WE DID IT! Turkey Leg RACE!!!!

Tiffany, Loisanne, Heidi (Heather's sister), Heather, Angela, Russ (Angela's husband)

Wooohhoo!  Girls we did great work.  It was so fun to run with you.  It felt great to burn some calories before I ate a ton...and I did eat a ton!!!  It was a harder race than I thought.  I was so proud of you all.  It feels really great to accomplish a goal, and feed the hungry at the same time.  You are all admirable women.  I'll post your times if they ever post them.  But here is a picture of us thanks to Heather's sister Heidi.

Keep Off The Holiday Pounds

Most people only gain 1-2 lbs over the holidays if they are a healthy weight to start with.  However, the holiday pounds tend to stay on from year to year accounting for most of our weight gain over the years.  So, make a plan to keep those pounds off.  Here are some of my tips I think work.

1- Stay away from the food table at parties.  The further the better, and don't start eating until the end of the party.  The less time you have to spend at the feeding trough the better.

2- Snack on veggies, nuts, fruit, and meats.  Stay away from all the sugar.

3- Cary a purse.  It makes it harder to carry a plate around, so it makes it more difficult to eat.

4- Offer to bring something healthy you know you'll eat at a party, so you can avoid the pumpkin roll.

5- Add 15 extra min of exercise to your routine during the holidays to burn more calories.

6- Eat the thing you love the most, and tell yourself that is all you'll eat.

7- Drink a lot of water at parties.  Fill up on that instead of food.

8- Wear tight clothes.  They will remind you to eat less.

9- Take some walks in the snow with your hubby and enjoy the season.

10- Enjoy as many winter sports as you can.

We should enjoy ourselves during the holidays, but we shouldn't do it in excess.  I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving.  I know some of you will be traveling. Please be safe.  Some of us will be doing a race.  It will be a great way to start off our day, and we won't feel all the guilt when we put gravy on our mashed potatoes.  Remember we have no boot camp on Friday.

I May Have A New Motto

K, so, I was surfing....like I do, and I came across this cycling blog.  I just loved the motto on the blog.....are ya ready?......I will beat my ass today to beat yours tomorrow.

I just fell in love with it.  If you know me, my motto up to this point has been....If you ain't dyin' you ain't tryin'.
Maybe I'll just use both of them.

Anyhow, the blog is called Sufferfest (I like the name.)  They have suggestions for podcasts, music, playlists, and DVDs.   So if you are looking for any of that info check it out.

link to Sufferfest

No Sugar + Extra Veggie Challenge

I was talking to Tara about the "NO SUGAR" challenge I did last week, and we talked about doing another one. Then I thought, if I'm giving up something bad I should do a challenge that encourages me to add something good. So the other part of the challenge is add a veggie to breakfast, lunch, dinner and 2 snacks. If you're IN, post that you're in. You can do both challenges or just one. The challenge goes until Thanksgiving Day. If you eat sugar, or don't get your veggies in you must post that you have failed and that you are getting back on the wagon. Oh, and I am signed up for the Turkey Leg Race. Wooohoo!

Here is a recipe from Body rock tv. It has honey in it, and yes, we are allowed to have honey. :) Let me know if you make it, and how it is. I'm gonna try. It's kinda strange.

bodyrock-tv-breakfast-cake

Blame it on New Moon (Important! Read All!)

HI guys!  Heather asked me if I was going to be at Boot Camp on Friday (because I'm going to the 12:00 am New Moon), and I said I was going to try, but then I found out it is late start on Friday.  Then I have to be in SLC by 11:30.  Then be back in Ogden at 3:30 to see New Moon again....So, I don't think I'll be able to make it.  We will do our bicep, back, shoulder workout on Wed instead of Fri.  We are going to do a "milk jug" workout, so you'll need a full gallon of water.  It works best if it is sealed "new", as Angela and I found out.  Be sure to bring it because you will mess up your workout as well as someone else's if you don't.  They only cost about $.75.

If you still want to do a workout on Friday, this is what I'll be doing.  This is the trainer for 50 Cent.  If you've seen 50 Cent's body, you'll understand why I'm doing it.  It's only 20 min, but looks pretty hard.  Add a 30 min run to it after if you'd like to make it longer.
link to part one 50 Cent Trainer Work Out
link to part 2 50 Cent Trainer Work Out

The more you eat...The more you burn! WHAT?

It is almost hard to believe, but there is such a thing as burning calories by eating.  The negative calorie foods speeds up your metabolism and therefore can help with your weight loss efforts. You can eat bigger portions and more often and yet burn more calories, because your body will use more energy for digestion. So for example, you will eat a fruit that has 40 calories but your body needs 100 calories to digest the fruit, which means that your body will burn 60 calories . One of my favorite vegetable is celery and I am using it quite often. Piece of celery that contains 5 calories requires 150 calories to digest, so by eating this piece of celery, you are actually burning 145 calories! All of these negative calorie foods also contain all kinds of vitamins and minerals so they are like a natural and healthy fat burning supplements. It is much better solution to include in your diet a lot of negative calorie foods that will speed up your metabolism, then starving yourself and do exactly the oposite. Remember that in order to loose weight permanently you have to boost your metabolism and you can do that by eating every 2-3 hours. You should not limit your daily diet only to the negative calorie foods, because your body need other sources of nutrients as well. Include some low fat meat, dairy products and whole grains – basically stick with the clean eating, exercise regularly and you will soon start to see dramatic results.
Some of the calorie negative foods include broccoli, cauliflower, celery, carrot, garlic, onion, zucchini, lettuce, green beans, mango, apple, cranberry, grapefruit, papaya, watermelon, peach, orange, lemon, cranberry, blueberries, strawberry, tomato, raspberry, spinach, cucumber.


Seriously!  How cool is that?  I got this from Bodyrock TV.  Very cool info.  I'm going to eat a lot more of these foods, fursure!

Stretching

I really don't stretch enough.  I'm always in a hurry after a workout to do something.  Stretching something I'm really starting to work on.  I know I'm losing some flexibility as I get older, and I'm more prone to injury.  I'm posting a great little video about stretching.  Please watch it, memorize the stretches, and do them every day.  We'll all feel better for it.

I also recommend a massage now and then.  I'm getting one today....go ahead be jealous.  I deserve it.  It's a reward for meeting a goal. :)

link for stretches

Come On! Set a GOAL!

LinkThis time of year I sit down at my computer and set some goals for my fitness. I try and set a goal that I haven't set before, and try and better the goals that I set last year. I vow to at least stay the weight I am by the end of the year, and hopefully be thinner (at least for swim suit season.) This next year I'm going to do my first bike race, Little Red Riding Hood. I'm excited for it. I'm also going to do another Tri. I'm going to better my time on the Striders 1/2 marathon. I'm going to run a 1/2 I haven't run before, and I'm fighting myself on whether I'll run a full again. I'll let you know how that fight turns out.


I'm challenging you to set some goals, and Post them either on the side bar or in the main part of the blog. We will all support you, and try and help you reach your goal. We may even join in with you. If you look at the side bar you'll see the things I plan to do so far. I'll be adding on.


I read an article that made me think about all of this. Here is the start of the article, and a link to the rest.


If you're trying to lose, get healthy, build muscle or excel at a sport, you'll need specific goals. When you don't have a specific goal, it's difficult to keep exercising and to track your progress to see how far you've come. Before you get busy, take a moment and ask yourself these questions: 1. What do I want to accomplish with this exercise program?
2. Is my goal realistic and attainable?
3. Do I know how to reach my goal?
4. When do I want to reach my goal?
5. How will I reward myself when I reach my goal?
Link

Thanksgiving Day Run In Farmington

For those of you that talked about the Farmington race on Thanksgiving Day....here is a link.  Let me know if you are thinking about running it, so we can car pool.  Also, If you didn't hear, the Rec Center is closed on Wed.  I'm doing a 4.3 mile run if you'd like to do it.  It's a loop, so you don't have to run at my pace. :)  Call me if you'd like to go tomorrow.  801-941-4079

Farmington Thanksgiving Day Race

Hope Tia Feels Better.

I've been a little freaked out today since Tia got hauled off in the ambulance.  I've gotten a text message from her and she was still waiting for tests to come back.  She said she is feeling a little better though.  I'll be calling to check on her latter, and I'll post in the comments of this post how she is.

I read some articles on working out when you are sick, and they pretty much all said the same thing.  However, I don't know if  this answer would have detoured Tia.  Her symptoms seemed to be above the neck.  So, my advice is as follows.  When in doubt, sit it out.  Listen to your body and if you don't feel well at all, sit down and raise your hand.  I always encourage you to keep going when things get tough, but you know your body.  If it is really painful, or you really don't feel well.  Feel free to ignore me, or swear at me....whatever makes you feel better.  :)

Laura, did a great job of noticing Tia's symptoms.  I'm glad we are working out together, and keeping an eye on one another.  Great job Laura!

Question

Exercise and illness: Should you exercise when you're sick?

Is it OK to exercise if I have a cold but no fever?

Answer

from Edward R. Laskowski, M.D.

Mild to moderate physical activity is usually OK if you have a cold but no fever. Exercise may even help you feel better by temporarily relieving nasal congestion.
As a rule of thumb for exercise and illness:

• Proceed with your workout if your signs and symptoms are "above the neck" — such as runny nose, nasal congestion, sneezing or sore throat. Be prepared to reduce the intensity of your workout if needed, however.
• Postpone your workout if your signs and symptoms are "below the neck" — such as chest congestion, hacking cough or upset stomach. Likewise, don't exercise if you have a fever, fatigue or widespread muscle aches.

If you choose to exercise when you're sick, listen to your body. If your signs and symptoms get worse with physical activity, stop and rest. Resume your workout routine gradually as you begin to feel better.

Here's why you should sprint

In class I have you guys sprint.  We ran 12 yesterday.  There's a reason I have you do only one lap around the track.  Sprinting works.  It gives you incredible results.  So, when I say sprint one lap.....you better sprint!

Here's some facts.

1 -Evidence shows that short, high intensity sprint workouts improve aerobic capacity and endurance in about half the time of traditional endurance exercise.

2- One study found that just six sessions of four to seven all-out thirty-second sprints (with four minutes of recovery between sprints) could be as effective at improving cardiovascular fitness as an hour of daily moderate-level aerobic exercise. (WHAT! That's AWESOME!)


3- If you do a harder, higher intensity activity, like sprinting on a track, or a bike, you'll burn an overall greater amount of calories in the same period of time. (More calories for the same about of time?  AWESOME! I'll never walk again)

4- For decades, scientists have known that short-duration anaerobic exercise improves athletic performance, and that the release of human growth hormone (HGH), testosterone and other bone-building, body-enhancing hormones are directly related to the intensity not the duration of exercise. (1) When charged with these anabolic hormones, our bodies build more muscle mass, which dramatically improves weight loss, resulting in slimmer, more-toned physique. Anabolic hormones are also known to enhance skin and hair, improve sleeping habits, strengthen immune response and improve sexual performance. ( Better Sex - whatever, but better sleep!  Heck yeah, I'm in!)




So, when I say sprint, remember this and sprint even harder!


 

Do It With The One You Love

I've been married a LONG time, but I love my husband dearly.  He's the best husband in the world.  I hope you feel the same way about yours.  My husband is really good at doing special things for me, so I was looking for some ideas for dates with him for this winter.  I'd like to plan a fun date for us this winter.  I found this video, and it made me really inspired. If you have any great ideas for my date please leave a comment. :)

Click here for the video

Dailymile.com

 
If you look on the blog, Laura and I have a Daily mile account widget on the sidebar.  It's another way you can keep track of your workouts.  One thing that it does is let the rest of us know what workouts you are doing on the days that you are not working out with us.  If you need help adding the widget to the blog, give me a call and I'll help you out.