This Lazy Mouse Skips Her Weight Training To Build More Muscle

2 Comments
Lack of sleep and no muscle workout makes me a lazy mouse today!

Lack of sleep and no muscle workout makes me a lazy mouse today!

Thanks to less than 4 hours of sleep, I’m feeling like a lazy mouse today. How lazy? I pushed my morning muscle workout to Saturday.

Turns out it’s a good decision.

The bulk of muscle recovery happens during sleep. That’s when our bodies balance out the hormones and works to rebuild muscles. Lack of sleep just means the workout becomes much harder than needed and you increase the risk of injury.

So perhaps I’m more savvy mouse than lazy mouse…

Nah…I skipped my morning yoga class too.

Fear not. I slipped into my running gear for my next 5K training session, which starts in 15 minutes.

I plan to follow my run with 45 minutes of my Biggest Loser Weight Loss Yoga DVD.

I guess that makes me industrious mouse after all.

Related articles

Spinning Class, Take 2 — Thank God For Gel Seats & Biker Shorts

Leave a comment
cycling, gel seat covers, sore butt from spinning class

One of the best fitness investments…ever! I can’t do my spinning class without this butt-saving gel seat cover.

Today I attended my second spinning class armed with a gel seat cover and padded bike shorts. Learning my lesson from my first class, I knew there was no way I could handle 55 minutes on that seat (a.k.a. saddle) again.

Lots of folks told me that I’d get use to the seat pain after a few classes. How? By killing my last butt nerve!?!

Sorry, I don’t want to get use to the pain. And I sure don’t want the 2 days of extreme soreness that follows.

The seat cost $20 at my local sporting good’s store. It fits the saddle perfectly. The cover kept its shape and comfort during the class.

My biker shorts cost a lot, about $50. I only picked up one pair, but I can already see I need another. They’re designed so you don’t wear underwear with the shorts. So washing regularly is important.

The shorts and seat made a world of difference today. Unlike last week’s class, I didn’t have to get off the bike because I was hurting. The big bonus: No after-class sore tush.

Without a doubt it’s the best investment I’ve ever made!

Related articles

Avoiding Holiday Pounds – Thanksgiving Battle Plan

2 Comments
Want to keep your weight in check over the holidays? Then come up with a strategy that doesn't deprive but let's you walk away satisfied not stuffed. (Image: An awesome Turkey with Brown-Sugar Glaze via marthastewart.com)

Want to keep your weight in check over the holidays? Then come up with a strategy that doesn’t deprive but let’s you walk away satisfied not stuffed. (Image: An awesome Turkey with Brown-Sugar Glaze via marthastewart.com).

It’s that time of the year where people over indulge in food and drink. Studies show that most people who gain weight between Thanksgiving and New Year’s usually don’t lose that weight, despite those resolutions.

That’s why I’m coming up with a plan. I want to lose about 16 pounds before the end of the year so I need a strategy. Today, I’m working on Turkey Day.

Guiltless Thanksgiving
This year we’re spending Thanksgiving with friends. I’m not going to worry about eating high-carb foods like stuffing or dessert. I want to enjoy myself. That doesn’t mean stuffing my face. I need a strategy that keeps my eating in check and wisely uses my 49 weekly allowance points.

So what’s the plan?

  1. Eat Slowly – If you eat slow you don’t eat as much and you fill up quicker.  So how do you eat slowly? Take a bite. Put fork down. Chew. Sip water. Repeat. Easy.
  2. Pick Dishes I Don’t Normally Eat – It’s Thanksgiving after all! I love stuffing, pie and cranberry sauce, but I rarely eat them. Just too many carbs for me.  Since Thanksgiving is once a year, I plan to enjoy those dishes. Depriving myself just means I’m going to breakdown and eat way more than I should.
  3. Portion Control — I need to watch those portions. So I’m actually going to practice visualizing what a 1/4 C or 1/2 C of food looks like.  Without practice, your eyes are always bigger than your stomach. I want just enough food to satisfy so a small amount will do.
  4. No Left Overs – This is the bonus of Thanksgiving at a friend’s house.
  5. Saying No to Seconds – If I’m full, I need to say so.
  6. Leave The Table When Full – This is a biggie. If I hang out near the food I tend to “nibble.” Well, to me it’s nibbling. In reality it’s more like seconds and thirds.

Again, the name of the game is enjoying the day with family and friends. If I mess up my plan, I’m not going to beat myself up. It’s just one day. The key is getting back on track the next meal.

Top 10 Foods For Great Hair

Leave a comment
healthy hair, you are what you eat, best foods for hair

Want beautiful, healthy hair? Eat more blueberries! (Image courtesy of Paul and FreeDigitalPhotos.net.)

While researching hair care products, I came across an article on best foods to eat for great hair.

I know certain foods, like avocados and beer, are great to use on your hair. I just never thought about eating foods for hair care.

As a fish-hater, I wasn’t happy that salmon made the list (strangely enough I enjoy oysters). However, avocados, pumpkin seeds and walnuts are good substitutes. Plus, I take daily omega 3 fish oil supplements.

How many of these foods make it into your daily diet?

  1. Salmon
  2. Walnuts
  3. Oysters
  4. Sweet Potatoes
  5. Eggs
  6. Spinach
  7. Lentils
  8. Greek Yogurt
  9. Poultry
  10. Blueberries

Quinoa Salad Recipe

Leave a comment
quinoa salad, workouts, weight loss, healthy eating

You know a dish is healthy when it has lots of colors! This easy to make quinoa salad is perfect for your post-muscle workouts.

My trainer gave me a recipe for quinoa salad that I tried out today. I love quinoa but completely cut it out of my low carb diet. Thanks to my new weight training regimen, I can add this wonderful grain back into my food rotation.

There are lots of variations on quinoa salads. This particular one is very tasty and provides the perfect amount of healthy carbs for your post-muscle workout. I added 3 ounces of skinless chicken breast on the side to up the protein.

The recipe below calls for 1/2 C uncooked quinoa, yielding 1.5 cups of cooked quinoa. Since the recipe is a single serving, I’m only using 1/2 C of cooked quinoa and reserving the rest for later in the week.

Quinoa Salad
Net Carbs: 20g
Weight Watchers PointsPlus: 6
Servings: 1

Ingredients

  • 1/2 C quinoa, uncooked
  • 1 C Water
  • 1/4 Tsp. Salt
  • 1/4 C Cucumber, diced
  • 1/4 C Red onion, diced
  • 1/2 C Tomato, Roma, seeded and diced
  • 1 Tbsp Flaxseed
  • 1 oz Fat free feta
  • 1 Tbsp. Lite balsamic vinaigrette
  • 1/4 C Cilantro, finely chopped

Directions

  • Rinse quinoa in a fine sieve until water runs clear, drain and transfer to a medium pot. Add 1 cup of water and 1/4 tsp. salt and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium low and simmer until water is absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes. Set aside off the heat for 5 minutes; uncover and fluff with a fork.
  • Scoop out 1/2 C of cooked quinoa into a bowl and add cucumber, red onion, tomato, flaxseed, fat free feta, cilantro and mix.
  • Pour dressing over and toss briefly to evenly distribute it.
Related articles

This Fat Foodie Loves Me Some Chopped!

Leave a comment
Chopped (TV series)

Chopped, my favorite cooking and competition TV show. You get creativity without the bitchiness. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Chopped is not only my favorite cooking show, but also the best competition on TV.  Sorry Top Chef, but Chopped gives me cool cooking techniques, lots of excitement, and culinary creativity…without the bitchiness.

I just love competition shows about the creative process. The problem with most shows is that many times the creativity takes a back seat to personalities and the infighting.

Attitude isn’t entertaining. I want ingenuity.  Watching talented chefs trying to fuse diverse (and bizarre) ingredients into a yummy dish is my kind of TV.

And Chopped delivers in spades.

With Chopped, each episode starts with 4 chefs. By the end one is crowned the winner. No overblown personalities or petty dramas. Each episode brings new chefs.  As a result, there’s no time for an egomaniac to get into a competitor’s face.

There are 3 timed rounds:

  • Appetizer (20 minutes)
  • Entrée (30 minutes)
  • Dessert  (30 minutes)

For each round, the chefs are given a mystery basket with 4 random foods picked to stump contestants. Chefs must use each item to create their dish and that’s where the fun (and creativity) begins.

You try building a Thanksgiving dinner out of giblet gravy, Brussels sprouts, pumpkin pie ice cream and a whole, raw turkey…oh and you only have 30 minutes.

What I really love about Chopped — I learn about new foods, cool cooking techniques, and how to make tasty dishes with ingredients you never would think to put together.

Last night’s episodes dealt with Thanksgiving. And I saw some awesome ideas.

Embracing Weight Loss Compliments

Leave a comment
accepting compliments, weight loss praise

As my weight loss continues, my confidence grew and I happily learned to accept the compliments that come my way.

Yesterday, my hairdresser gave me a wonderful compliment on the weight I lost since the last time we saw each other. I flashed a big smile, thanked her, told her how much I’d lost and completely forgot how sore I was sitting in that chair.

What a difference a year and 82 pounds makes.

Mark Twain was right. You really can live for months on a good compliment.

I couldn’t say the same thing 15 months ago. Then, compliments were like nails on the chalkboard. If someone sang the praises of my waistline, that little voice in my head went straight to my flaws.

“Why did I deserve praise? I’m still a hot mess with a ton of weight to lose.” I felt embarrassed.

Tell Me More About My Eyes
During the last 15 months my confidence and self-image have grown. I can see the difference in my figure, skin, walk and attitude. I get excited about each pound lost and more determined with each gain or plateau.

My confidence grew and that little voice in my head piped down. At first, I learned to smile and say “Thank you.”

Now I embrace the compliments that come my way. And why shouldn’t I?  I work hard on my weight loss and am proud of my accomplishments.  I get excited when people notice.

A few weeks ago, I visited my old workplace to meet a friend for lunch–the same office I left to get healthy.

While waiting in the lobby for my lunch date, I saw many former co-workers. All of them had the same reaction – double take, mouth dropped open, and “Wow, you look great!”

The embarrassment was gone. I returned a conquering hero…and loved every minute of it.

Related articles

 

Everyday Beauty – Gray Hair And Mastering That Damn Curling Iron!

1 Comment
everyday beauty, weight loss hair makeover, curling iron

For weeks I’ve been curling iron challenged. Thanks to Jenny, my hair stylist, I’m closer to mastering the perfect curl.

It’s been six weeks since my weight loss hair makeover and right on cue my gray hairs started sprouting. Now I’m notorious for letting the gray take over before breaking down and buying a box of color. Not anymore.

It was time to head back to the salon to visit my new favorite stylist Jenny.

Besides touching up my roots, I wanted Jenny to do another tutorial on the curling iron for me. I’ve tried to use it, but I always end up with a clamp dent near the ends. I got so frustrated that I started using my hot rollers again.

Burning Washing That Gray Out
My highlights and my ends still look awesome so no need for foil or a haircut this time out. Just a root touch up today.

Normally when I dye my hair I don’t wash it the day before. I want some oil build up to protect my scalp from the inevitable burning sensation. Well after yesterday’s workout and run, my hair was too funky not to wash.

So I braced myself. But as Jenny applied the dye, nothing happened. In fact, if felt quite cool.

I don’t know what hair dye product the salon uses, but it’s awesome! My scalp didn’t feel like it was on fire.

That’s it! No more box dye for me!

Prepping My Hair
After my shampoo, it was time to start styling. Jenny applied a heat protectant followed by a stronghold mousse to my wet hair. One to protect my hair from the heat of the iron and the other to define the curls and fight frizz.

And of course, I don’t have either in my home. Guess I’m going shopping this weekend.

Curling Iron Tutorial
dot curlWith my hair dried, Jenny handed me the curling iron and asked me to show her my mad skills!

I picked up a 2 inch section of hair, ran it through the curling iron first. I then clamped it about an inch from the end and rolled up until my hair was completely around the barrel. I released the clamp after about 10 seconds and…a near perfect curl.

Crap. It’s like taking your car in for repairs and you can’t reproduce the problem for the mechanic.

Hmmmm…me thinks the hair prep is a reason for great curls.

However, Jenny did notice a few problems with my technique.

I tend to hold the curling iron at an angle. Instead I need to keep it vertical (parallel to my face) with the clamp facing forward. Also I turned the iron in towards my face. Oops! I need to curl away from my face.

Jenny also recommends spraying my hair with a light-hold hairspray before using the iron. It’ll help hold the curls while doing my hair (I have a lot of hair!).

I carefully watched as she curled rest of my hair. When she got to the last piece to curl, she handed the iron over for me to do the honors.

I did everything right, including curling away from my face.

Whew!

Time to send those hot rollers packing.

Related articles

It’s Going To Be One Of Those Days

Leave a comment
Today is going to be a lazy day after yesterday's intense workout.

I’m too sore to care…kitty gets a free pass today!

I woke up this morning to a cat in the sink. I left him there. Today is a lazy day.

Why? I’m soooo sore. Yesterday’s muscle workout and 5K training wiped me out.

Sure my workout with my trainer was hard, but I didn’t think anything of it. I started feeling sore about 4 hours after. What did she do to me?

I did 3 sets, all starting off with a very fast walk on the treadmill.

Since she learned I hate push-ups, for the last 4 sessions she’s included push-ups, in some form. However, yesterday I discovered an exercise I hate more than push-ups — the Jack Knife!  Wow those kicked my butt.

I thought my arms took the bulk of the punishment. Ha! Just a few hours later my legs, abs and lower back started feeling it — damn you Jack Knife!

About 5 hours after my muscle workout I started my 5K interval training. I ended up repeating my first long run (1 mile) since I thought the app malfunctioned by not tracking my distance. I ended up going over 1.5 miles.

After checking out my Easy 5K app, it turns out my iPhone was the culprit.  The app works perfectly fine. I upgraded my phone’s operating system a day before my first attempt at the long run. The upgrade shut down my GPS function. So the app couldn’t track my distance. Curse you upgrade!

After “fixing” my GPS, I happily started to run.

AAAUGH!!!! My iPhone's upgrade messed up my Easy 5K's GPS tracker. I ended up running close to 2 miles.

AAAUGH!!!! My iPhone’s upgrade messed up my Easy 5K’s GPS tracker. I ended up running close to 2 miles.

Roughly 40 minutes later I realized something was wrong…again. According to the app, I  ran zero miles. AAAUGH! GPS fail…again!

Turns out my iPhone settings didn’t save. Good grief! I started feeling like Charlie Brown and my iPhone was Lucy with that damn football.

I stopped after running close to 2 miles. I had a slight headache and my heart rate was too high. I made the mistake of waiting for the app to tell me to stop instead of listening to my body.

Won’t make that mistake again!

I walked across the street to Starbucks, ordered a green tea, sat down for about 20 minutes and began working on my phone.

Feeling better, I tested the GPS on the walked home and hit the shower.

With my GPS fixed, I plan to attempt my app’s long run training Wednesday afternoon. Should be a piece of cake.

Other than doing 30 minutes of yoga and getting my hair done, today’s gonna be a lazy day.

Kitty can stay in the sink as long as he wants.

 

Kangoo Jumps – OK, I’m Curious

3 Comments
physical exercise, weight loss and kangoo jumps

Kangoo Jumps — Will these make my Christmas list?

I started putting together my list for Santa this weekend when I came across Kangoo Jumps. They look absolutely ridiculous…and amazingly fun.

I’ve read that the shoes reduce the impact on joints by up to 80%. That got my attention.

Apparently Kangoos have been around since the ’90s. I’m not sure how popular they are, but I’m seeing them more on fitness sites. I’ve never heard of them until this weekend.

To me Kangoos look like ski boots with shock absorbers on the bottom. I’m not sure about the comfort level when jogging. Seems like it lacks flexibility that my regular old Nike’s offer.

In the little research I’ve done, running in Kangoo Jumps is like to running on a trampoline. Apparently you burn up to 50% more calories and cardio in regular sneakers. Since you rebound off the ground, you use your core more to stabilize yourself.

I haven’t run across these in the DC area yet, but I’d love to try them out.

Has anyone in the Peanut Gallery tried Kangoo Jumps?

Related articles