She Has Five Favorites!

Today I am joining in with Moxie Wife and others and writing about a few things I'm loving right now.

1.  Green tea to start my day.  Particularly one that has some kind of fruity flavor added to it.  

I've been a coffee-first-thing-in-the-morning-please-don't-talk-to-me-until-I've-had-my-cup person for decades (pains me to say it) but recently I've replaced that first cup of joe with green tea.  

Makes me happy.

2.  Jillian Michaels on the DVD player.  Yeah, she's kinda annoying, and I guess I wouldn't say that She Personally is a Favorite, but her workout program is.  Surprise surprise, breaking a sweat every day (even only for 20-30 minutes) really really improves my mood and overall feeling of well-being.  Yep, you heard it here.  First probably.





3.  Lest you think I'm so last decade with Favorites #2 and #3 let me add Call the Midwife to the list.  Totally awesome show.  I cry over each and every episode.  Watch it online or get the DVDs from Netflix, whatevs, just Watch This Show.





4.  Peperoncini

Current fave way to consume is in a wrap sandwich -- get yourself a wrap of some sort (edible), spread it with a bit of mayo, layer deli turkey, some kind of cheese if you want, spring mix or other kind of green stuff, and then a bunch o' peperoncini. Sprinkle with black pepper, roll up, and enjoy!




5.  Um, I've owned this little gizmo (Pampered Chef Mini-Whipper) for years -- in fact I own two of them -- and only just realized what it's most especially good for.  Even the company's write-up doesn't tell you that if you pour some milk into a small saucepan and put it over medium heat and use this guy to whisk up the milk for all of maybe 20 seconds that you'll have perfectly frothed milk that you can continue to warm and then use to make an awesome homemade latte!  (Just add a few ounces of hot strong coffee or espresso -- I make mine from instant and it works great!) Why I didn't realize this I have no earthly idea.  So don't bother buying yourself a battery-operated milk frother thingy, just use this, which you probably already have and didn't know what it was good for.  Or maybe you do and I'm just the last person to realize...  yeah probably that's it. 



Head on over to Moxie Wife to read up on more Five Favorites!

Make a Healthy Smoothie

In the last few weeks I have been introducing smoothies to my diet! I have been replacing one meal per day with a healthy, filling smoothie for two reasons:

1) To control my calorie intake
2) To make sure I actually eat something! I don't know about you, but I find it difficult to actually sit down and eat breakfast and lunch some days!

Here are my 2 new favorite smoothies--

Green Reset

Two handfuls of baby spinach, 1 apple, 1 banana, 1 cup of yogurt, 5 strawberries, 1/2 orange. Blend well and enjoy.

I use frozen spinach. I peel and dice my apple. I just dump the peeled banana in. I use less yogurt and it still works. I sometimes use some fresh juiced oranges instead. All options work great. You really can't mess it up! Here are some things I like to add:

• 1 Tbsp of flaxseed meal and/or
• 1 Tbsp of wheat germ
• Small handful of almonds
• 4 ice cubes (I personally like my smoothies REALLY COLD)

Chocolate Protein Shake

Throw everything in your blender and go until it's smooth.

• 1 1/2 cups cold milk  (The original recipe calls for chocolate milk, but I just use regular.)
• 2 scoops protein powder (Laura introduced me to Muscle Milk and it's yummy!)
• 1 banana
• 1 Tbsp natural peanut butter (I use ground peanuts)
• 3-4 ice cubes (I use four for sure, 'cause remember I like my smoothies cold!)

Both are filling and healthy! Who knew you could drink up so much good food in under 5 minutes! Good for us busy mamas...

She Who Doesn't Make Excuses - The Magical Exercise Ball!!

Do you have one of these??


In the world of costly fitness gadgets and machines, these synthetic spheres are super-cheap!!  But the benefit to you is priceless.  If you've never used one, let me tell you, these little numbers can give you a really intense workout.  They offer you the ability to isolate a particular muscle group and that is awesome, I promise you.

I really like BodyBuilding.com because they have a very well organized and easy to read website.  The guys who started the company are from Idaho, where I live, so I'm partial to supporting the hometown boys that done did good.  (Insert smiley face, here.)  So, the link below to help you learn how to use the ball is on their website.

Anyway, back to the question of do you have one of these balls or not....I'm telling you, if you don't have one, hustle on down to the local fitness or sports store and get yourself one, post-haste!  You won't be sorry.  Then check out these easy to follow instructions and go for it!  Exercises for the Exercise Ball  Set aside 10 minutes a session, maybe 3x a week.  Rotate between muscle groups.  Legs one day, abs the next, arms/upper body another day, and don't forget your back and core muscle groups!

She Who Doesn't Make...EXCUSES - Pt. 2 - Eating Right

So, "eating right."  Something you've heard so many times, but what does it really mean?  I have three words for you.  Protein, Carbohydrates and Fats.  In its simplest form, this is eating right. 

The first step to getting back into losing weight and/or getting into shape is making sure that your macronutrients (protein, carbs and fat) are in BALANCE.  Our society is too carb heavy.  We have become carb burning machines when really, we were made to be protein burning machines.  And in regard to fats, it's not that we aren't eating fats.  We are eating a lot of fats.  But not the RIGHT fats.  And protein, we are so protein deficient.  And the proteins that are coming in are in foods laden with bad fats or empty carbs.  In summary, the key word here is QUALITY.  Quality carbs (dark, green, leafy veggies!).  Quality fats in moderation (raw almonds, avocados, olive oil).  Quality protein (lean meats, fish).  Eat in balance and focus on quality.  THINK WHOLE FOODS!!

This is a complex topic, and I am only scratching the surface.  So, I want to inspire you to do some research and some journaling.  Check out: Calorie King or My Fitness Pal or my favorite, Fit Day, because it shows a really easy to use pie chart.  These websites will help you to journal what you're eating.

The second step is to figure your calories.  This doesn't have to be complicated.  You need a certain amount of calories just to LIVE.  Then if you are exercising, you need more to sustain that. Think of an automobile.  (You've all probably heard this analogy before.)  You cannot get anywhere if you have NO gas.  The more you drive, the more gas you need.  The more activity you engage in, the more food (fuel) you need.  You can create a bit of a deficit if you are trying to lose weight, but be careful.  Don't mess with your metabolism too much or it will falter.  Also, keep in mind that if you have your macronutrients in balance, your calories should be in pretty good balance, too.  Here's a helpful website to figure out what macronutrients you should be taking in (for your height, weight, age) and also how to calculate your calories: How to Calculate Macronutrients and Calories

The third step is journal.  Journal, journal, journal.  Journal the foods you eat.  Journal your macronutrients, study and learn what you are taking in.  Journal your exercise.  Discipline yourself to do this.  Without even knowing it or realizing it, over time you will LEARN SO MUCH.  It will build upon itself, it will be exponential.  You will learn portion control, what you can tolerate and what you are missing (carb sickness, fat overload, protein deficiency).  You will keep yourself accountable.  Very important stuff.  Journaling is so important.

So, in summary:
1. Get your macronutrients in balance.
2. Figure your needed calories to live and exercise.
3. JOURNAL!!  Sometimes accountability to yourself is all you really need!

I know you can do this!!!

She Who DOESN'T Make......Excuses

So you've been trying all year to....
exercise,
eat right,
get enough sleep
and drink more water.

But you just....
don't have time to exercise,
can't get organized to eat right,
are too busy to get good sleep
and can't remember to drink enough water.

Right?

Wrong! You know what these are.  We all do!   They're excuses. And if you think about it, what you really don't benefit from, most of all, are excuses. So here it comes, ladies - a little mini-series on She Who Makes....with a twist. She Who DOESN'T Make....Excuses. I'll give you the tools to get it done so the excuses are kicked to the curb, where they belong!

So first of all, let's slay one of the biggest excuse-dragons of all. Time. Time to exercise, mainly.  You know what? I bet you do have 12 minutes a day. You have 12 minutes to stop in the drive-thru and get a tall skinny mocha latte extra hot with whip, right? You have 12 minutes to shave your legs, right? And you have 12 minutes to check Facebook, right? There's nothing wrong with these things and in fact, we all really hope that you do take those 12 minutes to shave your legs!

Here's a 12 minute exercise routine that you will really benefit from. And best of all, there's no gym membership required, no special equipment required and best of all no huge time commitment required! It's just 12 minutes!

Okay, so here's how we're going to do it. You need comfy workout clothes and a timer or a stop watch or a clock with a second hand.
1. Choose an exerciose - push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups or chin-ups (if you have a bar).
2. Now do the exercise that you choose - all out - for 1 minute. Rest 30 seconds.
3. Repeat, until you reach 12 minutes.  You'll do it 8 times through.

That's it! Alternate between working out your arms, legs, abs, back, etc. Mix it up so that your muscles have a day or two to rest.

NEXT TIME - we'll talk about getting organized to eat right.