Monday, January 31, 2011

Gimme that funk.

I haven't been able to get this song out of my head all weekend. WHY.


Anyways, hope everyone is having a good Monday!
Good news...my internship ended on Friday and I got the job! I'm officially a trainer now and I love it. Now I have to start hustlin' and getting clients...and work on the fact that I'm painfully shy, haha. I'll get over it.  I've been spending my free time writing/studying workouts..I've filled half a notebook so far.


So, today I decided I'd post up one of my charts from my bodymedia, if anyone is interested, since I've been crankin' lately.


This was from Friday. 2235 calories burned for the whole day with only 7342 steps taken. The spike between 2pm and 4pm was my leg work-out, which burned a little over 300 calories.  I was up at 5am to get to work for 7, didn't train anyone until 10:30, which explains the big spike then...and I was obviously sitting from 8am-10am. I'm struggling to eat to 2200 though..I thought eating 2000 was leaving me stuffed, oh man..totally not complaining though!! I hope posting this helps anyone struggling to put on muscle or make the decision to choose lifting..I'm just over five feet tall and I've definitely screwed with my metabolism a lot in the past and I'm now in the process of fixing it by lifting and eating more and it is obviously working :)

Also, my arms are starting to look better since eating more! What up, what up.  Sorry about the almost boob shot, those suckas tend to get in the way..(especially when I'm doing upright rows. Yeah..)

I went out yesterday and did some shopping. Blowing my money on all totally practical stuff....;) I needed a lunchbox for work though, because I bring food everywhere, I also picked up some new placemats and a new mug for tea.

Can ya guess I'm half Irish? I rep it hard too.

My big new lunch box, it doesn't look it but when it opens up its actually pretty wide. Hopefully it fits all my food haha!


Thank you Target for making sure my tootsies will be given their own sugar fix via cupcakes. I bought a new "outfit" too...I love how gym clothes now double as work clothes.

I was done at work before 8am, so I headed to the gym early and started at the pull-up machine because I like to warm up supersetting pull-ups and push-ups and one of the new trainers there came up to me and complimented my work but told me my push-ups were whack (well, he was much more polite than that). Instead of doing them with my arms out wide, he told me to try 'em with my elbows pointed back.
Big freakin' difference! So much harder.  I know no one likes unsolicited advice, but if it's at the gym and from someone with half a brain..I'm not bothered by it. I mean I myself would never do it to someone, unless I was at work or knew the person, but I do appreciate help. I'm always looking for improvemnt and new ways to challenge myself.

Then I noticed he was wearing a Crossfit shirt, so I naturally had to pick his brain about that and he talked for a while about it and before I knew it homeboy had me doing box jumps onto benches and tabata squats. 

He showed me some other stuff and I asked him to help me out with my form on deadlifts and keeping my back straight.  He was happy to give me a hand and it was definitely very helpful because I go to the gym by myself and never have anyone to correct me or anything so it's hard to tell what I'm screwing up. So I ended up signing up for a free session with him, which is in a couple weeks. I told him to give me an all out Crossfit style work out. Finally I get to get my ass kicked!! Good times.

I'm off to eat, relax, run errands and catch up on blog reading, should be a nice afternoon :)

Dirt Talk;
  • Did you hear the rumor about Trader Joe's discontinuing their peanut flour? Is this a sign of the apocalypse or what?! There's always this, but still..
  • Planet Fitness, the worst gym ever? "The only thing they allow you to lift is a pizza box."
  • Does your backyard look like this too? We're getting another three day storm starting tomorrow...

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Kickin' it up a notch in 2011!

Ok, so I'm a little late on the 2011 goal setting wagon, but I have a confession to make....I feel like I'm slackin' at life! In my head I'm giving it my all and in my head I'm doing the best I can and in my head I'm making the best choices...but am I really?

The fact that I have doubts means I'm probably not. So that means it's time to clean up :) There's no better feeling in the world than knowing you are at your best (in terms of anything!) so my goal is to be my best ever this year (totally freakin' cheesy, I know).  Since I'm so passionate about fitness/health/good eats..that's where I'm going to start because having that area of my life solid and where I want it to be makes me feel the best and gives me confidence to clean up other areas of my life too.

  • No more salt! I've already been on this kick for a few weeks. I was the girl who would literally DUMP salt on my food. I did this for years. It was so bad and I had been trying to quit this for a LONG time, but a few weeks ago I said enough is enough and stopped cold turkey. I don't miss it one bit!
  • Slow digesting protein before bed. Yeah, I've talked about this before..the fact that I have chow feasts before bed. Nothing wrong with that, it just makes me feel yucky when I'm trying to sleep and bloated when I wake up. I'll be having a glass of delicous chocolate milk before bed and that's it (unless I suddenly fall in love with cottage cheese..)
  • No added sugar.  Really not that hard since I barely eat anything processed, but still. (And I'm very mindful of the 80/20 rule, there is always room for a treat every so often!)
  • ...But no sugar free junk. This was my next step after cutting out salt and it's been going good so far! Nothing with artificial sweeteners! (oh my sugar free syrup...)
  • The infamous macros. I just recently started getting really serious about watching mine, I was real lax about them before, but I got curious so I tracked a couple days. This helps keep me in line to make sure I'm getting enough protein and not too much sugar/carbs, etc.
  • Try new foods and recipes. This is always on my to-do list.
  • Move more. I tend to sit on my butt a lot when I'm home..I mean, a lot. I like to read and relax in front of the computer/tv, which is fine but more often than not I do it too much...I blame winter!!
  • Amp up my routine! My split is getting...too mundane and borderline boring.  Now that I have my hands on p90x and I've watched it all, I can really see that if followed it's a pretty legit program (which is a lot to say for something from an infomercial..)  I don't plan on following it, but there are a lot of new weight training moves in there that I'm going to incorporate into my current routine to spice it up a bit.
    • I'm also dying to try Crossfit. I have been for a while, but I can't afford to join another gym at this point, but I'm hoping to try it out sometime soon.
  • More plyos, please.  When I train people I give them a handful of strength exercises followed by a few minutes of plyos..very beneficial and I want to start doing that myself.
  • Focus more. Uh what the heck am I doing with my back in this picture??
Way too rounded and my booty is not out far enough...

That's how it should look.  I'm lucky I didn't really hurt myself.
  • Be more intuitive. I need to listen to myself more.
  • Take better care of my Jeeps. Yeah...I slack on this during winter because I really don't want to crawl under a truck and wrench when it's 7 degrees out.  Especially because when you bang your hand on something when it's that cold it hurts 20x worse. Yes, I am a wimp in the cold.
  • Be more organized. Write things down, make more lists (yay!), keep my room organized.
  • Do more things that scare the shit out of me. I think that the only way to grow as a person is to do things that totally terrify and intimidate you. It's worked for me so far.
  • BE HAPPY WITH MYSELF. Seriously. I need to take a step back every once in a while and just be thankful for what and who I am and how far I've come :)
This whole thing sounds strict, but I like challenging myself. I'm a go big or go home kind of gal. Anyone with me?!

Dirt Talk;
  • Do you slack more in the winter too?
Winter makes me feel like crap. It makes me want to curl up in bed in big sweat pants and hoodies and eat peanut butter, nap and not move for six months.  I'm so much more motivated in the warmer, sunnier months. (We're totally getting another Nor'easter tomorrow....)

Monday, January 24, 2011

Cough, Cough, Cheers!

Cheers...to Swamp Thangs:


Nah, not a Shamrock Shake...just my germ fighting protein shake (with spinach, flax, almond milk and banana.)  Bottoms up!  I was sick all weekend and these were lifesavers!  Being sick is such a bummer.  I had an awful sore throat and didn't get out of bed all day Saturday and Sunday.  Atleast I got to catch up on sleep though.  I was glad to get my appetite back last night after living off chicken soup, green tea and ice cubes (to soothe my throat).  I got myself well enough to get back to work early this morning at 6:30 to train one person (not easy when you're losing your voice!) and then I got to leave...to hit the gym for the first time in 4 days.

Back; 4 sets of each.
  • One arm DB rows 35-40lbs
  • One arm cable rows 32-42lbs
  • Face pulls 37-47lbs
  • Close grip pulldown - 70lbs
  • Pull-ups with hold at top (as many as possible, 70-80lbs assist)
    • supersetted with
  • Push-ups (as many as possible)
  • Seated low cable row 60-70lbs.
I went easy on myself since I'm still not feeling 100% but I still had a decent workout :)

Cheers...to National Peanut Butter Day!

Uh, best holiday ever!



That would be my current nut butter collection. I swear I can explain why I have 5 jars of cinnamon raisin peanut butter! The raisins get all piled up at the bottom of the jar, while all the good, creamy stuff is on top, so when ya get to the bottom of the jar it's all raisins...and I just can't bring myself to part with the peanut butter covered raisins. I plan on using them in some delicous baked goods soon.

I also recieved this in the mail today!

All wrapped up in bubblewrap and labeled fragile! They know what's up. I order this stuff on Amazon.com since there aren't any Trader Joe's in reasonable distance. This means tomorrow's breakfast will definitely be pancakes ;)

Oh and my favorite way to eat peanut butter...right here:

Best pre-workout snack.  ooh yeah.

Cheers...to healthy fudge!

Recipe from here! I saw it this morning and it was love at first sight.  Sorry for the awful pic, the fudge was camera shy..in other words I was rushing so that I could just scarf it down.

I decided to make the Peanut Butter version (in honor of the holiday, duh):


  • 3 tbsp of coconut butter

  • 1 tbsp natural peanut butter

  • 80g banana (about 1/2)

  • Cinnamon

  • Teeny bit of sea salt



  • Mix it all in your blender, spread it onto a dish or plastic container and freeze til it hardens!

    Cheers...to smelling like summer!
    It was -7 degrees on my way to work this morning. I was less than thrilled.  Ever want something so bad that it hurts? Yeah, I want summer (or atleast spring!) to come that bad.  I have this stuff to kind of hold me over:


    You know when you go to the beach and get all sun-tan-lotioned-up..and then get covered in sand? That's what this stuff smells like, plus coconut. (I swear that's a good thing.) ..And I'll be a nice girlfriend and thank Steve for buying this for me ;)

    Cheers...to having good taste!

    ..In more ways than one..This lovely lady happens to have the same pink heart plate as me :) I'm not the only one in love with Target's Valentine's Day stuff.


    I'm loading up on super healthy goodies today to make up for my lack of food/being a sicko all weekend, hence why you can barely see my plate, haha. 

    I'm done blabbing for now, cheers to having a good week :)
    (My internship ends this week and I start class tomorrow..dun dun dun!)

    Dirt Talk;
    • How are you celebrating Peanut Butter day?!

    Friday, January 21, 2011

    Weightlifting FAQ; Part Two: What does that mean?!

    What up Friday! Every day this week has felt like Friday and I've been so whacked all week trying to figure out what day it was.  The snow has me so brain-screwed!
    Anyways, my second round of FAQ is a bunch of terms related to weight lifting that when I started out I had no clue what all these words meant.  Trying to read articles and learn about body building while having no idea what these words meant was not very constructive! So if you're where I was starting out, this one's for you :)

    Common Weight Lifting Terms;

    Isolation Exercises - Exercises that involve only one joint movement.  For example, with a bicep curl only your elbow joint is moving.  These moves are used to isolate one specific muscle at a time.  These are great for correcting any weakness or imbalance in any particular muscle.

    Compound Exercises - Moves that involve more than one joint movement. Squats for example, you're bending at your hips, knees, ankles.  These moves allow you to work multiple muscle groups at a time and are great for building muscle. They also save you time at the gyms.

    Hypertrophy (Muscular) - Another word for an increase in  muscle size as a result of strength training.

    Hardgainer - Someone who has trouble gaining muscle.  There is also such thing as "Hardgainer Training" which is specific for hardgainers..

    Cutting - A bodybuilding phase that focuses on losing body fat to look more defined.

    Bulking - A bodybuilding phase focused on gaining muscle, which usually inevitably involves gaining body fat as well. (Bulking is followed by cutting, gain the muscle/fat, cut and lose the fat to show the muscles).

    Muscle Confusion - The idea that to continue seeing progress while weight training you need to switch up your routine every once in a while to shock your muscles and prevent them from adapting to your routine.

    Progressive Overload - The most effective way to build muscle..the idea that you need to keep upping the resistance/weight for each exercise.  Your muscles have to be continually overloaded and challenged to stimulate growth.

    Sets - the number of reps you complete inbetween resting.
    If you see them written like this: Squats 3x10, that would mean 3 sets of Squats, 10 reps each time.

    -Supersets - Doing two different sets of an exercise in a row without rest. (Best to do with opposing muscle groups, chest/back, biceps/triceps, etc). For example, a set of bicep curls immediately followed by tricep extensions.

    -Pyramid sets - a set starting using a lower weight with higher reps and increasing the weight as you lower the reps. Example:
    Set 1: 12 reps @ 30lbs.
    Set 2: 10 reps @ 35lbs.
    Set 3: 8 reps @ 40lbs.
    Set 4: 6 reps @ 45 lbs.

    -Drop sets - Great for burning out your muscles..after reaching failure during your sets with a higher weight, drop the weight down until you reach failure again, and so on.

    -Negative Sets - Great for improving strength..use a weight you can't complete a rep with and begin at the end of the rep. For example doing a bicep curl you would start holding the weight up by your shoulder and slowly lowering it down keeping your muscle tight. These are great for doing pull-ups too..start at the top of the bar and lower yourself down.

    Splits - A routine that "splits" up different muscle groups and works them on different days. Example, my current 4-day split looks like this:
    Day 1: Shoulders and Triceps.
    Day 2: Back.
    Day 3: Active Rest Day.
    Day 4: Chest and Biceps.
    Day 5: Legs.
    Day 6 + 7: Off.

    Fast-Twitch Muscle Fibers - Developed by heavy weight/low rep explosive training.  These fibers are used during anaerobic activity (powerlifting, sprinting).  Every one is born with different amounts of fast and slow twitch muscle fibers.

    DOMS - "Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness"  This is the stiffness/soreness you feel usually the day after a work out...you know, when it hurts to even bend down to sit on the toilet. It peaks about 24-72 hours after your workout and can last up to a week.  Sufficient rest/recovery, warming up, stretching and cooling down, eating enough protein and gradually progressing can help prevent this.
    Lactic Acid - Lack of oxygen in your muscles leads to the build up of lactic acid, creating the fatigued/burning feeling you feel during a work out.  Lactic Acid does not cause DOMS, it is gone from your muscles about an hour after your work out.  Lactic Acid is also used as an energy source but that's a whole other story!

    Pump - The temporary increase in muscle size that you get while lifting, caused by blood being trapped in your muscle tissues. (It means very little in terms of muscle growth, do not judge your work out based on your pump!)

    Amino Acids - The building blocks of protein.  There are 20 of 'em, 10 that our bodies can produce and the other 10 must be supplied by food.  Chemical reactions in your body and other bodily functions rely on amino acids.  The body does not store amino acids like it does fats and carbs. 
    Complete proteins are high quality proteins that contain all of the essential amino acids that are needed for muscle growth and repair..vegetable protein sources lack essential amino acids more often than animal proteins (there are some exceptions, such as Quinoa).

    Periodization - A method that uses periods of training, some easier than others, in order to let the body rest in order to grow strong. So, a period of light training followed by a period of heavy training. (There's much more to it than that, but that's just the basic idea.  There's a lot of planning around volume, intensity, duration and frequency).

    One Rep Max - The heaviest amount of weight that a lifter can lift for one rep with good form.

    _________________________________________________________________

    I would have posted all this yesterday, but my USB chord crapped the bed and I couldn't upload any pictures, but luckily Steve lent me his. Life saver!

    
    Can ya guess what I did at the gym yesterday?!
    I've grown to love leg days. I used to dread them but now I've learned to embrace the pain. Unfortunately, my lovely tube socks (which I own in every color imagineable) served no purpose because I didn't make it to my deadlifts, which I save for last, because I upped my squat and wide squat weights (almost at my bodyweight..finally!) and by the time I was done it felt like someone had slugged me in the gut with a baseball bat...multiple times.

    I know I've posted this pic before, but come on, holy motivation...can I get a hell yeah?

    In the land of yum, I tried out a couple new recipes...I thought it might be fun to try "breading" chicken with this stuff, since the jar has been sitting in the cabinet for a while:

    I mixed it with some italian seasoning.


    ...but not enough seasoning. They weren't bad but they weren't woahh-baby-good either. I'll make 'em again though :). I also made homemade frozen protein bars:


    Basically just natural peanut butter, vanilla protein powder, oatmeal, raisins and flax seed. So good frozen, but they're not really portable because they melt and get all sticky and mushy. I'm going to be trying out more protein bar recipes when I finish these bad boys off.

    And my new favorite lunch, egg white salad with pita chips. (Sorry, crappy cell phone pic.)


    Since I woke up with a sore throat/cold this morning I craved soup for lunch. So I had some black bean soup that I added some chicken to for extra protein.



    I'm off to start a lovely weekend of chugging green tea and being a bum so that this cold stays away..classes start next week and it's gonna be a long one!

    Tuesday, January 18, 2011

    Weight Lifting FAQ; Part One: Starting out!

    I've noticed a lot of other bloggers mentioning incorporating weight lifting into their routines as part of the new year and we all know that January is the busiest gym month, so why not start a series of FAQs about lifting?
    (Make sure you are healthy enough to exercise before beginning any sort of routine. I am a certified trainer, but your doctor knows best.)

    What is the best routine for losing fat?
    In order to lose fat your nutrition and calories in vs. calories out must be on point.  You can do all the routines in the world and not lose an ounce if you're not eating correctly and creating a deficit.  Although, lifting heavy is a great way to burn calories because it keeps your metabolism elevated after your done working out. (This is referred to as "after-burn". By lifting you are damaging muscle fibers and your body must use more energy throughout the day in order to repair them and make them stronger).

    I want to lift, but I don't want to look like a bodybuilder, should I still lift?
    In order to look like that you must truly dedicate your life to bodybuilding.  It takes a lot of hard work, persistance and time to develop a figure like that, especially if you are a woman (we do not have enough testosterone to "get big"). If you are just an average lifter who wants to incorporate weights into your exercise routine this is not something you have to worry about.  So, yes, lift! It is amazingly beneficial to your overall health.

    How much weight should I use for each exercise?
    In order to experience all of the benefits of weight training and change your physique you have to stress your muscles with more resistance than they are used to.  Start with a lighter weight and keep working your way up to a weight that you can perform (with proper form!) for the number of reps your routine calls for and you feel like you can't push out another rep. It is very important that you have proper form.  If you can't perform your set with good form, stop, and drop the weight.  Remember that weight is relevant...what's heavy for Joe Biceps over there might not be heavy to you, vice versa, so lift enough to challenge yourself..forget everyone else.

    How can I tone such-and-such body part?
    "Toning" is usually viewed as an evil word in the weight lifting community, so be careful when ya use it ;).  You simply can not "tone" muscle, you either gain 'em or lose 'em.  Tone/sculpt/firm are all words used to make muscle gains sound less threatening to those who have pink dumbbell syndrome and are concerned with "bulking up." You can not spot train or "tone" a particular body part, you must build muscle and lose overall body fat in order to reveal the muscles underneath!

    How do I choose a routine?
    If you are a beginner you're going to want to do a full-body routine 3x a week on non-consecutive days (ex. Monday, Wednesday, Friday).  It is important to work all of your major muscles in order to prevent imbalance.  Your routine should work your chest, back, shoulders, biceps, triceps, quads and hamstrings.
    • Chest- bench press, chest press with dumbbells, push-ups.
    • Back- lat pull-downs, one-armed dumbbell rows, barbell rows, pull-ups.
    • Shoulders- overhead shoulder press, lateral raise, front raise.
    • Biceps- bicep curls, hammer curls, concentration curls.
    • Triceps- dips, tricep extensions, kickbacks.
    • Quads- squats, lunges, leg presses.
    • Hamstrings- deadlifts, lunges.
    These are just examples of base exercises, there are tons of variations of these exercises, but these are the simplest and most straight forward.  You'll want to choose atleast one exercise per muscle group and perform 3 sets of 8-12 reps of each exercise with atleast 1 minute rest inbetween.  Your routine should take you no more than an hour to complete.

    The more I train, the more I gain, right?
    Wrong! More time in the gym does not mean more muscles. Get in the gym, do what you gotta do, do it well and get out! Your rest days are just as important as your workout days, your muscles need adequate time to recover (you're stressing and tearing them, remember?).  This is also why you should not train on consecutive days.  Your body builds muscles when you are resting, not training and not getting enough rest will lead to overtraining and will make it nearly impossible for you to make any gains.  You are also putting tremendous stress on your nervous system, so make sure you are getting enough sleep as well!

    Will I keel over if I don't have a protein shake after my training session?
    No, there is no secret muscle building or weight gaining ingredient in protein shakes or anything in them that makes them superior to real food.  However, they do offer a very convenient way for you to get enough protein quickly after your workout. This is very crucial to helping your body replenish itself and begin rebuilding your muscles after you workout. Ideally you want to consume something protein-rich within 30 minutes of weight training.  If you go home to a nice slab of chicken waiting for you as your protein source that's great, if you don't have time for that..a protein shake is perfect!
    Conclusion: there is nothing special about protein shakes and you will not miss out on strength gains if you do not consume them, as long as you are getting enough protein otherwise and have another protein source after training. Shakes are a mere convenience to add more protein to your diet since sometimes it is difficult to get adequate protein through food alone.

    What about cardio?
    The amount of cardio you do is up to you and your goals.  This is a highly debatable question that I really don't want to get into, but if you do decide to do cardio while you are trying to make muscle gains make sure you are eating enough calories so that you don't create a deficit!! Cardio is great for your health, but if you want to change your overall physique you should be focusing on lifting. High intensity interval training and plymometrics are great forms of cardio because they are both anaerobic activities.
    If you can't do cardio on non-weight days either do it after lifting (so that you are able to devote more energy for lifting) or incorporate a few plyometric moves in between weight sets.
    If you are wondering, I do one day of light cardio (incline walking and plyos) per week and four days of split bodypart lifting.


    Always remember, GO HARD! I promise you that you are stronger and more capable than you think you are! "If you don't get nervous before you train, you don't train hard enough." ;)

    Stay tuned for more FAQs! And please don't hesitate asking me any questions!! xoxo

    Sunday, January 16, 2011

    A day in the life of my tastebuds..

    I've been wanting to have a day where I post a whole day's eats. Meals, snacks, everything..this is not that post..but I do plan on doing it soon!
    It wouldn't be a wintery Sunday if I didn't start with protein pancakes for breakfast. (Who am I kidding? I eat these pretty much every other day..)

    ..but today I added cocoa powder to the peanut flour paste that I spread on 'em for a nice chocolatey addition to my morning :)


    Blending the mix in the blender gets the egg whites good and fluffy.  After breakfast I relaxed for a bit before getting dressed for gym time. Right before I left I ate a banana-poop for extra energy:

    Banana with chocolate almond butter and agave.  I could easily live off of this snack!  At the gym I did a lovely back work out that looked like this:
    (4 sets of everything, 8-12 reps)
    • Pull-ups (these are sort of my warm-up, I like to do them first to use all my energy to get as close as I can to doing an unassisted one and then add assistance which was 60-70lbs today. 2 more pegs down and I got it..!)
    • One arm DB rows - 2 sets @ 35lbs/arm, 2 sets @ 40lbs/arm
    • Inverted rows - bodyweight
    • Face pulls
    • One arm cable rows - 35lbs/arm
    • Barbell rows - 60lbs
    • Stiff-legged dead lifts - 5x5 @ 95lbs
    When I got home I whipped up a banana, strawberry and blueberry vanilla protein shake.  The specs of berries in it reminded me of funfetti cake. You can't really see them in the picture though :(


    For lunch I needed to have something different.  The best way to get out of a food rut I've discovered is to force yourself out! So I decided to try making egg salad using egg whites (from a carton).  Very easy..cook 'em up in a frying pan like you're making an omelette and then smush 'em up with mayo, hummus, celery and black pepper! So. Good.

    Carrots with ketchup (is that really that wierd? I've been told it is..), green beans with parm and I threw the egg white salad inside of a pita (Joseph's) with spinach and peppers.

    Excuse that it's smudged all over my finger, haha. I did mention that I eat like a savage!

    Yesterday Steve and I took a nice 3 hour round trip drive to the other side of the state to look at a Jeep that he ended up buying.  On the way home I talked him into stopping at Whole Foods. He's never been (and is totally not into "healthy" foods..). There are no Whole Foods within reasonable distance from where we live..but lucky for me we happened to drive by one :) :)

    The loot:

    Typical! Justin's chocolate almond butter, a packet of maple almond butter and Artisana coconut butter (my first time trying it!)

    Butternut squash ravioli. Totally one of my favorite foods!

    My favorite Luna flavor besides caramel nut brownie. I can't find cookies 'n cream in stores around here. booo. I definitely ate this yesterday with chocolate almond butter spread on top and honest to god got weak in the knees it was so good and chocolatey...

    So, today we took the trip back to pick up the Jeep Steve bought yesterday because it needed to be trailered home.
    Up on the trailer ready to go!  This Jeep looks just like mine, it's crazy. We plan on getting nerdy and taking side by side pictures of them. His and hers.

    I ate dinner right when I got home. Nothing exciting..except the addition of coconut butter :)

     I felt like a dog with peanut butter on the roof of my mouth eating the taters with coconut butter because it hardened up a bit and got thick haha (hey now!). Still deeeelicious though.


    Now it's 10pm and I have to be up at 4:45am to train someone at 6:30 and I still have to make my breakfast and lunch for tomorrow before bed. Monday is not looking promising! Goodnight! xoxo
    

    Dirt Talk; What do you think about this?
    This is so wild to me, because I constantly stuff my face in front of Steve..and usually eat more than him and he knows it. He also understands I'm trying to put on muscle (and I have drilled in his head that I will not end up looking like a she-hulk). We joke a lot about how much I eat..he's one of those whackos who can go days without eating and not keel over. I don't get it.

    Friday, January 14, 2011

    Sweat and..snow?!

    ...totally a more suiting blog name now, really.

    • Does anyone know how I can reply to comments??
    Blogger won't let me and I want to reply to the lovely comments I get!
    (Thanks to anyone that can help!)

    Anyways..I feel like I haven't updated in forever, but um, I may or may not have been buried in snow.


    My town set the record for second highest snow fall in the state, 29 inches! Wednesday morning I fueled up with protein pancakes and headed out to part the snow sea that was my front yard. The snow was up to my thighs and my job was turning this:


    Into this:

    Just looking at these pictures again makes my spine want to crumble and my arms drop off.  I kept running out of places to pile the snow that I was shoveling! When I was done with that I had to dig out the beast:

    Nothing like shoveling your truck, haha. Ridiculous.  Then I went on to do some of this:

    My favorite part was chopping, aka beating the crap out of, the big pile of snow to get it to crumble in order to snowblow it.  It was like the winter versions of doing these:


    So awesome! Excellent way to get out a little anger too ;). You can't tell me I'm the only one who gets enjoyment out of beating snow with a metal shovel, can ya?! :) Needless to say, I was WIPED when I was done..and famished. I ate like a savage when I got in the house..seriously.  I won't go into details but there were no forks involved, just me and some leftover turkey ;)

    I checked my Body Media and I had burned 600 calories during this endeavor. That explains my turkey savagery.. Speaking of bodymedia and my love affair with it...I've been eating what it's been telling me I burn (right around 2,000+ calories/day) and I've been able to up some weights at the gym, I have more energy and I no longer get hungry so often.  Win, Win! The only downside is that holy hell I am SO stuffed all.the.time and I usually run out of stuff to eat. It's all good, though..so far.

    Since it's crazy cold all over the country, (we hit 0 degrees this morning!) I need to share with you a couple skinsavers of mine.

    Burt's Bees Almond Milk Hand Creme.  Incredible. It smells like marzipan and is totally my jam for dry hands and elbows. I wouldn't expect anything less from Burt, whoever he may be.

    Victoria's Secret Drenched in Pink lotion. Enough said.  Even better I got this 50% off. The majority of the body sprays, perfumes and lotions I use are VS. I can't get enough!

    So, I'm halfway done with my internship and so far it has been so rewarding and motivating, not to mention fun and I've learned a ton. I have three clients that I've been training so far and yesterday I taught my barbell-based strength class (definitely nerve-wracking, but I did it!)  Each person has told the owner after their session how hard I worked them and this morning I was (nicely) referred to as a slavedriver! (I told Steve about it and he told me that must have been my shining moment. He knows me.)
    I think it's safe to say I'm doing what I'm supposed to! My homework so far has been studying these:


    Has anyone ever tried either of these? I only watched the TRX one so far and I can't wait to try it.  It's all bodyweight stuff and it seems like an incredible workout for your core.  The P90x commercials look intense and I have been dying to see what it's all about so I'm so stoked to have it in my possession for the week.

    My eats have been nothing short of boring lately. Even my shake looks bland! :(  But I promise you it was delicous! I'm in the biggest food rut ever.  I feel like there's always something to do and never enough time to try out new recipes.  This morning I was up before 5am to make it to work at 6:30, I never thought I'd be one of those early morning trainers haha.


    On the other hand, I am completely and shamelessly addicted to sweet potatoes mashed with almond milk. (Have you noticed all my dinner pics include sweet taters and green beans? I have a problem.) The chicken on the plate is baked and topped with hummus and taboulle.  That's about as exciting as it gets..

    Dirt Talk;
    • Have you ever done an internship? How did it work out..did ya get the job? (Hopefully I do..)
    • How do you get yourself out of a food rut?!