Feel Good Friday

Good morning, babes!!!
It's FRRRIIIIIIIIDAY :)
Just a lil' excited about that....Anything fun planned for you this weekend?
Want a reminder about some things to be happy about? Check out this website!  http://www.thingstobehappyabout.com/ It's based on a woman's book "Things to Be Happy About" and you explore the site, letting your spirits lift.

Share something you found on there that resonated with you!

Feel the Burn Thursday

Good morning, girls!
I hope you're having a great day :)

Let us know what great workouts you've been up to!

Mini Me, I've been researching the hot summer runs a bit more.  Here's an article on Runner's World about it.  I guess the foods you eat the night before a long summer run can affect you?  "The night before summer long runs, he sticks with salads and fruits, which are not only light but also have a high water content to assist with hydration."  They also suggest running waaaay early in the morning to beat  the heat.  And also to let your body set your pace- not pushing yourself.  "In other words, when it's hot, slow down. "If it ain't happening, it ain't happening," says Dunaway. "What we say here is 'Don't be a hero in the heat.'"  Also, your body stresses when it's running in the heat, especially if you're in air conditioning the rest of the day.  The article suggests exposing yourself to heat in increments throughout the whole day so you adjust to the heat.  "Gradually exposing yourself to the hot weather--for as little as 30 minutes a day--helps induce changes that make the body more tolerant of heat stress."

This other article from the same site suggests pairing a run w/ a swim.  Like run to the pool, swim, and run back.  It will help bring down your body temperature. 

Take care of yourselves, ladies!!!

Whatcha Eatin' Wednesday

Good morning, healthy munchers!  Hope you're making it a fresh start to a new day :)

What yummies have you been enjoying lately?  I have a hard time w/ lettuce (silly, I know), so I am always really excited when I find a new way to get in fresh veggies that doesn't involve a salad!  Last weekend a friend of mine made the yummiest and simplest snack ever and I loved it!  Which is weird, b/c I usually don't like cucumber.  He sliced a fresh cucumber, laid them out on a plate, squeezed fresh lemon juice all over them (really soak the slices), and sprinkled on coarse sea salt.  Eat raw just like that!  The lemon juice softens them a little bit.  Better even if they're chilled in the fridge a little.  Actually looks kind of pretty on a serving platter, too :)  So I picked up some cucumbers last night & made some.  Depending on how big your cucumber is, I found about half a cucumber to half a lemon is about right. 

Share some fresh new recipes!!!

Tuesday Motivation

Good morning, girls!
I hope you're having a great day :)

Something I heard yesterday that I really like is just a rumination about how we spend our days, how we live our lives, asking ourselves if we're living life alive.... Sadly I can't find the exacty saying online....but it goes something like this....

Today is a new day.  It is a gift.  Tomorrow it will be history.  Think of the price that you will have paid for it.  You will have paid the invaluable price of a day of your life. 

Your lives are infinitely valuable.  You deserve to be happy in it, you deserve to be the you that you want to be.  You deserve to spend your life in beauty and confidence. 

I hope you beautiful ladies all make it a great day today :)  Live Life Alive!

Monday Morning Check-In

Good morning, girls!
Check in and let us know how you're doing!!! What's your game plan for this last week of the challenge?

Feel Good Friday

Good morning, girls!
I loved hearing about all your doshas ;)
Smthg I wanted to share today is a free iPhone/ iPod Touch app called Runner's World Smart Coach. You enter in your current mile pace, how many miles a week you do or want to do, which day of the week you want your long run done on, when your race day is, & for what distance, and then it generates a free running training schedule!! Can't wait to try it!!
Makes me wanna get out & run!!!
What do you have planned for this weekend?

Feel the Burn Thursday

Good morning, buff beautiful babes!!!!

I hope you're all having a great week!  Please share what workouts and activities you've been up to last weekend & this week!

In yoga teacher training last night, we explored Ayurveda and we went into the 3 types of doshas, which are pretty much personality types of people.  Of course there's a lifetime-full of information you can study further on it, but this is just the generic schpeel.  Each of us has a little bit of each of the 3 doshas within us, but usually 1 dominates or sometimes 2 can equally be dominant.  Anyways, after you take some quizes and learn more about each of the 3 types, and after you know what your dominant dosha(s) is, then you can use that information to gain a deeper understanding of yourself, to learn to not compare yourself with others, to learn how to motivate yourself, how to relax yourself, and how to balance yourself.  Back that up, I said MOTIVATE, RELAX, & BALANCE!  Sweet! 

So check out some of the dosha quizes online- there are TONS of them.  Here's the first Google hit: http://www.whatsyourdosha.com/   Then after you know which dosha you are, Google that particular dosha to learn more about it.

Sooooooo......share!  Tell us what your dosha is (vata, pitta, or kapha)!  Tell us how you feel about that!  Tell us how you can take that knowledge to then motivate yourself!!!!!

This link shows the best workouts for your type:
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/the-right-exercise-for-your-type.html

Again, each of us can be multiple types, each can go in seasons, sometimes in diff situations we're one and in others we're another, sometimes our body is one and our mind is another, etc. But still, kind of a fun way to get some new workout ideas, right?!?!?

Whatcha Eatin' Wednesday

Hi, patient girls!
How is your week going so far?
Please share what yummies you've been enjoying, any new recipes, etc.
Meghan, I tried to find those black bean burgers at Costco and couldn't track them down!  What brand are they?  In the frozen food section by the beef burgers, turkey burgers, & boca burgers?  I'll be so bummed if they don't have them out here.....whole reason I got a Costco membership this week! jk :)
I don't really have anything new & exciting to share on the food front- just loving the egg scrambles made w/ spinach & feta, the cheerios w/ banana, the english muffin w/ dark chocolate almond butter, the whole wheat waffles, the apple & peanut butter, the muscle milk, the fresh fruits & berries, the summer salsa w/ pita chips, the clif bars, etc.
Making some grilled salmon & grilled asparagus this weekend- excited for that- yum!
Share some fresh new ideas, all!
Here's a bunch of no-cook summer meals from Fitness Magazine:
http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/recipes/quick-recipes/dinner/quick-meals/
This lunch idea sounds delish!!!

Whole Wheat Pasta Salad with Blue Cheese, Fresh Corn, and Arugula:

Slice the kernels from a cob or two of sweet corn. Prepare whole wheat pasta; when it's almost done, add corn, cook for 20 seconds, then drain pasta and corn and briefly run under cold water. Drain well. Place arugula in a large salad bowl, add pasta and corn, and coat lightly with olive oil and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. Season with salt and pepper; toss well. Crumble some blue cheese over the top.

Any of the recipes on that site sound good to you???

Tuesday's Motivation

Great job, everyone!
Here are some words of encouragement from some motivators I like:

Regarding surviving a crisis, Vanessa Kennon says, "The goal is to come out on the other end a more authentic and whole YOU, one that expresses more awareness, compassion, gratitude, and love than when the crises began."

When asked by an interviewer to explain his success, Will Smith responded: “I’m not afraid to die on a treadmill. I will not be outworked. You may be more talented than me. You might be smarter than me. And you may be better looking than me. But if we get on a treadmill together you are going to get off first or I’m going to die. It’s really that simple. I’m not going to be outworked.”  Haahaahaa.....

Dale Smith Thomas quotes Lorin Beller as saying "Give Energy to That Which You Want To Grow!" Then Dale goes on to explain, "Think about that for a minute. How many times do we give our energy to things that we really don't want in our lives? We focus on the things we "don't" like in our relationships, "don't" like in our work, or "don't" like about ourselves. What is the energy we give? Energy is our thoughts, our words, our written word, and our focus. One of the 1st steps in taking our lives to a new level is mindfulness...Give your energy to that which you want more of in your life or that which you want to grow! If you want to create more of something, like a fulfilling relationship, you have to find where that already exists in your life- even if it is small, and focus your energy in that direction. Be grateful for that. What you focus on gets bigger." 

Vanessa Kennon talks about getting back on track: "Life is busy! We all have somewhere we’re trying to get to, a goal we’re striving toward, a hurdle we’re trying to cross, or a milestone we’re trying to achieve. We work hard, keep our noses to the grindstone and still sometimes life happens and pulls us off course. Often it’s for a short period of time and other times it’s extended. The temptation is to become frustrated and want to give up on where we were headed. But we can’t let ourselves fall prey to defeat. We must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off and try, try again. No matter how long it takes, we have to persist in getting ourselves back on track. How do we do it?  Sometimes it’s sheer willpower that will put us back on track. Often the fact that we got derailed is enough to fuel us and make our resolve that much more resilient. However, in those times when we’re finding it hard to regain the focus and drive we once had, we have to revisit our decision of what it was we were headed toward and remind ourselves why we wanted to go there in the first place. Then we must recommit to that decision without regard to the “How” of getting there. Action is the third step. Remember to begin with the small steps because these have a way of adding up and they often lead to the bigger steps that are surely to come. Lastly, we must persist until we achieve."

What has been motivating you lately????????? 

Monday Morning Check-in

Good morning, girls!
Check in and let us know how you're doing!!! What's your game plan for this second to last week of the challenge?

Feel Good Friday

Good morning, babes!
Thanks for all your great commenting this week.
Wanted to share something I've been musing on lately & hear if you've had any experience with it. 

Like with anything, if we can clear away the noise and the static, we can have a clearer reception to the message.  Think about radio communications, TVs, our daily stress, anything chaotic, etc.  But what if we could do the same thing with our bodies?  I just think our bodies are designed so amazingly, so intricately, and so sophisticatedly that we can't even comprehend its awesomeness.  I think our bodies are the best guide for each of us, because our bodies are unique.  If you're thirsty or craving something salty, maybe it's your body saying you're dehyrated.  If you're craving pasta or bread, maybe it's your body saying it doesn't have enough fuel-source to run off of.  If you're fatigued, maybe it's your body saying you're pushing too hard or you're not getting the amount of sleep it needs.  These are the signals and messages I'm talking about.  But we ourselves put static and noise between us and these messages.  When we toss addictive substances in our body, caffeine, artificial sweeteners, highly processed junkfoods, things that make us bloated, things that make our digestion not process optimally, things that maybe we're mildly allergic to and don't know it, things that stuff us beyond comfort, etc.  all these things are static and noise that mess up our ability to be in tune with our bodies and to hear/understand our body's messages.  If we can eat as high-octane-fuel-like as possible (like Erianne's post last week), won't that make our bodies act as optimally as possible and won't we be able to pick up on our body's subtle messages & cravings and respond in a healthy way?  Now, you know I'm not preaching, b/c I love me some 7-11 nachos piled high with extra jalapenos and a big side of diet Mountain Dew, BUT, it's the concept, it's something that's been on my mind a lot lately and encouraging me to make SLIGHTLY healthier decisions :)  Which is what this blog is all about- that slowly, gradually, bit by bit, we're becoming healthier people, more like what we know we have the potential to become, revealing the true, confident selves inside each of us.  So, those are the ramblings in my mind today.

Do you have anything to add or share?  Has there been anything health-related on your minds lately?  Do you have anything fun and active going on this weekend?

Feel the Burn Thursday

Helloooooo, ladies :)
Hope you're all making it a great day!
I had a very involved anatomy & physiology lecture last night for my yoga teacher training class, and then I have a cadaver lab for it this Saturday, and so I've got muscles on my mind!  You all probably know this, but I liked it:

• Stretching muscles is actually a misnomer.  Your muscles don't ever become longer.  Through stretching and movement, you're showing your muscles their full, normal range of motion with the purpose of them memorizing that full motion and becoming more fully utilized to their full potential.  Kind of a fun way of looking at it.
• Cartiledge doesn't have any blood cells in it like muscles do, so for it to "heal" when damaged, it has to pull its nutrients and healing materials from the bones it's connected to.  Hence it takes a LONG time for cartiledge injuries to heal.  Muscles have blood cells in them and the healing blood courses through them, so muscles heal pretty quickly.  Hang in there, Meghan!
• Ligaments (connect bone to bone, like ankles), once stretched out can't ever be stretched back.  So if you've rolled your foot (this is for you, Mini Me!) once, you're very likely to keep rolling it over and over again your whole life.  Same w/ sprains.  So be gentle on your ligaments and be careful to not over-extend joints when stretching, standing, doing yoga, sports, etc.  Always avoid "locking" your knees, but put a small "microbend' in it so that it's solid, straight, strong, but non-damaging and gentle.
• All workouts and physical activity should cause you to "feel the burn & strength" in the "belly" of the muscle, never the ends of the muscle where they connect to other things.  So when in a lunge for instance, you should never feel the burn in the leg muscles close to the knee or close to the hip.  You should be properly aligned so that you feel the burn in the belly of the thigh muscle, the center of the thigh, it's meatiest part.  If you do feel it towards the ends/connective areas of the muscles, you're going too far for it to be beneficial for you and you're likely to do damage and cause undue stress/tension.
• An issue somewhere in your body could very likely be caused elsewhere.  For instance, last fall when I was running crazy mileage, I'd get sore hips when I hit about 15 miles.  My running shoe sales guy (an ironman) told me that it most likely was due to tight hamstrings pulling down on my hips.  Extra stretching & yoga cured the dull hip pain like a charm.  And then we talked about just this last night in yoga.  If someone has sore knees, it COULD be because they're quads, hamstrings, etc. are really really tight and are tugging funny on the knee ligaments/tendons.  If someone has a lot of tension in their low back, it could be b/c tight legs are tugging on the hips which are tugging on the low back or just tight hips tugging on the low back.  Everything's so interconnected- it's crazy!  Just another fun way to think of things.

So what great workouts have you been up to this week????  Anybody do anything fun & active over the long holiday weekend?

Whatcha Eatin' Wednesday

Hey, beautiful ladies!  I hope you're doing great.  I'm sure some of you are still traveling back from summer vacation over the holiday weekend.  Whenever you're back, check in to say hey to everybody!  The cheering each other on is one of the things that makes this group work for everyone. 

A couple things: First of all, there shouldn't be anything scary about a reduced caloric intake....unless you're not eating what you're burning.   If you're at too much of a caloric deficit, then you'll experience scary things like weakness or lightheadedness, not to mention you won't be losing weight to keep it off, AND your body will enter "starvation mode" and your metabolism will hit the floor in an effort to keep you alive and your organs pumping.  Here's an example of how the "calorie counting" thing should be going:

• Enter in your age/gender/current weight/goal weight/activity level, etc. to My Fitness Pal (or other sites you prefer, like Daily Burn, etc.)
• It will then spit out that you should aim for (for example only) 1300 calories a day NET. 
• Then you start keeping track of what you eat.  So if I eat 300 calories for breakfast, 100 calorie late morning snack, 500 calories for lunch, 200 calories for afternoon snack, 300 calories for dinner, and 200 calories for an evening snack, then that totals 1600 caloiries consumed for the day. 
• But you're also tracking what workouts you do.  So if I went for a jog for 3 miles and burned 300 calories, that's subtracted from my total calories consumed for the day of 1600, so then my NET calories consumed is 1300, which is right on target. 
• So if I don't have time to get in a workout that day, then I'm going to be extra careful w/ my food intake and stay at 1300 calories consumed. 
• On the other hand, if it's a Saturday and I go on a 4 hour bike ride and burn 1000 calories, I'd better be consuming 2300 calories that day total (1000 calories above my net goal b/c I'm burning 1000 calories), b/c if not, my body is going to be burning muscle for energy instead of the fat & food I want it to burn, I'd feel weak, drained, exhausted, & have a really crappy workout.
• I can't emphasize enough how VERY VERY important it is that you're "eating what you burn" for workouts. 
• After you've got that figured out, then you can work on improving the quality of your diet, being sure that what you're consuming is the highest quality, highest-octane fuel possible.  Try to hit your protein intake goal, your fiber intake, etc.  Try to stay under your sodium limit.  Try to get in enough water.  Try to limit sodas, etc.  Your My Fitness Pal food diary will  tell you the protein amount you should be aiming for based on your current weight, gender, activity level, etc.  But if you're doing really hard strength training or race training, you should be aiming for way more protein, as close to your body weight as possible.  So if you weigh 160 lbs, you should be aiming for 160 grams of protein.  I know that seems like a TON, but just get in as much as you can up to that amount.  Most everything I've heard on the subject goes off this basic guideline.  And if you're not that active, don't worry about that much protein.  Just if you're really pushing it and really building muscle.  And eating every few hours is going to keep your metabolism roaring for you all day long- I like the mini meal method.  Keeps you feeling fuller longer, too.

There is lots and lots of medical advice out there for this being the healthiest way to lose weight.  Yes, it's really gradual weight loss, a pound here & there, but it's the best way to lose if you want to keep it off.  Ask any dietician for advise specific to your body and your circumstances- be sure to consult a physician for a good way to modify your diet if you have health concerns like hypo/hyper-thyroidism, hypoglycemia, diabetes, etc.  This is the principle behind Weight Watchers, too---you gain extra points by working out.

Ok, then SECOND of all, it's our day to swap recipe and snack ideas!  Please help; I'm in desperate need of fresh new ideas.  This past weekend I made a favorite, Summer Salsa.  Which I've posted before on here, but YUM YUM YUM!

Summer Salsa

• 1 can corn, drained
• 3 tomatoes, diced
• 1 can chickpeas or garbanzo beans, drained
• 1 can blackeyed peas, drained
• 3 avocados, diced
• 1 package of dry italian dressing mix (prepared as directed on package, so w/ the oil & vinegar & water)
• Mix it all together
• Enjoy w/ whole wheat pita chips, blue corn chips, etc.

Tuesday Motivation

Good morning, girls!  I like this message about stick-to-it-ness:   http://www.nashvillecyclist.com/coaching/coaching-articles/164-rewards-of-stick-to-it-ness

"Ultimately our success is more greatly impacted by our response to failure.  How you get up off the mat, dust yourself off and get back into the ring says more about you than any other successful strength you possess.  Take the knowledge learned from your disappointments and avoid repeating the same mistakes.  Failures help us to determine strategies that do not work in order to learn successful ones that do.  Nobody can argue with truthful outcomes can they?  Despite setbacks, disappointment and failures those athletes who repeatedly get off the mat, get back in the batter's box and pin on a race bib number possess a character trait I like to call "stick-to-it-ness." 

Some athletes are born with stick-to-it-ness while others must learn it the hard way.  If stick-to-it-ness is never learned then I'll show you someone who either complains a lot or wrongly believes life should come easier to them without hard work.  Sure, they may be there to compete and give you the impression they've got a high level of stick-to-it-ness, but their lack of commitment when you aren't watching is the determining factor in their compounding failures.  Another impacting attitude on one's stick-to-it-ness is unjustified expectations in relationship to where their ability is in the moment.  Rewards do come at a personal cost.  If you aren't willing to invest the patience and hard work to achieve rewards then you should not expect to achieve your full potential.  

What got you here won't get you there.  I challenge you to challenge yourself to aim higher, put yourself into difficult situations, get slightly in over your head, and find out what you're truly made of – not just as a bicyclist but more importantly as a person.  It does not matter if you're 20 or 60 years old because we are forever evolving as people.  Bicycle racing is the perfect opportunity to learn about yourself while simultaneously stretching your boundaries of personal growth.  I attempt to do this in nearly everything I do and strongly believe I am a better man because of it."

I like that. Really perfect for me right now. What got me here won't get me there. 

What do you all think?

Monday Morning Check-In

Hey, girls!
It's our half way point in this challenge-the end of 3 weeks! Check
in here and let us all know how you're doing!!!
What's your game plan for this week???

Feel Good Friday

Good morning, girls!
Amy C, here's the link the the blog Mini Me was talking about: http://tohelptheone.blogspot.com
. It's by a woman who has lost over 100 lbs and is still working
towards her goal. It's the sister of a girl Mini Me & I both knew in
college. I sadly haven't had the chance to check out the blog yet, but
I will soon, & I know Mini Me looooves it, so check it out!

Great job on the healthy eating & workouts. Good luck in your race
this weekend, Kim! Amy C, you inspire me to do more! Keep on the
active wonderwoman train, girl!!!

I have been experiencing a had time this past week adjusting to a new
schedule having my hubby out here finally, and him inadvertently
throwing a wrench in my awesome groove I had going on with the healthy
eating & workouts, but I think I'm getting it back. I'm working out
late evenings instead of late afternoons now, and just trying my best
to keep the daytime eating the same so that the evening chaos isn't as
disrupting to my daily caloric intake. Things are going well again,
though! Got in a short little bike ride last night, then a long walk.
Foot still isn't allowing me to run, but biking and walking are going
great. I am excited for an active weeked ahead of me! Woohoo!

If you have any tips for keeping workout schedules fluid instead of
rigid, let me know ;) it's such a mental game psyching myself up!

Have a great weekend, ladies!

Feel the Burn Thursday

Good morning, workout wonderwomen!

Here's an article from Ultramarathon Man Dean Karnazes' blog on Runner's World Magazine's website that Mini Me shared- pretty sweet- thanks! 

http://dean.runnersworld.com/2010/06/small-wonder.html?cm_mmc=RSS-_-rwrsshome-_-NA-_-NA

It is about an 8 year old girl completing an extremely difficult race and winning!

Her mom says " I had told her that with hard work, determination, focus and a belief in herself that anything was possible. Now she can truly internalize that fact and draw upon it in the future."

"Seeing her bobbing little pigtails in the lead in the final stretch brought tears to my eyes. She had done it. She had believed in herself–she had believed that winning was a possibility–and she, and she alone, had made it happen."

It's a really cool story about an incredible and determined little girl. I just put my favorite two excerpts up above.  When we have a success, whatever it might be, we add it like fuel to our emotional and motivational gas tanks. The more you recognize and celebrate every little success in your life, the more confidence and strength you'll have to draw on in the future when perhaps you might really need it. And I of course like the childish audacity of If you want something awesome to happen in your life, then go out & do it!!

Thanks, Mini Me! 

What workouts have you guys been doing lately? What activities do you have planned to get your sweat on this holiday weekend?

Whatcha Eatin' Wednesday

Hey, hey, beautiful, babes!
Thanks for all your great comments and contributions. That's what I
love so much about this great group of girls. It really uplifts &
motivates!

What yummies have you been eating lately? Any new recipes to share?

I recently tried Maranatha Dark Chocolate Almond Butter (can get at
SuperWalMart) and YUM! Good new taste on top of my Thomas 100 calorie
English muffins as I jet out the door in the morning. Also, I brought
with me today to work the snack of 3/4 cup
Bush's Seasoned Black Beans w/ half an avocado stirred in. Energy
powerhouse! Would also be yummy in a whole wheat tortilla w some
shredded lettuce, but I like it w a spoon :)

Any great grilling ideas or side dish or appetizer ideas as we are
rolling into an awesome holiday weekend??? I've got to plan some BBQ
fare, so help me out with some ideas! I'm going to do the California
Turkey burgers again (recipe on www.fitnessmagazine.com).

Make it an awesome day! Think nothing's impossible & you might be
surprised how many of our barriers are mental and self-created!!!!

Tuesday Motivation

Good morning, girls!
Books, movies, poetry, quotes, etc can all uplift us and inspire us to
be our best selves.
What is your favorite book or movie that has inspired you to shoot for
your goals? Or at least provided comic relief along the journey to a
healthy lifestyle. Please share!

Monday Morning Check-In

Good morning, girls! How did week 2 end for you? What's your game plan
for this week? Do you feel like you can push hard this week, being
dilligent & steady, to reach your goal's halfway point? You all are
such an inspiration. Keep up the positive encouragement of one another!