Workout Wednesday on La Playa

Hola from Mexico!

The past week I have been down in Mexico doing a little work and play.  I was lucky enough to be a part of an amazing week of workouts, eating and fun with 11 women. We all came together as far as Hawaii, Seattle, Oregon and California to do what we love to do and that was work out. 

Thank you to Get Fit with Heather and Sweat Play Live for making it all possible.  Both these ladies have been amazing mentors to me and always are inspiring so check them out!

We did about 10+ workouts over the course of the 6 days and without being in our normal environments it made me realize that we are so lucky to have that fire to workout anytime and anyplace.

Aqua jogging in the ocean, sand sprints on the beach, intervals on the grass,  TRX and yoga by the pool or even a little boxing. We got it done and you can to. 

Pick one thing and get out and do it. If you need a little more motivation here is a quick workout to start or end your day. 

My playa workout from this morning. 

Start with a light 5-7 minute jog/run.  

challenge your body every 90 seconds to open up and do longer strides or high knees. It will allow your body to warm up and engage more of your core and hips. 

Squats-Start with your feet hip width and start moving into squats. 

Pull your abs in tight and let your hips sink back. 

1 minute

Reverse lunges on right leg with a high knee hold. Alternate sides

1 minute

Pencil jump to squat to plank adding a push up

1 minute

Reverse lunges on left leg with a high knee hold. 

1 minute

Narrow squats- feet shoulder width apart. 

1 minute

Repeat the above 2-3x through 

Finish with a final 10 minute jog/run or you can throw in some butt kicking sand sprints. My hamstrings are still feeling the love from these:)

This was a perfect way to start my day and get me moving.  Get up and move but most of all have fun doing it.  

 

Get Fit. Live Fit. Be Fit. 

Food Friday....The other end

The other end  of the spectrum.

There is no pun intended and you will understand once you see read my post below. 

As I was doing research on my sugar post I came across a rather funny find. I thought I would pass it along to add a little laugh to you day. 

Enjoy!

When we think of sugar and ways to omit the evil refined kind or High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) we either go about the right way or we learn about short cuts that leave us wishing we hadn't. 

I stumbled onto a discussion about using 'Sugar-Free' alternative or fake sugars.  Well here is a find that will give you a good laugh. 

This gigantic bag of gummy bears above is 5lb bag of Haribo Sugarless Gummy Bears. To some this is the end all be all treat that can help them satisfy their sweet cravings by tricking their mind and body with a rather 'bad' choice in sugars.  

Check out some of the review on Amazon that were post about this product. 

Here are a few fun reviews....but you might want to go see the product on Amazon for yourself just for a little humor and entertainment:)

http://amzn.to/151TbS2

 

 

So there you have it. The proof is in the pudding. Just go for the good (real) stuff and leave the fake stuff behind:) 

Sweet Tuesday!

Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles

Need I say more??!

So in light of my last post (Food Friday) I thought I would share a great recipe that utilizes the healthy sugar challenge.  This recipe calls for the use of honey and there is nothing better than raw local honey. 

I found this recipe via Taylor Made It Paleo and they are double D'lish! 

Recipe for the truffles: 

1/2 cup coconut flour

1/2 cup almond flour

1 cup almond butter (or sunflower seed butter) 

2 tsp coconut oil, melted

1 Tbsp honey

2 tsp vanilla

 1/2 cup Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips

For the Chocolate Coating: 

1/2 cup Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips 

1 tbsp coconut oil

1. Combine all truffle ingredients in a medium sized bowl until everything is well incorporated.
2. Roll into bite sized balls and set on a baking sheet lined with wax paper.
3. Allow to harden in freezer for about 15-20 minutes.
4. About five minutes before you take the truffles out, prepare your chocolate coating by melting chocolate and coconut oil in a small saucepan on LOW heat, stirring often so it doesn’t burn.
5. Once melted, take chocolate off heat and use a toothpick to dip the truffles, covering them completely (If you have a hole left on the top, simply cover with more chocolate using a spoon). If you don’t want to cover them completely, you could also just use a spoon to drizzle a little chocolate over each one.
6. Once covered, place truffles back on the wax paper and allow chocolate to harden in the fridge/freezer.
7. Consume!
8. NOTE: These should be kept in the fridge/freezer or they will melt pretty quickly!

Enjoy!  I will definitely be enjoying these post 21 day Purification:) 

 

Food Friday-No Sugar Challenge

Just how sweet can you be? 

 So instead of giving you a new recipe to try I thought I would mix it up and give you a challenge to consider.  What would life be without sugar?  Since having recently taken on the 21 day purification and successfully reached day 13 (today...woohoo!) without sugar, the answer to my question may be easy for me to answer but how would YOU feel?  

 I follow a great blog The Healthy Home Economist and she shared some rather helpful tips on how, as she puts it, to Slay the Sugar Monster. Here were my biggest two take-aways that you may find helpful to for this challenge. 

1.Replace all Refined Sugars with Natural Sweeteners

     what are natural sweeteners you ask?
       Honey, Maple Syrup, Coconut sugar or whole cane sugar are all great options.

I recently had a conversation about agave syrup as it got a lot of press as being a good sugar alternative but the truth is it is highly processed and really high on the glycemic index. You are better off with one of the above options.

2. Increase the amounts of whole, unprocessed fats in your diet

This one has stuck with me for quite some time from my days of "dieting" and trying to find alternatives to satisfy my sweet cravings. I would turn to things like sugar free gum, sugar free jello and puddings, sugar free jelly and syrups and without really realizing I was ingesting more harm than good.  The process in which these are made consist of chemicals and compounds from the land of the unknown.  I finally learned and re-educated myself on making the whole food, whole fat options a priority but in smaller quantities all in line with my beliefs, 'everything in moderation.'

The 21 day purification has helped remind me of this important reminder. My sugar cravings have diminished and I am now turning to more whole food options such as fruit and such to fill the void.  Yes, I am serious and not just saying this. Will I avoid and never eat a fun treat again, NO, but I will be mindful of my selections and likely be reminded by the consequences as I know my body all to well to say it won't be affected.

The added healthy fats in the natural fats of olive oils and whole butter we have been using in our cooking (in moderation of course) have given our foods the full flavor our bodies needed during the first week or so.  We finished the day feeling full and quite frankly we were satiated but we were indeed full of food as well as nutrients.  It feels good to be loaded with the good stuff!

So What's next? Where is the magic formula?

Well this is where I will leave you to hopefully walk away feeling a little more informed. A little more prepared and a little more thoughtful when you are going shopping, buying treats or reaching for that can of soda.   As a busy mom of two amazing girls, a wife to an amazing husband (or as I call him-HH) and a leader to many busy athletes who come to me to seek support, guidance and lifestyle tips I don't have a magic pill, formula or answer. What I do have is the advice to take each day in stride, make the changes you see fit and be aware, educated an always look to what your goal is each day in life.

If your goal included making healthier choices then I hope you are able to read this and take away a few bits of info that you will use or at least consider.  Do I expect you to do everything perfectly?  No, I can't even say I will be doing it perfectly but what I can say is that I am going to be aware and try to make the best choice I can in keeping my family well nourished, supported and most of all loved.

I can't leave here without giving you all a little challenge:)

For the next week, can you challenge yourself to:

•  omit (little by little) the refined sugars?
•  try out one new natural sugar in lieu of your current sugar intake? 
•  make one healthy treat using a natural sugar instead of refined or artificial sweeteners? 
• reduce your overall sugar intake? 

Go ahead...give it a try. What do YOU have to lose? 

Workout Wednesday

It's Tabatta Time!

Last week I gave you a great exercise to help create strength in your lower back and muscles that help with posture, core and stabilization. Have you been adding them into your regime?  

Are you ready for a little interval to speed things up?  

Let's talk Tabatta Workout. 

We have done these before and I thought it was time for us to add a little speed and intensity to your week. 

Here is the workout: 

20 seconds on-10 seconds off. 

Do each exercise below full out (in form of course) for 20 seconds. 

Rest 10 seconds and repeat at total of 8 times for each exercise before moving on to next one.

Then rest 1 minute. No more, no less. 

= 5minutes per cycle.

Move to your next set of exercise and repeat. 

** Option: You can add a minute of jump rope in between each cycle or run around the block. 

Start your next cycle of exercises and go. 

Make sure with any exercise you warm-up. Jump rope is an excellent way to warm-up or you can jog around the block, do jumping jacks, mountain climbers, planks and/or quick squats

Exercises:

Jack knife crunches 

(alternate legs each leg counts as a half) 

Push-up with knee tuck

Prisoner Squats (hands behind head to engage your back)

Reverse Narrow Db Row 

(arms close to your body. Hands should finish at hip.)

 Mountain Climbers

(knees into your chest, keep in perfect plank) 

As an option you can record the number of reps each round.  

Ex: Round 1: 10 reps

Round 2: 12 reps

 etc. all the way to 8 rounds. 

This is a fun way to document your progress and challenge yourself the next time you want to take on this same workout. 

The workout total time is: 20 minutes

With a 10 minute warm-up and cool down you are done in 40 minutes.  

Great work and have fun!