pounding, sweat will be dripping (especially once you start doing 20-30 cards) BUT they will thank you later!

Enjoy!

The Calorie Counter..

The other day I stopped into Sports Authority and purchased the Polar FT4 Heart Rate Monitor. It monitors your heart rate making sure you're in your fat burning zone- as well as tells you the amount of calories you burned during your workout.

While the numbers may not be 100% accurate, its interesting to see the difference of calories burned in each workout. For instance, 60 minutes of run-walk intervals burned roughly 438 calories while 30 min run plus 20 minute weight training burned 392. It's a small yet motivating piece pushing you harder cuz once you know the amount of calories you burn on average during your workout you'll want to increase that each time. I went to a dance class on Sunday, it was a 3 hour fundraiser- allowing you to come in and leave at any time. I stayed the 3 hours wearing my monitor- and was pleasantly surprised to see 1,686 calories burned after the class! We wont get into how my legs felt the rest of the day- or the enormous appetite I had- but the fun was well worth it!

This morning was a short 7 am workout before the kids woke up
Hill Sprint
100 jumping jacks
Stationary Lunges with shoulder presses (15 reps)
Walk out Push ups (8 reps)
Lat Pulls (15 reps)
Frog Leg Crunches- Bicycle Crunches (50,30)

Repeated the sequence 3 times. Even if its something short- its well worth it. Just do something.

The 25's..

Yesterday I went into Harry and David and picked up a package of their coffee samplers. They make all the great flavors, and I'm getting a little bored of mine so its time to sample the goods out there! This morning's taste was Hazelnut Praline. I like my coffee super strong so the hint of sweetness really worked for me. I like this flavor- almost in love- but there are others to try!

This mornings workout was what I call "The 25s". I started off with a little cardio warm up about 10 min..then did one exercise per large muscle group- and 25 reps of each..so
Squat- 25 reps
Push Ups- 25 reps
Dumbell Rows- 25 reps
Shoulder Press- 25 reps
Bicep Curl- 25 reps
Tricep Overhead Extension- 25 reps
Frog Leg Crunches- 50 reps

Use a lighter weight than usual, so that you can finish 25 reps without using momentum.

Did 3 min of high energy cardio after the circuit and continued the circuit 3 times.

Thursday is an off day- no clients-I've set aside so many errands to do today but cant get into the grove of doing them! I think I'll go for a second cup of Joe..