A little reminder

The holidays have definitely been difficult. Chocolate and cookies and yummy goodies are everywhere!! I have certainly had a few cheats here and there. On Christmas Eve my wonderful boyfriend and I went to The Canyons to go snowboarding. I haven't been boarding since last winter and snowboarding was my first winter love. I used to LOVE to go camping, backpacking....ANYTHING in the summer and I hated everything about the winter until I was introduced to boarding. I was a senior in highschool. I have all brothers. I had no choice but to take up snowboarding. I remember waking up after boarding feeling like I'd been run over by a truck! So, Friday I went boarding for the first time this season. We went all day long and it was SO amazing! I loved every stinkin minute! I had a pretty bad spill towards the end of the day and woke up on Saturday with a huge bruise on my butt and guess what......nothing else. No soreness. No tiredness. No aches. No pains. I can only attribute this to keeping my body active and this is something that I have noticed for the past few winters since I began running long distances in 2005. I am rarely sore after doing some of the things that I love to do outdoors. I looked at this as a reminder as to why I sweat my arse off 6 days a week at the gym. It's because I love to snowboard. I love to hike. I love to run. I love to camp, backpack, snowshoe and I love to explore and I want to continue to do these things clear into my old age. You are as old as you feel and I never want to feel old. It is up to me to maintain a healthy vessel so I can continue to enjoy the things that truly bring me happiness. I want to enjoy these things with the ones I love as well. These are the things that I thought about when I didn't want to go to the gym tonight. And you know what? I had an awesome workout. :-)

Motivation

So, I have been attempting to get up each morning at 4:30 and much to Chris' dismay I have yet to do this. He gets to listen to the alarm go off while I sleep like a log. I have told him that he can drag me out of the bed by my feet, elbow me in the ribs....whatever he wants. If I don't get up to do my cardio in the AM, then it leaves me to do my 60 - 90 minute cardio routine following a long day at work and THEN I have to do 30 minutes of weights. UGH! So, today I again was not able to get up on time and I get to leave work and do 60 minutes of cardio intervals at the gym, shoulders and abs. One of the things that I have been doing for a long time to motivate myself to go to the gym is pack my gym bag and take it to work with me. I have ALL DAY to think of excuses to not go to the gym, but if my bag is already packed I can go straight to my workout. All it takes is getting my feet on that gym floor and all of my excuses are gone. Plus, Chrissy is done with night school for the semester this week and that is another motivating factor. I get to spend the rest of my evening with him. I think one of the easiest things for us to do is make excuses. When I am having difficulty finding the strength to go to the gym, I make a list of all of the excuses I give then one by one I find ways around those excuses. Writing this all down is motivating me for tonight. Now, I just need to yank myself out of bed each morning and I'll be in good shape. Literally.

A Night Off

When I was doing Body for Life and even when training for races, I always allow myself to have a night off. I day for my body to recover and a cheat day. I try to make my cheats healthier versions of what I have been craving. Tonight, I made pizza!

1 Whole Wheat 12 inch Pizza Pie Crust

1/4 cup Mirror Glen Organic Pizza Sauce

1 cup of part skim mozarella cheese

1/2 cup of fat free cheddar cheese

1/4 cup fat free feta cheese

3 slices of tomatoe

1/4 cup diced green bell pepper

4 spinach leaves

1 tsp basil leaves crushed

1 tsp oregano

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Cover pie crust in pizza sauce and sprinkle oregano and basil on sauce. Add the rest of the ingredients to the top of the pie and bake for 12 -14 minutes. Seriously, that was it.

Breakfast Burrrrrritos!

Now, I don't want anyone to be under the assumption that going to the gym everyday and eating clean is easy all of the time. Obviously, you can tell by my last entry that sometimes I have to make myself go to the gym. I currently live with my boyfriend, Chris, and it has taken some time to try to convert him into more clean eating habits. When we started dating I had to explain that I never eat fast food and I avoid grease. Despite all my efforts, I came home and found this next to his homework:

I can't be there all the time, but I try to introduce him to healthier alternatives. Bless his little english heart. This morning, I made him a healthy breakfast burrito! There is also a book "Cook this, Not that" that gives healthy alternatives to popular restaurant dishes. Here is the recipe and some pics from this morning:

Sum's Burrrito!

3 eggs
1/2 c of shredded cheddar or jack cheese
1/4 c diced green bell pepper
1 tsp of Mrs Dash Chipotle Seasoning
1/2 c cooked chicken diced
3 spinach leaves diced
2 large whole wheat tortillas
2 tbs Newman's Own salsa
1 cup black beans
Nonstick cooking spray

Spray skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Add eggs, bell peppers, 1/4 c of cheese, chicken, Mrs Dash and spinach. Scramble the mixture until eggs are slightly runny. Wrap each tortilla in a damp paper towel and heat in the microwave for 45 seconds. Seperate the eggs, left over cheese, salsa and black beans between the two tortillas and enjoy!

If you want to make this recipe EVEN healthier, change the 3 whole eggs to egg whites or Egg Beaters. You can buy cartoned Egg Beaters or egg whites in any store next to the eggs. Then change the cheese to shredded part skim mozzarella and fat free feta cheese! I hope this blog is somewhat entertaining. It is certainly giving me extra motivation. I will be doing one hour of cardio today and 30 minutes of weights on chest and triceps again! Feel the burn baby!

Ugh..

Rough day at the gym. It was one of those days that I literally was dragging myself there. Got 'er done though. Shoulders and abs today. On days when I lack that last bit of motivation, it helps once I actually get into the gym. Once I'm there and I get in the groove of things it becomes much easier. Plus, it's always entertaining to watch the meathead section of the gymie gym while I do my cardio. A bunch of guys that look like Paulie-D and The Situation flexing at their own image in the mirror. Poor little things. Unfortunately I am beat. I will be posting some more recipes this weekend! Take care!

Comfort Food City!!

As a woman I am cursed with a monthly reminder of nature's ridiculous desire for me to procreate. Prior to this lovely monthly bill, I spend about 3-4 days eating EVERYTHING in sight. I mean all of it. If you are eating, I want your food. Don't even bother saying no 'cause I'll just eat it right out of your hand. Primarily the foods that I crave are in two categories. Comfort foods and chocolate. I want grilled cheese sandwiches, mac n cheese, meatloaf, turkey dinner....you name it. I once even ate an entire JAR of nutella spread on a LOAF of whole wheat bread. Ok, it wasn't once. It was two or three times. It went as far as me asking my boyfriend, Chris, to lock the Nutella in his safe so I wouldn't have access. Do I have those cravings under control? Not remotely, but I have found healthier, cleaner ways that I can have the foods I crave and not feel nearly as guilty about it later. Here are a few of my tricks :)

No Pudge Fudge Brownies!!

I stumbled across this wonderful box in the health food section of Smith's. Fat Free? How good could it taste? With a little tweak to the ingredients you add, I make these about once a month. Chris prefers these brownies over any other. They are amazing. And, yes, I do sometimes eat half of the pan.
The box calls for "Fat Free Vanilla Yogurt" or "Fat Free Plain" and then add vanilla. The vanilla makes the brownies taste weird. Skip it. Add fat free plain GREEK yogurt instead. Greek yogurt is half the calories of plain 'ol yogurt and it's better for you all around. If you really like chocolate and I do, add half a bag of dark chocolate chips or dark organic chocolate crushed. The darker the better it is for you. Pop these bad boys in the oven for 35 minutes and you have the richest brownies you'ver ever tasted for less than 100 cals a square!

Mac N Cheese Please!!
Yep, I said it. Healthy, clean macaroni and cheese. This recipe rocks and I got it from Oxygen magazine.

8 oz whole grain elbow pasta (I used the shells)

2 cups low fat or fat free small curd cottage cheese

1/2 cup canned pure pumpkin

3/4 cup 2% milk shredded cheese (whatever you fancy and I used 1 cup)

1/2 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Fill a large pot with water and boil the pasta. Drain when done and pour into an 11 X 7 pan.

Puree cottage cheese and pumpkin, add this mixture to the cheese and pasta then stir. Top with bread crumbs and then bake 15 minutes or until top is browned and the cheese is melted to yummy goodness.

More healthy treats and recipes to come! Have an awesome day!

Long day...long workout...

Slept in and then worked all day. Yippee! 60 minutes of cardio intervals on the bike and then chest and triceps. If there is any non-expert advice that I can give about cardio it is to change it up. I had to learn the hard way. I ran my first marathon in 2006 and became addicted. I couldn't get enough. Run in the morning, run in the evening, run, run, run, run until I got IT band on my right leg in October of 2009 following "The Other Half" half marathon in Moab. For those of you who aren't familiar with IT band, it is the tendon that wraps around the front of your knee and then extends up the side of your thigh. Essentially IT Band Syndrome is tendonitis. I started having knee problems in mile 20 of the salt lake marathon 3 years prior and, first mistake, ignored it. By the time I saw the physical therapist, who I also like to call Nazi, in October she told me it was one of the worst cases of IT Band and sentenced me to a 12 to 18 month recovery with PT. I was unable to bend my knee for the first 24 hours following the half marathon. I am stubborn and I finished because I felt I'd rather finish injured with a bad time, then not finish at all. Bottom line: I got IT band because I wasn't doing anything else besides running. The occassional hike, but nothing else was in my routine. I HATED the bike and that was the first reason that I jumped on one immediately following my horrible no-run-news. My body hated it because I was waking up muscles I wasn't used to. Now, I try to use a different machine every day for one hour. I use intervals as a way to push myself to the limit to keep my muscles from becoming too lazy and familiar with my routine. An hour is not necessary, I am just a bit of a gym-junkie. I did body-for-life in 2004 and 2005. It is an excellent program and it only calls for intense 20 minute cardio intervals every other day. So, if your routine is getting bored or if you feel you've hit a plateau it is a sign to try something new. Take kickboxing, rollerblade, kite-surf.....whatever you've ever wanted to try. It's hard at first, but when I feel I can't go another minute I always think of those last 6 miles in my first marathon. Just think of a time when you've pushed yourself beyond your limit. If I could do that I can do anything. I hope this blog is fun and I will be posting some pics of foods this week. This saturday I will be making pre-workout protein pancakes. I will also include some protein shake recipes and some more of my Summy's Yummies!!!

I can't believe I'm blogging this

So, I am 29. I live in Salt Lake City. I will be 30 years old in 19 weeks. I am 5'3" and I am very active. I run, I lift weights and I go to the gym every day. I recently started pole fitness and I will be joining a pilates class in January. I am always intrigued by new challenges. It is my desire to challenge myself these next 19 weeks to get into the best shape I've ever been in. I would like to look back at 30 and say that I was in the best shape of my life. I have decided to start this blog to post pictures of my progress as motivation for myself and friends around me that I know have similiar goals. I will blog my workouts and feelings that I have towards them, like feelings of angst towards squats. Blech! I will also post recipes. YUMMY! I read oxygen magazine every month and it is super motivating. My ultimate goal is to be in the "Are You Next?" section of their monthly magazine that features buff chicas. My ultimate downfall that would keep me from reaching this goal? My love of food. I have spent the last year trying to manage my sugar intake and making an attempt to eat clean and organic as much as possible. I thought that if I put my self out there in a blog it might give me that ultimate push that I need to reach my goal. Here goes nothing!