A quick snapshot of a mommy moment…

I was scrolling through some of my picture files and came across this one and just had to share it.  This was taken almost 4 months ago when Will was just learning to really eat solids.  He’s a mess and I’m a mess, but we were having fun and my husband had the sense to take a picture of this snapshot of motherhood.  I’ll have to attach this one to the little piece I wrote on how glamorous life can be for a mother…between the hair in a bun, the old T-shirt and the pajama pants, I don’t think it’s possible to get any more anti-glamorous than I am in this picture!  And it’s just another one of the many, many adorable pictures I have of the kids.  It’s amazing how even when they’re covered with food or dirt or whatever else they’ve managed to get into, they’re still just as cute as can be…

To the workout warriors who made the trip to Columbia!!!

This past weekend I had the wonderful opportunity to teach a class that included women literally from all over the place – Canada, Mexico, many different states – but no matter where they came from, they came to Columbia ready to WORKOUT!!  So, to all of you who made the trip:  thanks so much for the chance to teach and for the energy you brought along with you!  I even appreciate the grumblings that came with the ab twister with the ball there at the end…  It was great to see you all and I hope you made it home with a renewed sense of just how strong you are and with the knowledge that I truly appreciate the time I got to spend with you.  It was an honor!!  (Though I have to confess that I really was terribly sore the next day…your energy level apparently dampened my normal limits of perceived exertion J )

Protein, protein and more protein….

One of my friends emailed me today and asked me to share some of my favorite ways for getting in protein.  So, I figured not only would I reply to her, but I’d just write it up here on the blog so it’s out there in case someone else is looking for some suggestions.

 

First of all, I am not a cook.  You can ask my husband and he will tell you that cooking is not one of the reasons he married me and I’m fine with that.  This is my disclaimer as some of my “recipes” probably wouldn’t count as real recipes by a real cook.

 

I usually try to get in around 100 grams of protein a day which requires a ton of eating.  I spread out the amount of protein to about 20 grams via 5 meals or snacks.  I don’t know where I read it, but somewhere I saw a recommendation that women ingest about 20 grams of protein at a time as that’s about how much our bodies can actually use before it just gets filed away in the “leftover calorie” department, and that formula has worked just fine for me.

 

I’m going to start by listing some of my favorite powders:

 

When you buy protein powders, really take a good hard look at the label for information on serving size.  Some powders are obviously designed for the incredible Hulk type lifter, and if that’s the case, I generally use half of a serving. (Nothing against the Hulk, just not the body type or the tan I’m after…)

 

 

Isopure:  Anything by them is delicious but be ready to pay for it!  They have fruit drinks that I especially enjoy in the purple/grape flavor and since each one has 40 grams of protein, I’ll split it up into two servings.  The chocolate powder is also wonderful – mixes really well!

 

Lean Body for Her by Labrada in Soft Serve Vanilla Flavor:  mix one packet with water, ice, a scoop of cool whip, one packet of Splenda and some frozen strawberries.  Delicious!!

 

Another option with vanilla powder is to mix it with 1 cup of the light orange juice, put in ¼ cup of milk and shake it up.  It tastes like a shake from Orange Julius.

 

Nutrimet in strawberry:  I like this one just mixed with water and ice.  However, one packet has a ton of calories so I’ll generally use ½ of one per serving.

 

And when it comes to bars, I generally go with what’s on sale as I’ve said before.  I do try to make sure that they’re not through the roof on carbs and fat as there are some bars that will give you the protein you’re looking for, but you’ll get a lot of calories that you don’t want along with it.

 

 

 

And here a couple of my “recipes” as I’ll call them….I’ve posted some before and there are probably a couple of minor differences as I change things periodically so that I don’t get bored.

 

Protein Pancakes

Beat 2 egg whites and 1 whole egg

Add in ½ tsp of vanilla

1/3 cup of quick cook instant oatmeal

2 packets of Splenda

Mix all of that up, put it on a hot frying pan and enjoy!  I sometimes add strawberries and cool whip on top.  It’s not IHOP but it will do…

(and you may want to add a TBSP of low fat Bisquick to make them seem a little more authentic.)

 

BBQ Tuna

This is a recipe where you’ll just have to suspend what you would normally believe about the mixture I’m going to share, and just trust me that it really kind of does taste like bbq.  Not the good kind like we have here in South Carolina, but it kind of has a bbq type flavor to it.

 

1 Green Apple cut into small chunks (I use an apple-core thing and then slice up the wedges into little triangles)

Sprinkle the apples with lemon juice so they don’t turn brown

Mustard (you may like jalapeño mustard or brown mustard as well)

2 cans of low sodium tuna

Pepper – a dash

All purpose seasoning – a couple of dashes

 

I mix it all up and then divide it into three containers.  I know it sounds weird…but it’s good!

 

Tuna Salad

2 cans of low sodium tuna, 1 TBSP of lite mayo, 2 Claussen’s garlic pickles cut up into tiny pieces, pepper

 

Sometimes I’ll crush up Red Hot Blues or Chili Lime chips and mix that in for a little added crunch and flavor.

 

Makes me three servings

 

 

Salmon and Couscous

Prepare one serving of Pine Nut Couscous and stir in two cans of salmon which are packed in chunks in water just like tuna.  I split this into three servings as well.

 

Protein Pudding

Mix 1 or 2 scoops of chocolate protein powder with one envelop of cook ‘n serve pudding, 1 cup of water and 1 cup of skim milk.  Stir it the whole time you’re cooking it to be sure that it doesn’t get stuck on the bottom of the pan and burn.  This also makes 3 servings.  It’s especially wonderful with cool whip on top when it’s still hot from the stove.

 

I hope this helps you get in your protein and feel free to share your own ideas!

 

Steph

Fitness Tip of the Moment

 

Each Sunday night take some time to sketch out your fitness plans on paper and ask yourself the following questions:

 

·        How many workouts can I realistically accomplish this week?

·        What are my goals for this week?  Am I going for more cardio, more weights or maybe a better balance of both?

·        Which one or two muscle groups can I try to push a little harder?

·        How am I going to make this week more challenging than my last?

·        Do I need to perhaps take an extra rest day based on a packed schedule?  (Don’t use this one to plan an unnecessary rest day, just give yourself the latitude to be prepared for taking an extra one if it’s going to be a particularly crazy week..)

·        Moms – what can you do this week to model fitness as part of your lifestyle for your children?

 

Just making a few small notes in your day planner or in your Blackberry may be just the little bit of extra motivation to help you accomplish your goals.

 

Have a great week!

 

Four Cinnamon Rolls for supper and my new name is “Charmin”….

 

 

I know that I’m like many of you mothers out there who will go to great lengths to be sure that your children are eating a somewhat balanced diet.  This can involve sneaking vegetables into things that normally wouldn’t include carrots or green beans and pep rally presentations on the joy of eating fruit…  But what do we do to make sure that we’re getting in the kind of nutrition we need to perform the umpteen bazillion tasks we do in a day?

 

I realized how terrible this dilemma can be recently when I was cooking supper for the kids.  I was exhausted after a long day at work and I managed to at least get all of the school bags, diaper bags, coolers and the laptop out of the car and into the kitchen.  As I looked at the incredible mountain of mess sitting on the kitchen table, I realized that I was suddenly overcome with hunger. 

 

I had eaten healthy all day, straight out of my cooler with all of the pre-prepared health food it could handle.  I needed something fast and quick that would give me just enough energy to get the chicken in the oven and the potatoes and green beans cooking on the stove.  The night before my husband had cooked some of those Pillsbury Low fat Cinnamon rolls and they were sitting on the counter wrapped in foil.  After a millisecond of hesitation, I figured what the heck, I needed some quick energy, so one will do. 

 

Then it was time to get Will started on his baby food (which he eats before he takes a stab at the table food for the night) and I was still hungry.  What’s one more cinnamon roll – especially when they’re low fat?  By the time supper was on the table, I had managed to polish off two more and I probably would have had another eventually except that now they were all gone.

 

How did that happen?  One minute I’m the picture of good health and the next I’m an example of someone who needs to go to cinnamon bun rehab…  And that’s when I had to do a gut check and remind myself that we all have those moments when we cave, when we succumb to the immediate gratification wrapped in the cuddly roll of a cinnamon bun.  However, if overall we do a fairly good job at eating the right way – and if we model that for our kids on a regular basis – we’re really doing just fine and we shouldn’t get down on ourselves for the occasional mauling of a nutritional diet.

 

Changing subjects – we’re in full potty training mode, fluctuating between days of perfection and days of imperfection, and I’m trying very hard to be patient and to have somewhat of a sense of humor about it.  If you have any tips on making this wonderful aspect of parenthood any easier, feel free to share!  I recently told my husband that between the two kids and all the wiping I do, I will now respond to the name “Charmin.”

 

Hope you’re all doing well and God bless!

 

 

My cutting-edge home gym

My cutting-edge home gym...

        I’ve been working out at home for years, even when I’ve also been instructing fitness classes.  And now that I find myself with two small children and hardly any time to breathe (let alone workout!), my home gym has become even more important to me.  It’s my little corner of the world where at the crack of dawn, I drag myself out of bed to see what routine I can come up with on any given day to get this body stronger and healthier. 

        I thought maybe before I would show it to you, I would really clean it up first and that I would show the TV in front of the treadmill so that it least looks somewhat like the “cardio theaters’ you see at fancy gyms.  Then I realized that actually I should probably leave it just as it is – furry Elmo chair and all the rest of the toys – as that’s what it usually looks like and any of you out there with small children would never believe it if I posted a sparkling clean workout area. 

        You also may notice the huge Pampers box behind my workout bench.  It’s full of wonderful things I’m going to put in scrapbooks for my children one day.  (Let me translate “one day.”  That means sometime in the future – probably in the faraway future when they’re both old enough to be driving.)  I know that eventually I’ll at least try to sort it into two different boxes for them.  I tend to grab the camcorder at least twice a week so my kids will have digital scrapbooks one day…

        As far as the workout stuff you see, I’ve got my treadmill, a bench that inclines to various levels, dumbbells that go from 3 to 20 pounds, and bands with three different levels of resistance.  I also have a tall box which is one of the good old fashioned wooden ones but at the current moment it’s in my son’s room because earlier tonight I was trying to clean out his closet.  He’s sleeping now and you couldn’t pay me to go in there and get it for a picture as it’s been one of those days and I prefer he remain sleeping  :-)   I have the bands anchored around the weight bench as I used them this morning for part of an upper body routine.  When I figure out how to turn the automatic picture-taker button on my camera I’ll try to show you some of my favorite moves with them rigged up this way.

        Hope you enjoyed seeing one of my favorite places – including the mess!!

So about the morning workouts….

I’ve had people ask me how in the world I manage to get up in the morning to work out.  I believe they imagine me leaping out of the bed with a smile on my face, ready to tackle whatever muscle group happens to be the lucky workout focus of the day.   Actually, I would prefer to get up just as early, but to have some uninterrupted quiet time to do my devotion for the day and to savor a slow cup of coffee.  However, that’s not where I am at this point in life, so slowly but surely I’ve become one of the early bird workout crew.

 

If you are currently a night owl and interested in possibly transforming yourself from a late day exerciser to an early bird, here are some tips that might just help:

 

• Give yourself a couple of weeks to shift your bedtime and wake time.
• To change your bedtime, start moving it back in small amounts – 10 to 15 minutes – and get up 10-15 minutes earlier.
• Be realistic with how much you can really get done in the morning and chose workout plans that will allow you to fit this schedule.  In other words, don’t tell yourself that you’re going to get up and work out for a solid hour when there’s no way that would really work and allow you to get out of the door on time.  Instead, shoot for 40-45 minutes or whatever works for you.
• You may find that the intensity of your workouts increases greatly because you really do have a limited amount of time and this forces you to focus more, so look forward to morning workouts as an additional way to challenge yourself.
• Have everything ready and sitting out – shoes, clothes, workout equipment, the video you’ll watch or the music you’ll listen to, water bottle already filled in the fridge… I’ve written a little bit more about this below…
• If you need to get a little something on your stomach, try eating a scoop of peanut butter. I have to give a shout out to my friend Kathryn for that tip!

 

The morning time workout is a blending of two things for me.  I listen to Christian music to inspire my spirit and in doing so, I’m inspired to work harder physically.  I guess it’s kind of like what people experience when they try to do the whole spiritual side of yoga, but the main difference is that rather than try to channel anything from within myself (which would be pretty worthless without grace), I’m able to instead focus on glorifying a living God through movement.  That’s not to say that I don’t love Miami big bass or club music as I really enjoy listening to a strong, driving beat.  But I notice that without a doubt my workouts are more purposeful and fulfilling when I also work with music that allows me to focus on someone so much greater than myself spiritually.

 

I won’t kid you about the desire to hit the snooze button and roll over if given the opportunity.  I had to train myself to get up so early and the night before I have to have everything possible ready to go for my workout.  Like I said earlier, the clothes are set out, the shoes and socks waiting, the IPod fully charged….I even go ahead and put cream and Splenda in a coffee cup and put it in the fridge at night.  The coffee pot is set so that it’s waiting for me when I get up and then since I’m pouring the hot coffee into a cup that’s been refrigerated all night, the coffee isn’t quite so hot as I try to gulp it down for a little extra push before I begin my workout.  I also have to go to bed pretty early but I don’t think I’m at any disadvantage for having not seen whatever late night TV has to offer.

 

The mornings are not my ideal time to workout, but that’s the only time that I consistently have available.  And rather than worry if I’ll have the energy late in the day to get in a good workout, I can already check it off of my to-do list and go about the rest of my day knowing I  spent at least a  little time  nurturing both  my body and my soul.   

 

“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,

for his compassions never fail.

They are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness.”   Lamentations 3:22-23

Supplement Information

 

In an effort to continue along with my goal of full transparency, I figured I should share with you which supplements I’ve utilized to improve my fitness level.  Okay – let me rephrase that to what it really means – I’ll tell you what I’ve used that seems to help me lean out and have more energy when I need it for heavy training….

 

First of all, you must understand the first rule of supplements.   No matter how exotic, how pricey, how clever or novel a product may seem to be – unless you put in the sweat behind it – you probably won’t notice much of a difference.   And just about everyone you talk to who has used supplements probably has a different combination or experience, so really all you can do is experiment with yourself to find out if something will work for you.

 

To begin, I’ll just start with protein as I do supplement my regular diet with shakes and bars.  I try to get in between 100 and 125 grams a day and that can be very challenging with regular food.  I love Isopure products including the powders and the fruit drinks, but they can be pretty expensive.  I also like Myoplex and Labrada as well and generally I’ll go with whatever is on sale.  You can sneak protein powder into many of your meals such as adding it to pancakes, mixing it in with pudding, or use it to make a smoothie a little more filling.  If there’s one thing I’ve learned about protein, it’s that as long as I’m consistent in getting the amount I try for on a regular basis, I can have my occasional “oh-my-gosh-I’ve-got-to-have-pizza-and-ice cream-and chips” episode and still be okay. I try to make sure that any powder I use has amino acids included as well since when you lift weights, you’re essentially tearing down muscle and you need to be sure that you’ve got the best nutrition available to build them back leaner and tighter.

 

The next one is glucosamine chondroitin and you’ll never make me believe that it doesn’t work.  I can tell such a difference with my knees and I take it every single day. The only times in recent years that I stopped taking it were when I was pregnant and when I got back to working out after each child was born, I really felt some occasional pain in my knees.  I’m sure this was probably a combination of the fact that I was toting around an enormous amount of weight and that hormones do funny things to your joints when you’re pregnant, but as soon as I started taking my GC again, the pain went away.  I know there are numerous studies out there showing that it works, as well as some that say it doesn’t, but it’s the answer to prayer for my knees.

 

And here’s one that can be very questionable in terms of whether it actually works or not – pyruvate.  When I know that I’m going to need a little energy boost for weight lifting, I’ll take some of this about 30 minutes before I work out.  This presents a problem for me since I work out early in the morning, but on the weekends when I can get in an afternoon workout I’ll still use it.  (I can tell a difference with it, but not so much that I’m going to get up any earlier to have it kick in before I do my morning workout.  It’s not worth trading in sleep as far as I’m concerned..)  I’m not going to link to any articles on it in this piece, but if you google it there’s plenty of information on how they think it works.  (who are “they” anyway??? J ).

 

Creatine is something that I also used once upon a time, but I don’t really remember noticing any major changes.  I can’t remember the name of it, but it was a liquid designed for women.  I also tried to take Hydroxycut about 6 years ago, and it was such a terrible experience that I can’t even imagine trying it again.   I felt horrible and even though formulations of fat burners like it have supposedly improved, I just can’t even risk feeling like I did when I tried it.  Just like a lot of people in this world, I wish I could drop weight really fast as it appears that the people do in the ads, but I can’t take the side effect profile that would come along with regular consumption of it.

 

Daily I also take Vitamin D and a multivitamin. 

 

Hope you’re not asleep at the computer at this point and let me know if you have any questions.  And of course, I’d love to hear any advice on supplements that you may have to share as well. 

Heavy Leg Workout (heavy for me anyway)

 

I posted that I finally got to my heavy leg workout so I thought I’d share it with you.  Ideally I get this in once a week, though of course it doesn’t always happen that way. It’s basically a leg circuit and it’s close in set up to the upper body workout I’ve posted here before. Here it is and let me know if you have any questions.

 

Warm up for 3-5 minutes on the treadmill. Walk at 3.5 speed

 

Circuit 1

 

12 Alternating walking lunges w/ 15 pound dumbbells

20Quick plie presses w/ 1 15 pound dumbell

10 Plyometric jumps – no weights

(and then I drop down and do 12 pushups to give my legs a little break but to keep the workload up…)

 

Circuit 2

 

12 Deadlifts with 40 pounds  - 2 20 pound dumbbells

12 Alternating dips w/ 15 pound dumbbells

12 Close squats w/ 15 pound dumbbells

 

Circuit 3

12 Leg presses Right

12 Squat slides Right working (you squat down and let the left foot “slide” out so that the majority of the work stays in the right side.  It’s almost like a one-legged squat w/ the left foot just there for balance.)

12 calf raises Right (place left foot on tall box for balance)

 

And then do it on the Left

 

 

This is just the leg workout I’ve been doing now though I tend to change things up on a regular basis or I get bored.  You can make this a drop set workout very easily by leading off with your heaviest weight possible and then drop down in weight as you need to so you maintain proper form.

 

After this workout I spend a little extra time stretching my legs and I focus especially on hams and quads.

 

Enjoy!

Steph