Legs at Home

I like to have Leg Day twice a week. The past six months or so I've mostly been doing these at my work-gym on Tuesdays and Fridays. A couple months ago I stopped being scheduled Fridays and started slacking off a bit on my second day. In my defense though, Fridays became my run-errands-without-a-car-in-the-city days, and I'd clock in usually 12,000+ steps, so it wasn't a total wash. As I mentioned yesterday though, my gym is undergoing renovations, and I'm going to turn this negative into a positive by doing more of my workouts at home the next couple of months. Of course, this involves some planning ahead of time, because if I don't have a plan to exercise, I don't often turn it into a consistent habit. I know some of you feel me out there.

Let's focus on home strength exercises, minus any equipment for now. I'll add in some home workouts with some dumbbells & a stability ball in a week or so.
We all know the single most fabulous workout move in existence: the squat:

 Yes, those squats. They burn the most calories and make your legs look amazing no matter what your goals are. I love doing barbell squats at work with anywhere from 30-95lbs, but solo body weight still has top notch effects! Make your own personal squat challenge, or search from any one of the 81,375,012,875 different squat challenges on the interwebs today. Start off with 10 or 20 squats, and every few days add 5 more reps. If by the time you get to 50 it's too difficult to do them all at once (or even 25) it's okay to break them up in sections. Remember, the point of exercise first is to just DO IT!

Here's another squat challenge brought to you by PopSugar:

Want to add some cardio into your leg day? Try this one out:

You have FIVE MINUTES to spare, don't you? Or is 5 minutes not enough? Times this workout by 3 or 5 sets, or instead of 30 seconds, go for 45 or 60, or 90! I'll double the length of time, and do two sets next week and let you know how it goes:

 

I'm a fan of pyramid workouts too. Try this simple one & let me know how you like it!

End of EAT ME Week, Start of...?

I hope you all enjoyed EAT ME week & that some of you are a lot less afraid to eat more food, and hopefully got some new ideas on what to pick up the next time you're at the grocery store. My current goals are to have at least 25-30 grams of fiber per day, eat at 30% lean protein, 25% healthy fats, and 40% complex carbohydrates. I perceive 40% carbs being rather low, but it's also rather difficult for me to hit that target usually. If you get the vast majority (probably 90%+) of your carb ratio from vegetables, with some fruit & whole grain thrown in, it adds up relatively low. The quality fats & protein I consume helps keep me full and I don't have much of a desire to eat simple carbs. Spacing meals out and getting top-notch nutrients helps a lot with that.

Some changes are happening this week for me and my blog here. October is starting in just a couple days here and I will 1) be on the hunt for a Halloween costume tomorrow, and 2) the gym that I work at is starting a $1.7 million dollar renovation that I've been waiting on since I transferred to this location in January. The Halloween costume I want to look cute in, but my gym will be undergoing upgrades for the next two months. Although it will technically still be open, the showers will not be available and there will be limited changing space. I will still be doing most of my strength training at work, but it's time to put together a solid home-gym workout plan that includes body weight exercises, cardio, and some consistent Pilates. I really love Pilates and will look at this time to take advantage of some of the things I've been wanting to do at home.

Make a home gym with me! I'll give you some ideas, but encourage you to hunt for different things as well that you may find interested. If you're wondering where exactly to even begin, a couple pairs of dumbbells and a resistance band is a good start. A Bosu ball (it looks like Saturn got cut in half) and a stability ball (also called a Swiss ball, those very big gym ones) are two other great options. Pick out a few DVDs and let's play!

EAT ME Week: Day 4: Let's Get Fat!

Today is a tribute to healthy fats!

Healthy fats are amazing & full of so many good things you should be putting into your body. Fats are NOT created equal. Trans fats you should pretty much never put into your body. Monounsaturated fats however, you should definitely be making room for them in your daily life. I'm not going to save the best for last, I'm going to start with it. Ladies & gentlemen, may I reintroduce you to the Avocado:

Avocados are one of nature's most perfect foods. Not only are they a top-choice healthy monounsaturated fat, they are loaded with fiber and potassium (more than a banana!), have B vitamins (metabolism) and vitamin c. If you're like most humans, you love guacamole - Make your own fresh & fall in love all over again. I like using half an avocado in my salads. Studies have also shown that people who do eat 1/2 to a whole avocado during a meal have increased extended satiety, which means it keeps  you fuller longer and consume less calories over the next 4-6 hours than those who went sans 'cado. They are also good for your heart and decrease inflammation. They also offer a great replacement to mayonnaise in your sandwiches. Some people also use them in making smoothies and chocolate fudge!

Double your nutrient power by having some of these healthy fats that also contain Omega-3s:
Salmon
Chia Seed
Flax Seed
Tuna

Don't forget nuts: Almonds, Peanuts, Cashews, Pistachios, Walnuts and Pecans are all good choices. Mix it up!

Instead of butter, try using coconut oil instead. This is great not just for breads, but also in basic cooking, even coating your pan. Coconut oil is a saturated fat, which means it is solid in room temperature. This is normally a negative thing when in reference to saturated fats found in meat, but not with coconut oil. Coconut oil is also a great medium to mix other essentials oils with and has anti-bacterial properties.

Olives & olive oil are good as well.

Now that you are hopefully less scared of fats & you plan on making room for them in your next meal planning day, I will remind you that yes, fat does have calories and a significant amount of them. It would be great if we could all eat four avocados a day, or drown everything with half a cup of olive oil, but alas, it does not work that way. An avocado a day is great, mixing your own olive oil & balsamic vinegar for dressing is great, and a handful of nuts as a mid-afternoon snack is also great. Healthy fats have so many added benefits that you really should value them for all their worth like an investment in your body.

Now, let's have some guac!

:)

~ Samantha

EAT ME Week: Day 3

PROTEIN!

I am going to extend my right to bias on my personal blog & talk more about vegetarian sources of protein, but will still include a few top options for all the carnivores out there.

Two of the best reasons why you should be focusing on protein in your diet if you are losing weight is 1) it helps keep you full, and 2) it helps maintain your muscle mass, so you lose more fat instead of muscle.

My Top 5 Vegan Sources of Protein:
Pinto Beans
Quinoa
Peanut Butter
Chia Seeds
Organic Soy (in soy milk, tofu, etc.)


Here is a list of great complete vegetarian proteins, from Greatist: http://greatist.com/health/complete-vegetarian-proteins





My Top 5 Non-Vegan Sources of Protein:
Greek Yogurt
Eggs/ Egg Whites
Chicken
Tuna
Whey Protein Supplements (powder, bars)

As a bonus, I will add my favorite food: Cheese!

Other Great Sources of Protein:
Spirulina (read about it!)
Salmon
Hemp Seed
Turkey
Nuts (Peanuts, Almonds & Pistachios are high in protein)
Tempeh
Cottage Cheese
Peas

Have you heard me talk about alkaline foods? Here is something to put in a little perspective the next time you go to the grocery store:

 

Enjoy! :)

~Samantha

EAT ME Week: Day 2

FIBER!

Yes. Eat more of it. 80% of you do not get anywhere near your recommended daily amount. For females, you should be consuming AT LEAST 25-30 grams of fiber a day, and males at least 35 grams. Don't stop there though - aim for 50+! Fiber helps keep you fuller longer, helps stabilize blood sugar, lower cholesterol and blood pressure, and keeps your food digesting regularly through your system.

Some of my favorite ways to get more fiber in my diet are beans, avocados, edamame, and leafy greens like spinach and kale. Eat fruits & veggies WHOLE - instead of just the juice. The pulp is what has the fiber and keeps your blood sugar steady when eating carbohydrates. For the love of god, eat your carbs! The good, natural amazing nutrient-rich source that is complex carbohydrates will do your body amazing whether you are trying to lose weight or just be healthy. Here is a handy-dandy info-graphic I stole from one of my Pinterest boards

My favorite "cheating" ways to get more fiber in? High fiber cereals (watch for added sugar), high fiber bread (whole grains, minimally processed) and fiber bars (watch for sugar content again.) I'm also a huge fan of Quest bars, which are usually about 17 grams of fiber & 20 grams of protein! You can also throw in Chia or Flax seeds into salads or smoothies for an added boost! Both are also high in Omega-3s! Double boost!

Check out easy ways to get more fiber, via SparkPeople: http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/nutrition_articles.asp?id=442#_a5y_p=1976719

EAT ME Week: Day 1

Let us take a week to celebrate the awesomeness that is food.
Over the next 5 days, we will highlight a group of amazing foods you should plan to put into your body as soon as possible.

Today we will start with anti-inflammatory & antioxidants!
Antioxidants are in foods that help destroy free radicals. Antioxidants are believed to play a role in helping to fight and prevent cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and other chronic conditions. They are even used in many skincare ingredients and treatments to help promote healthy and younger looking skin!

Anti-inflammatory foods is what seriously everyone's daily eating habits should be focused on consuming. These foods help ward off, protect and overcome many illnesses & diseases such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes & osteoporosis.  A vast majority of these types of food are alkaline - which is imperative to maintain a healthy pH balance within the body. Bonus: They can make you look & feel younger too!

Here's a top 10 list to take with you to the grocery store:

Virtually any kind of berry: Raspberries, Blueberries, goji berries...
Avocado
Spinach
Chia & Flax seeds
Red peppers (bell & cayenne)
Garlic, Onion & Ginger
Green & White Tea
Nuts
Cucumbers & Celery
 Lemons & Lemon Juice

Eat Good Food First

Where did the past two weeks go? Oh yes... I was scrambling to get a good grade in my Intro to Dietetics class, and my wonderful mother came to visit me from Oregon. My first real available day off, I slept until about 3pm.

Catching up on emails and articles of the past month as 5 o'clock rolls around, I come across "The Top 20 Foods You Should Be Eating." There are SO many foods we should be eating, how on earth do we eat them all? Or if you're one of the people in 2/3rds of America's population that are trying to lose weight, myself included, you wonder how you're supposed to eat and lose weight at the same time.

I tried many different experiments on myself when I began to eat more healthy and lose weight a couple years ago, but only a few things stuck. A couple of new things that I had to force myself to try ended up being so second nature to me that I hadn't really thought of them much anymore. Sometimes after a long time though, old habits sneak back in without you realizing, and then you get reminded of that simple thing that helped you a great deal in the first place.

Food is awesome. Even crappy food is awesome. How many of us would gladly eat three times as much as we do now if it meant we would still be healthy and not gain weight? Heck, I even keep eating after I'm already full, which we all know is a big no-no. I'm human just like everyone else, continuously working on fixing my flaws.

Eat good food first.
Let's go a little deeper in to this. It's more than just trying to eat healthy (or eating less if that is your healthy goal.) We have recommended daily values, and they differ depending on who we are. Instead of focusing on what you "can't" eat, focus on what you should be eating enough of, and eat those first. For myself, this includes having a goal of 30+ grams of fiber a day, and making sure I get enough of my micro-nutrients like calcium, iron, and vitamins, and macro nutrients like 100 grams of protein a day (your needs may be higher or lower.)

The point of this goal is: Try to get into your body what you already need for that day. When dinner time (or after dinner time) comes around & you see you're low on fat for the day, or carbs, it's totally fine & acceptable to have some extra cheese or glass of wine. Get in what you need first, and if you need help figuring out what that is & how to track it: www.myfitnesspal.com

Stay healthy, my friends!

~Samantha

20 Minute Shoulder, Bicep & Tricep Workout

Easy enough to do on your lunch break without working up too much of a sweat!

 

I like using the Bosu ball to stand on while I'm doing many types of arm exercises. It adds a little bit of core & balance to the workout.

For this, I use two 5lb plates, two 8-10 lb dumbbells & two 10-12 lbs dumbbells. Choose higher or lower weights depending on your current fitness level and goals you wish to achieve.

Higher weight + low reps (-10) = building muscle focus. Lower weight & higher reps (12-20) = endurance focus.

 15 Reps each:

Lateral raise, front & side with plates (shoulders)

Arnold Press with DBs (biceps & shoulders)

Tricep overhead extension, each arm (triceps)

Repeat 2xs

Wide clapping with plates (shoulders)

Hammer curls with DB (biceps)

Tricep kickbacks, with DBs each arm (triceps)

Repeat 2xs

 

Take Time to Invest in Yourself

It's only been 2 weeks into the fall semester and I already felt like my head, if not my entire body, was going to explode.
Having issues with work, finances, and home life all within a few days didn't help either.

I barely felt like I had enough time to make a sandwich, so how was I going to feel like I had enough time to take a moment just for me? School work & running errands & picking out a new medical plan while trying to schedule counselor meetings and phone calls to schedule more phone calls & meetings all happening at once was apparently a little too much for this cowgirl newly back on the freeway of life wagon. Happy hour seemed like a nice momentary distraction in the midst of my day, until that moment dragged on for several hours...

I was the first to admit to myself even before I could hold a full coherent sentence in my head that I screwed up when the peeking of light slipped through my sleep-time blindfold piercing my brain like a rusty vice. It was hours of attempting to get water down during the short spells of being awake because if I was awake longer than 30 seconds the pain was unbearable. Never mind the fact that I couldn't stand up even at 1 or 2 in the afternoon or that I was pretty sure I wasn't going to make it to the bathroom to throw up. The pain in my body was bad enough to make anyone pray to a god whether they were religious or not. I messed up in more ways than the physical damage I brought onto myself, I ended up flaking on a very special important day for one of my best friends. To me that was worse than thinking I gave myself alcohol poisoning & probably needed to go to the hospital & felt the after effects for the next 2 days.

Admitting your mistakes is not easy, but it needs to be done. Learning from your mistakes & doing something about them is a whole different ballgame in itself. Understanding why and what to do about it, well I guess that's the third thing. I've missed out on doing some things that I was really really looking forward to (Superbowls, festivals, barbeques) because I didn't know how to balance my time and respecting the time I did have when I had it. This isn't to say that within the past couple days I've miraculously mastered that balance, but that I have identified what the issue is enough to consciously take action from it.

Allowing myself me-time isn't selfish. Me time does not consist of school work, or listening to my radio to or from work, or even writing this blog. Me time should happen at least once a week and it should be planned just as important as any other mandatory activity I do throughout the week. Being a perfectionist has its draw backs, especially when you consider the fact that perfectionists still screw up, and we mostly screw up during what we're trying to perfect because we're trying to perfect too damn hard. Me time should be healthy, and should be peaceful. One of the best ways to spend me time for me would be dancing. You time for you could be something different, like reading a great work of fiction, going swimming in a lake, ice skating, or taking a hike. It should be away from everything else that you HAVE to do in life, even if those things you have to do make you happy, like being in school or spending time with kids.

We need to plan for this time without thinking that we don't have time for it. We need to MAKE time for it. Invest time in ourselves just like we invest time to learn or invest money in the bank. If we don't take time for us, we're eventually going to wake up wishing the whole day away regretting things to ourselves and our best friends.

Let's find one hour in this next week that we're going to take time for ourselves, without having to worry about everything else that will still be there once that hour is over.