Friday, December 31, 2010

Weakness is a Choice: Get Strong in 2011!

Since when did "weak" women become cool? 
Everyday women are coerced more and more by the media and society to believe that skinny and underweight is sexy and will attract men, power and success.  Girls are led to believe that you can't eat what you want and still be slim, lifting weights will turn you into a manly unnactrative beast, strong is unfeminine, eating anything that isn't labeled fat free will make you fat and that you must run on a treadmill for hours or you will balloon up like a cow.

Girls like this:

are praised on magazine covers and are used as role models for younger women.  But what is looking like that going to bring you, besides hunger pangs, malnutrition and osteoporosis?! Girls like that are a dime a dozen, but girls like this:

are rare.  Girls like this check their self-consciousness at the door.  Girls like this don't get fucked with, nor are they pushovers.  Girls like this are healthy, vibrant and full of life and self-respect.  They don't let anyone tell them what to think, how to feel or how to look.

If you tell a strong girl she can't do something, she's not going to run home and cry about it, she's going to turn around and try harder until she can do it...and ten times harder and better than you.


With physical strength comes mental strength.  In order to become physically capable of something you have to be mentally capable of pushing yourself past the pain and fear that stand in your way.  Yeah, weight lifters have feelings too, we just work past them.


Women can not "bulk" up by weight lifting, we lack the testosterone. Your friggin' cat ways more than your pair of 5 pound dumbbells and you haven't turned into the hulk by picking him up everyday, have you?  Muscle only responds to resistance.  Without resistance, the body will find no reason to change.

So grab 2011 by the balls, kick society in the face and please don't fall into the standards of  being a "weak" woman.  Train hard and challenge yourself.  You owe it to yourself to become confident, healthy and well...untamed :)

(and keep in mind, only weak men are afraid of strong women...)

Thursday, December 30, 2010

The great protein pancake experiment & Bodymedia.

So, ever since I fell in love with peanut flour and started making these pancakes every other day, I've been itching to find other delicious pancake recipes that up the protein and lower the carbs. (Not that there is anything wrong with good carbs, but I just find I feel better and less blobby with higher protein rather than higher carbs).

Recipe #1: Protein Powder Pancakes
(56g protein!)
  • 1 scoop of protein powder
  • 3/4 cup of egg whites
  • 1/8 cup of peanut flour
  • Cinnamon
  • Stevia (or sweetener of choice)
I now understand what people mean when they say protein powder pancakes come out a bit rubbery.  These werent that rubbery, I liked the texture, they were actually thick like a normal pancake it just took a little more effort to slice pieces off with my fork, ha ha. I will definitely be making these again, but probably upping the amount of flour I used.

Recipe #2: Cottage Cheese Pancakes
(28g protein)
  • 1/2 cup egg whites (or 2 eggs)
  • 1/4 cup cottage cheese
  • 1/8 cup peanut flour
  • 2 tbsp cream cheese
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/8 tsp baking soda
  • Cinnamon
  • Stevia (or sweetener or choice)



They look awful in the picture!! But I had no complaints about the taste, they were just a little bit thin.  Once you load 'em up with butter, syrup and other goodies who cares how ugly and misshaped they are! :)
If anyone has any other ideas for protein pancakes I'd love to hear 'em and try 'em out!


Anyways, I had been looking into different armband devices for a while..debating between a heart rate monitor and the Bodymedia/GoWear Fit, but I never wanted to dish out the dollas for one, so I put the Bodymedia on my Christmas list because I couldn't find one bad review on it.  Well, Santa didn't drop it down my non-existent chimmney (not complaining..I got other great gifts!) so I used the Christmas money I recieved to buy it myself after reading April's posts on hers and being totally convinced.

I wore it all day yesterday and burned 1935 calories (I'm only 5'1"!!). What did I do yesterday? I had a bad migraine so I was in bed the majority of the day!..Aside from the hour I dragged myself to the gym for chest/biceps because I was so anxious to try the thing out, ha. So if that doesn't convince you to start picking up some heavy iron and rev the heck out of your metabolism, then I don't know what will!
I don't miss you one bit, cardio.



Get inspired and go drag out your inner beast!!

This is what I currently jam too while lifting:
Deftones - My Own Summer
Most Precious Blood - Mad as the March Hare
Rob Zombie - Dragula
Avenged Sevenfold - Walk (Pantera cover)
Killswitch Engage - The End of Heartache
All That Remains - Two Weeks
Rob Zombie - Never Gonna Stop
Five Finger Death Punch - Never Enough
Jason Aldean - My Kinda Party (this one doesn't fit in very well, haha)
As I Lay Dying - 94 Hours

It does a good job keeping me going :)

So, the other night, on the way home from the grocery store, Steve and I decided to stop off and play in the snow with the Jeep...I got stuck!


but a shovel saved the day:

Then I tried to crush a car..
...but failed because it was too slippery. (I had permission don't worry and it was on its way to the junkyard). These shenanigans definitely came up as moderate-vigorous activity on my Bodymedia haha..I barely even got out of the truck. I always joke that driving that thing is a workout in itself..now I have proof!

If I don't get to update tomorrow, have a safe and snazzy New Years! xoxo

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Christmas; Part Two.

After lazing (is that a word?!) around the house all day on Christmas, I headed out at night to congratulate these lovelies on their wedding:

(Travis, Iris, Me, Steve. Not sure why I'm so hunched over...)

Travis heads back to North Carolina for more training on the 28th, he had just been home for the holidays.

Yes, that's Father Time himself in the background ;) Every picture we have of Travis he is making some ridiculous face, by accident. It's awesome.


Look at the adorable cake Steve's Mom made for them:

Very festive and impressive for only having a few days notice! It was half chocolate and half vanilla :)  After dinner, coffee and cake everyone split and Steve, Jim, the newlyweds and I headed back to their hotel room.

Everyone got changed and we headed to the hotel bar. We got a little rowdy by sharing stories of how we all met and other shenanigan stories. We gave the bartender and the other guests quite a giggle.
Tell me that's not the best post-wedding face ever, ha ha. See, I told you we kept catching Travis during awkward faces :) We left a little after 10pm, when the bar closed and on our way home took a ride through the park to look at the holiday lights display.

I hit the gym this morning, dragging Steve with me. Today was a "back" day for me and full body for him. I did:
  • One Arm DB Rows - 35-40lbs/arm
  • Inverted Rows - bodyweight (These are so hard! I wasn't able to get my chest to the bar...hello new goal!)
  • Face Pulls - 37lbs
  • Deadlifts - 100lbs(?) I'm not sure how much the bar weighs.
  • Barbell Rows - eep! lost track of weight!
  • Cable Rows - 30-40lbs 
  • Wide Grip Pull-Ups - with the machine set at 70-80lbs assist.
...Sorry it's kind of all over the place weight-wise, I was trying to keep track of Steve's workout and weights as well as my own, so I can't exactly remember what I did for each set. I did 4 sets of each though, 6-12 reps (some were pyramid sets).

I got to try out this new bad boy when I got home. I feel so spoiled using this..it whipped up my shake in about a minute which is incredible compared to how long my old one would take..

I snagged a sample of chocolate protein powder from GNC the other day and made a Chocolate Peanut Butter shake :) I love chocolate, but I'm not a big fan of chocolate shakes or icecream, this turned out delicious! (I definitely typed turked out instead of turned. I must have Christmas leftovers on the brain..)


Here we are now, getting snowed in. 12-18 inches is predcited and the wind sounds like it's going to blow the house over. Bleh! I have an interview tomorrow at a personal training studio that I would love to work at and I'm worried the snow is going to mess it up!

 A blizzard is a great excuse to curl up with blankets and hoodies..and bake!..So that's what I'm going to do for the rest of the day! xoxo

Stuff to Check Out:

Saturday, December 25, 2010

A Simple Christmas; Part One.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I hope everyone is having a festive day!  It's just my Dad and I celebrating at home today, so we've been keeping it pretty simple and relaxed. As have the felines..

They're all hopped up on catnip. Lucky little fleabags! I crawled out of bed around 9am and quickly got to making pancakes before tackling this pile:


This is my loot. You know you're nuts when your Dad buys your protein powder for Christmas. Ha! It certainly won't go to waste though.  I also got a new blender! No more 1980s time-warp blender yay! The cup on top of it is really neat, it's clear hard plastic and is insulated for frozen yum-yums on the go. 
I also got a couple of sweaters (love!), a Victoria's Secret gift card, a Frank Sinatra cd and that huge box in the first picture..was a big flat screen tv! I begged my Dad to return it though and keep the money for himself because I'm not a big tv watcher..never even had cable! He insists that I keep it though..


Dinner was very plain and simple...and disgustingly healthy. Turkey, carrots, green beans, corn bread muffin, mashed sweet taters and homemade cranberry sauce! (Recipe below) Not pictured: giant ketchup dipping pile, buttah and parm cheese for my beanies!

Simple Cranberry Sauce;

Ingredients:
  • 2 cups of fresh cranberries
  • 1/2 of orange juice
  • 1/2 cup of honey
  • 1/2 tsp of grated orange zest or 1tsp of lemon juice
Directions:
Bring cranberries, juice and honey to a boil in a saucepan, then simmer on low heat until thick, stirring continuously. Add orange zest/lemon juice.
Done! Perfect if ya like your sauce tart. ;)


 

Stephan and I exchanged our presents last night. That boy went overboard this year, he really did.

 He gave me Dropkick Murphys/Against Me tickets, a new digital camera (I so needed this!), a new mp3 player (!!!) and...well, you're not a gear head until you own snap-on tools socks.
I am damn serious about my wool socks in the winter. This is my first year not recieving tools as a present, lol, so the snap-on socks took their place just fine :)
For him I got a Ruger .22 Rifle with a scope, external magazine and some other accessories.

I think he likes it :) Now I have to go shower, get ready and head to a wedding reception! Well, after we have dessert..Apple Pie a la mode!


Footnote: Erika, why does your Christmas seem so lame and unindulgent?
After re-reading this post I felt I needed to address this after seeing how boring and grinchy my Christmas looked. Well, my mom passed away six years ago, when I was 17, and although it seems like enough time to heal, it never gets any easier. I don't have any brothers or sisters and the rest of our family has split apart a lot over the past couple of years. Therefore, it's just my Dad and I and Christmas is just like any other day for us, just with gifts, a tree and a fat bird in the oven! Reading about everyone else's festivities lets me indulge and celebrate vicariously though ;)
So make sure you really cherish and appreciate the time you have with your families this season. 
I can't even put into words how lucky I am to have the few people I do have with me to celebrate <3

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Happy Humbug Day!

Brace yourself for a good news/bad news post :)

Bad news: True story, December 21st is Humbug Day. Copyrighted and all.
Good news: Ironically it's also Look On The Bright Side Day.

aw, jeez.

Best Good News: Peanut Flour Recipes!

If ya love it so much, why don't ya marry it? :)

Double Peanut Butter Pancakes;

Ingredients;
1/4 cup peanut flour
1/2 cup egg whites
Splash of vanilla almond milk
1/2 tsp baking powder
vanilla extract
loads of cinnamon
stevia

Mix all the goodies together in a bowl and cook in a frying pan sprayed with pam (or similar) on medium heat until the top gets bubbly, then flip. These cook up very fast. I'm not sure how many it makes, I just spoon random amounts onto the pan...I usually get about 4 or 5 though.

My Toppings; Cinnamon raisin peanut butter, bananas, sugar free syrup and more cinnamon!
(Not pictured: my drool ;) )


Peanut Butter Banana Protein Shake;

Ingredients;
1/2 sliced frozen banana
30g or 1 scoop of vanilla whey protein powder
1/2 cup vanilla almond milk
around 10g of peanut flour
1 cup crushed ice
Loads of cinnamon

Mix in blender and enjoy!


Peanut Butter Honey Drink;

Ingredients;
1/2 Container of honey flavored greek yogurt (I used Chobani)
10g of peanut flour
1/2 banana
1/4 cup vanilla almond milk
1 cup of crushed ice, or less
Cinnamon, lots!
Stevia

Mix and slurp! It comes out more watery than a smoothie.


Peanut Butter and Cream Cheese Fruit Dip;

Ingredients;
1/4 cup peanut flour
Water
Pinch of salt
1 packet of stevia
Cinnamon (optional)
2 tablespoons of cream cheese

Mix the first five ingredients together, add enough water to get the consistency you'd like. Then add in the cream cheese and mix. Eat with apples or bananers!


More Good news: I'm done with classes until next semester! I go back exactly a month from today and this month is going to FLY by, I know it.
Bad news: The past couple weeks have been nothing but rough, between finals and the holiday.  I'm not a big fan of the holidays. I really don't have any family besides my Dad to celebrate with, so the holidays are kind of a big bummer for me. (Guess I'm not celebrating look on the bright side day! haha) So I've been spending a lot of time kind of bummin' around, going through the motions and...sleeping. Hence, why I haven't updated in so long, my bad!

Good news: I've been keeping up with training though of course :) Yesterday looked like this:

Workout; back.
  • One arm DB rows.
  • Cable rows.
  • Face pulls.
  • Wide grip pull-ups (still assisted..)
  • Lat pulldowns.
  • Deadlifts.
Good news: I upped my dumb bell rows to 40lbs/arm and did 90lbs of added weight on my deadlifts.
Bad news: I had been seriously underestimating myself on deadlifts by only adding 50lbs onto the bar before! I'm definitely feeling it today though and will definitely be taking the day off..since I went back to the gym at night with Steve, Mike and Jen because I finally convinced Steve to start going, after 3 years. I didn't work out though, I just showed them a

Basic full-body strength workout:
  • DB Rows.
  • Chest presses.
  • Shoulder Presses.
  • Deadlifts.
  • Squats.
  • Lat pull-downs.
  • Rope pull-downs.
  • Curls.
I'm so proud of Steve, he hates the gym and working out (I guess opposites do attract..) but he made it through the whole thing and even put up with me poking him in the armpits while doing shoulder presses :)
worst. trainer. ever.

Dinner tonight was cajun-rubbed tempeh strips with green beans and smashed sweet taters:


I also decorated cookies today too. I'm not a total Miss. Scrooge yet...


Yes there are Jeep cookies in there. Nerdy much?

I'll end this post with a good read:

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

A Lumpy Day.

It feels like its been forever! This is my week of finals at school, so I'm stressed to the max. (What else is new?!) Its almost over though!

Needless to say I woke up this morning feeling like a big lump. I just felt crummy. I mean, how can you not when its 10 degrees outside? I could not get myself going, so I ended up going back to sleep for an hour. Oops. I felt better when I woke up and ended up getting some Christmas shopping done.

When I got home I still wasn't in the mood to go to the gym. Plus it was a leg day, which I'm not gonna lie...are my least favorites. So what's a girl to do?
Bring the leg brutality at home:

First I grabbed a heavy bag of road salt and did step-ups on a kitchen chair. These were rough!  I also managed to make dinner in between sets ;)
Then I dragged out my full-body mirror and barbell for some dead lifts, squats and lunges.

Took about an hour, not as heavy as I would have done if I got my butt to the gym, but this week is wearing me out and I just want to sleep sleep sleep.

While out shopping today I took my first trip to Trader Joe's and snagged a few goodies.

PEANUT FLOUR! Holy crap, I am so excited about this. I already cracked it open and mixed it with water, stevia and a little sea salt and ate it with greek yogurt. 31 grams of protein, what up!
I also got some balsamic vinagairette that I marinaded some chicken in for dinner and can't wait to try it with tempeh too.

I've been doing good with keeping my sweet teeth at bay at night, here are some of my latest snacks/meals:


Breakfast cookie! (Dipped in greek yogurt)
Made with oats, mashed banana, almond milk, natural peanut butter and vanilla protein powder. I popped it into the freezer to speed up the hardening.



Frozen greek yogurt, banana, cherries, cinnamon and peanut butter. I'd also like you to meet my new PB lover..

Ingredients: Roasted Peanuts. That's what's up.

Pesto tuna pita. I couldn't resist snapping a picture because of how neat it looks. Haha, I quickly made a mess of it though :)

In other news, it snowed like crazy the other night and the roads were pure ice. I ended up losing control of my jeep, more than once, and spinning out (don't worry, I was giggling like a little kid the whole time, winter driving doesn't bother me.) I managed to live though. My boyfriend is also a sweetheart for filling up my tires when I was too cold and lazy to..

I seriously hate working on my truck or doing anything to it in the winter..or even thinking about it. I'd much rather work out in the humidity than in the cold.  My tire was down to 5psi (should be at 30). We couldn't find the leak though.


This big beast is just my project Jeep though. I do have another Jeep that isn't so heavily modified and does much better in the snow and on long distance trips. I just drive this one around town because it's fun as heck. I can't wait to get it fixed up and back in action though..


Tomorrow I have to meet with my Algebra teacher, finish/submit my research paper and finish my speech which is due friday (counts as my final!). I also plan to do more gift shopping. I'm exhausted just thinking about it, but happy baking thoughts are keeping me motivated ;) good night!