Nutrition

May Fitness Challenges: Tracking My Progress (Join Me!)

May 4, 2012

As I mentioned recently, I’m currently doing 2 different fitness challenges.

and

The SkinnyMs Summer Arms Challenge (7 days)

I want to track my progress a bit (for the 30 day challenge, not the arm one since I only have 2 days left of that), so I think I’m going to do so here!

If anyone wants to follow along, it’s definitely not too late. You’ll just be on different days from me. So far I am VERY impressed with both challenges and am feeling better than I have in a long time!

I’m following our Healthy Family Plan for my eating and aiming for 80/20 compliance.

Also, I’m calorie counting using the calorie count provided for me on MyFitnessPal.

BodyRockTV May Challenge:

Day 1 Results (Find Day 1 here):

Part 1-

Squats: 24/24/24
Push Ups (box push ups): 28/24/21
Tricep Dips: 11/15/18
Abs: 28/24/23

Part 2-

I’m not very flexible, LOL. I did okay with the poses in general, but I have a long long way to go. The worst was the standing back bend. She tells you to look at the wall behind you. Well…I was able to painfully look at the ceiling and that’s about it!

Day 2 Results (Find Day 2 here):

This was quick and effective. I don’t think I “flowed” very well from one movement to the next, but I definitely felt each move. My thighs especially!

Day 3 Results (Find Day 3 here):

Warm up 5 minutes on the bike.

Part 1-

Touchdowns: 33/27/27
Spider Push Ups (Box Style): 17/18/17
Tuck Abs (Honestly I basically did different variations of crunches): 26/27/30
Hanging Knee (I do not have a pull up bar. I held on to the door frame gently and lifted my knees one at a time. It worked my abs, but probably not my arms much. It felt GOOD to stretch like that though!) 30/25/30

Part 2-

Bicep Curl & Press: 14 reps with 10 lbs
Shoulder Press: 16?10? (my writing is kind of iffy at this point…) reps with 10 lbs
Squats: 23 reps with 10 lbs
Triceps: 20 reps with 10 lbs
Round the World: 8 reps with 5 lbs
Upright Row: 21 reps with 5 lbs
Bent over row: 27 reps with 5 lbs
Abs: 23 reps

This felt AWESOME! I love workouts that really make me PUSH and this one definitely did that. I can tell I’m finally getting some ab strength back, because no matter what the exercise, I felt it in my abs. There’s a LOT on top of those muscles, but it’s good to know they are there!

I’m totally glutton for punishment too. These challenges really get me motivated, so I still did the Friday exercises for the Summer Arm Challenge as well.

Then I cooled down for 5 minutes on the bike.

Up Next:

BodyRock Challenge is off on weekends, so I’ll finish up the Arm Challenge this weekend and just focus on BodyRock and probably some cardio from Monday on.

Are you up for the challenge? I’m going to chart my progress here so I have it all in one place, but I’d also love to chat with anyone interested in getting healthy this month!

I started a conversation in my BlogFrog community and I’d love for you to join in! We can all support each other:
[Read more...]

Filed Under: Family Tagged With: Exercise, Healthy Family, Nutrition

My Healthy Family Goals and Plan: Our Five Rules for Nutrition

May 3, 2012

Healthy Family

We deserve to be a healthy family. Your family does too!

I meant to post this on Monday, but now it’s Thursday and I’m just now getting the chance to sit down and type it up!

Our Mission Towards a Healthy Family- The Catalyst

I turn 30 in late August and I am simply not ready.

I am not at my goal weight (far from it!).

I’ve lost a decent amount of weight before (using Weight Watchers…GREAT program):

: Before

: After 40 lbs lighter (not at goal…but I got pregnant not long after this) : People following the Weight Watchers plan can expect to lose 1-2 pounds per week.

This time, I wanted to really get down to the root of my problems. No quick fixes. I wanted to learn about nutrition and health, not the latest fad diet (Weight Watchers is NOT a fad diet, I just lost enthusiasm for it).

I want a healthy family, and since I consider myself the nutritional gatekeeper of this family, it starts with me.

How to have a healthy family: My Research

I’ve been reading a lot about nutrition and I’ve been really convicted to live a healthier lifestyle. Not just for myself, but to have a healthy family as well.

Some books/films that have been huge eye openers for me were (all films are available on Netflix right now):

As you can see, I’ve read quite a bit of conflicting information!

In one corner, we have your very strict gluten free diet. No gluten at any time. If you go gluten free, you must do so whole heartedly. This means in some cases you even need to get rid of your previously gluten “tainted” cutting boards and appliances! (The Gluten Connection) Here’s a fascinating article about why so many are hopping on the gluten free train lately and why it’s not necessarily a bad thing.

In the other corner, we have the argument for a whole foods plant based diet. Grains and gluten are allowed, but the argument is made (quite convincingly I might add) that plants in general should make up the majority of your diet. (In Defense of Food, Fat Sick & Nearly Dead)

Finally…standing in corner #3, we have your Paleo diet. Meat and fat are totally okay. Awesome even. Veggies and fruits…those are awesome too. Grains? Well those are iffy depending on who you are reading. Dairy is kind of a no no.(The Paleo Solution, Nourishing Traditions, Eat Fat Lose Fat)

Where Do I Stand? What’s my Healthy Family Plan?

As usual, I’m in corner #4.

Not fully committing to anyone’s specific plan, because I think a healthy family should forge their own path!

What I have done is taken bits and pieces of the information I’ve read (and viewed) and formed my own Healthy Family eating plan:

Bye Bye to white flour, sugar and rice. I’m not going to say I’ll never again consume these products, but it will be the exception and never the rule. This has not been difficult for us, because we’ve been transitioning over this way for some time now. This means brown rice, whole wheat flour, stevia and turbinado sugar (the sugars are still throwing me for a loop though…mainly when it comes to baking. I have been using pure maple syrup and honey a LOT though).
Use REAL butter. Use REAL cheese. Use REAL organic whole milk. That diet stuff wasn’t really doing us any favors anyways. Plus, I find that we can all actually consume smaller portions naturally when we use the real stuff. It’s just more filling and more enjoyable!
Organic whenever possible. I have a whole series entitled Living Healthy on a Budget on Family Friendly Frugality. The most painful item for me to purchase organic is chicken. Chicken HURTS. It’s very pricey to purchase Organic Chicken! ANY tips you might have to help with this would be MUCH appreciated.
~~Fat is my friend~~. Scratch that…the RIGHT fats are my friend. That means we are utilizing olive oil and coconut oil and saturated fats on a daily basis. I won’t get into why saturated fat is not the devil, and trans fats are…but pretty much every single book I have linked to will scare you off trans fats for good. The best part is that whole eggs and bacon are part of our diet and that’s totally okay.
Veggies and fruits, veggies and fruits. They are essential and they are the star (you see that? Bold, italicized AND underlined). This is the hardest part for me and my family! We’re working on it though. Luckily the “fat” rule makes the veggie rule a bit easier. Most veggies taste great with a bit of butter or olive oil!

Finally, we’re aiming for 80% compliance with our Healthy Family eating plan.

We like to eat out. We like to have treats and we are a busy family. So aiming for 100% compliance is simply not feasible at this time. Maybe one day it will be? Who knows?

The Results? Are we a healthy family?

I’ve felt REALLY good about the meals I’ve cooked for my family lately.

I’ve felt REALLY good about the renewed energy I feel and the fact that we’ve been more active as a family lately.

I’ve felt REALLY good about my own personal fitness strides (I’m currently participating in this arm challenge, this 30 day BodyRockTV challenge and also working on our exercise bike and doing my Firm DVD’s {best lower body workout EVER} as well).

This will likely be tweaked here and there, but for now? This is our plan to work towards a healthy (healthier?) family and we’re doing great on it!

What are you doing to keep yourself healthy?
Talk to me in the comments, I am always open to hearing about what works for other families as well!

What are you doing to ensure you have a healthy family?

Disclosure: I am a compensated affiliate for Weight Watchers and some of the other links in the post as well.

Filed Under: Family Tagged With: Eating Healthy, Fitness, Healthy Family, Nutrition

Why Butter Rocks, Margarine is Gross and This is a Great Book

April 26, 2012

Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats

Don’t read this book if you want to keep margarine in your diet. For real.

If you are not a fan of real butter and prefer the fake stuff (um…what’s wrong with you?), don’t read this passage:

Hydrogenation: This is the process that turns polyunsaturates, normally liquid at room temperature, into fats that are solid at room temperature – margarine and shortening. To produce them,manufacturers begin with the cheapest oils - soy, corn, cottonseed or canola, already rancid from the extraction process – and mix them with tiny metal particles – usually nickel oxide. The oil with its nickel catalyst is then subjected to hydrogen gas in a high-pressure, high-temperature reactor. Next, soap-like emulsifiers and starch are squeezed into the mixture to give it a better consistency; the oil is yet again subjected to high temperatures when it is steam-cleaned. This removes its unpleasant odor. Margarine’s natural color, an unappetizing grey, is removed by bleach. Dyes and strong flavors must then be added to make it resemble butter. Finally, the mixture is compessed and packaged in blocks or tubs and sold as a health food.

and

Instead of eliminating them, your body incorporates trans fats [like what is found in margarine] into the cell membranes as though they were cis fats – your cells actually become partially hydrogenated!

- Nourishing Traditions

If you do want to learn a bit more about nutrition and why the standard American Diet is responsible for pretty much everything bad in this world today (okay…I kid a bit. But honestly? And sadly? Just a bit…) than you MUST read this book.

Throw out what you know about saturated fat as a villain and get ready to embrace the butter and (most definitely) the coconut oil!

However…

Some of the suggestions in this book might not be feasible for all due to budget or location constraints.

In fact, I’m really frustrated by the lack of a good CSA here in Houston right now! (Houston. One of the largest cities in the US and if there’s a CSA nearby it’s been hidden deep underground and relies on marketing by word of mouth via secret society apparently).

Thankfully there’s Vitacost and Amazon and a lot of our local grocery stores are now offering more organic and whole food options.

Is it enough though?

In addition, articles like this and this lead me to believe unless we grow it, butcher it, and scratch make it ourselves…we’ll never know for sure if what we’re consuming is as pristine as we would hope it would be.

***As a brief aside: I recently purchased some coconut oil and this stuff is GOLD! I’ve used it on my hair, my face (as a moisturizer, I am still loving the oil cleansing method!) in food, etc. I don’t have as many cravings, I get fuller faster and I just feel better. Awesome stuff.

I bought mine from Vitacost.

We’re working on it

I’ve been overhauling our diet for some time now. Honestly we’re taking baby steps towards a more whole foods/organic lifestyle (that yes, includes plenty of saturated fats).

Why? Because it feels right.

Why not make the switch cold turkey? Because even though it feels like the right thing to do, it’s also:

Expensive
Relatively drastic
Tough with little kids
I like donuts (luckily, I like butter more)

And…you care because…?

All this to say, I’m going to try and work on finding more fun recipes for my family that fit the approach found in this book tempered with the reality that Rome wasn’t built in a day.

Meaning…don’t be surprised if one day you see a recipe for organic salad dressing followed the next week by an ooey gooey pan of brownies.

It’s all a work in progress

*FYI…this is not a book review. I bought the book myself and just felt compelled to share. However, those ARE affiliate links.

Filed Under: Family Tagged With: Books, Nourishing Traditions, Nutrition