A life without cause is a life without effect.
-Barbarella

Love my new LuLu outfit!  I wish I had a job there just to wear the clothes!  Get your own at www.lululemon.com

Krazy Mommy Moment:

All right, so we have already discovered that I am a little bit of a control freak.  I am really having an anxiety attack right now!  I am going to my parents' house for spring break next week.  I am so excited to see them, they are awesome!  However, when I go there, I slip back into lazy mommy mode!  I want to be lazy, shop, and eat all day! I have already looked online and found a gym that I can go to everyday, but what about the food!  I don't want to hurt my mom's feelings or be a pain in the butt about eating clean.  I am bringing some of my own food, and I guess I will just

do my best to eat healthy while I am there.  I saved up my cheat day for Saturday, and I can take another one anytime next week, so I guess I will be OK!  I need to just relax and have fun, I know that.  Why oh why am I such a psycho?

This Week's Measurements!:

Not a lot of changes this week!  I get to start cardio again next week!  I have never been so excited to do cardio in my life!  I guess a month without it will do that to you!  I am hoping to see more of a change after that!

Chest: 35 1/2 " (no change)

Biceps: 11" (no change)

Waist: 26" (no change)

Butt: 35" (no change)

Thigh: 19" (-1/4") 

Weight: 119.2 (+0.4 lb.)

Body Fat: 18.4 (-.6%)

I am so loving this workout!  Thank you Jaime E and bodybuilding.com!  I am actually even considering competing in a novice bikini comp this fall!  Oh my @*%#!  I can't even believe I am thinking about this.  It would be scary, and empowering, and awesome!!!!

Healthy Eating Tip:

Flaxseed has become a staple in my diet!  I love the health benefits of this tiny little seed! I add it into everything from oatmeal to cookies!  Here is some research about why you should incorporate flax into your diet too.

The Benefits of Flaxseed

Is flaxseed the new wonder food? Preliminary studies show that flaxseed may help fight everything from heart disease and diabetes to breast cancer.

 

ByElaine Magee, MPH, RD
WebMD Expert Column

 

Some call it one of the most powerful plant foods on the planet. There’s some evidence it may help reduce your risk of heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes. That’s quite a tall order for a tiny seed that’s been around for centuries: flaxseed.

Flaxseed was cultivated in Babylon as early as 3000 BC, according to the Flax Council of Canada. By the 8th century, King Charlemagne believed so strongly in the health benefits of flaxseed that he passed laws requiring his subjects to consume it. Fast-forward 13 centuries, and some experts would say we have preliminary research to back up what Charlemagne suspected all those years ago.

These days, flaxseed is found in all kinds of foods, from crackers to frozen waffles to oatmeal. The Flax Council estimates close to 300 new flax-based products were launched in the U.S. and Canada in 2010 alone. Not only has consumer demand for flaxseed gone up, agricultural use has also increased -- to feed all those chickens laying eggs that are higher in omega-3 fatty acids.

Although flaxseed contains all sorts of healthy components, it owes its healthy reputation primarily to three ingredients:

• Omega-3 essential fatty acids, "good" fats that have been shown to have heart-healthy effects. Each tablespoon of ground flaxseed contains about 1.8 grams of plant omega-3s.
• Lignans, which have both plant estrogen and antioxidant qualities. Flaxseed contains 75-800 times more lignans than other plant foods.
• Fiber. Flaxseed contains both the soluble and insoluble types.

Clean Eating Recipe:

Turkey Paninis





Ingredients:

8 slices of sprouted protein bread

12 sun-dried tomatoes (packed in olive oil) patted dry and halved

2 oz. part-skim mozzarella cheese, thickly sliced

6 (1-oz)slices reduced sodium fresh deli turkey

1 1/2 cups arugula or spinach leaves

Instructions:

Layer 4 slices of bread with 6 pieces of tomato, half ounce of cheese, on and a half slices of turkey, and top half of bread.  Toast sandwich in panini press on medium heat until lightly browned. 

260 calories

6 g. fat

14 g. protein

Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal. ~Henry Ford

Krazy Mommy Moment:

I honestly thought that if I became a teacher, I would have perfectly behaved children of my own!  Holy crap was I wrong!  If you have kids, you know what I am talking about.  We all had that "My kids will never......" conversation.  Mine were "crawl under the table at a restaurant" and "Throw a tantrum at the mall".  Oh I had several other momentous ideas about my future fabulous parenting.  Unfortunately, I was totally delusional!  Actually, my first two behaved pretty well overall.  The third one.......well, let's just say that he is teaching me some very memorable lessons in patients and self control!  Last week, his teacher had to pull me aside and inform me that my "little monster"  pushed another little boy down and called him a name that rhymes with wenis!  OMGosh!  My kid is a bully and a potty mouth.  What the heck?  All I have to say is that this has to be his father's fault!  I'm not sure how, but I'm not taking the fall for this kid!  Any advise?

LivFit Week 2 Update:

OK ladies, here are my measurements after 2 weeks of Jaime Eason's LivWFit 12 week program. You can find it at bodybuildin.com .

Weight: 119.2 lbs. (+0.8 lbs no cardio!)

Fat %: 19% (+0.8% no cardio again!)

Biceps: 11 in (+ 1/2 in.  yeaaaaa)

Chest: 35 1/2 in (- 1 in. crap!  Not where I want to loose!)

Waist: 26 in (-1 in. oh ya)

Butt: 35 in (- 1 1/4 in. oh ya X2)

Thigh: 19 in. (- 1/4 in.)

I have been loving this program so far!  I have been lifting 60% of my max weight 4 times a week. I am really happy with the results so far!  I knew I would probably gain a little weight because I am not doing any cardio.  I can't believe how well it has toned my body so quickly though.  I do have to admit that I did cheat on my workout this week!  It is not what you might think!  Jaime Eason insists that there is no cardio for the first 3 weeks of the program so that maximum muscle development can occur.  I rode the stationary bike last week!  I know, I am a terrible person, but I couldn't help it.  I was feeling fat and lazy, so I needed a little pick me up.  The bike did it.  I am on the straight and narrow again! 

Diet Tip:

I grew up in the "Fat Free" generation.  In the 80s my mom was trying to loose weight.  She brought all kinds of fat free foods into our home.  We even had fat free Twinkies for after school snacks!  As I got older, I fell into those same eating habits.  I thought I was doing myself a favor, but actually I was harming my metabolism and muscles.  I ate sugar cereal in the morning, a plain bagel and a Diet Coke (still drinking this  daily as many of you know!) for lunch, and spaghetti with tomato sauce for dinner!  I ate tons of Skittles and Jelly Bellies because I thought if a food didn't have any fat, it was going to help me loose weight.  Another misconception of this generation is exercise habits.  We were taught that aerobic exercise was all we needed to loose weight or get into shape. You remember Buns of Steel?  I was the queen of buns. I could never quite understand why all of my cheer leading and aerobic videos never toned my body the way I wanted it to be. Unfortunately this is a hard habit to break.  I always thought girls who lifted weights would bulk up and look like football players! How wrong I was!  Women need regular weight training to loose or maintain weight!  Our muscles are not genetically programed to bulk up.  All it does is create lean muscle and rev up our metabolism.  We also need to eat healthy fats in order to maintain our muscle and overall health.  All that sugar and white processed food that we used to eat has to be thrown in the trash!  At the ripe old age of 36, I look and feel better than I ever have!  I am strong and healthy, and I actually look forward to working out everyday.  I eat delicious clean foods (I seriously eat more than my 220 pound husband!).  I am never hungry or feel like I am being deprived.  I am happy in every aspect of my life.  I attribute this to my new outlook on fitness and diet! 

Fabulous Clean Recipe:

Beef and Broccoli Noodle Bowls:

I found this delicious recipe in this month's issue of Clean Eating  (cleaneating.com).  This is honestly the best magazine I have ever subscribed to! 

Ingredients:

8 oz. whole wheat spaghetti

1 head broccoli florets

1 orange, juiced and zested

2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tbsp ground ginger

1 tsp olive oil

3/4  lb. sirloin strips, cut into 1/2 inch thick slices

4 cloves garlic (I used bottled minced)

1/2 cup snow peas

sesame seeds

Directions:

Fill a large pot with water.  Bring to a boil and add pasta.  Simmer for 5 minutes then add broccoli.  Simmer for 5 more minutes.  Drain and keep warm.

In a small bowl, whisk orange zest, juice, soy sauce, pepper flakes and ginger.  Set aside.

In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil on medium for 1 minute.  Add beef and cook, turning occasionally for 2 minutes. Add garlic and saute for 2 more minutes.  Add peas and orange juice mixture and stir to coat.  Saute for 3 minutes until beef is cooked through.

Add beef mixture to pasta mixture and toss to combine.  Garnish with sesame.

Enjoy!!!  I ate this for dinner last night and again for lunch today.  

I Hate Legos!

No, really.  I hate them!  I know that they are good for the brain, foster creativity, blah blah blah!  I step on them, vaccum them up, and pick them up daily.  My 5 year old stayed in his bed for an entire month (a feat in its self). We told him that if he did so, he could pick out a toy at the store.  After browsing the Lego isle for almost an hour, he finally decided on a helicopter and dinosaur set. Of coarse it is for older kids which means he would not be able to put it together himself. We got it home and I asked him to wait until his dad got home to help him put it together. Father son bonding right?  He was really excited and I felt bad, so I told him I would do it.  I swear there are 4,000 pieces!  I seriously spent 2 hours puting this stinking thing together.  When I was finished, it did look really cool.  I was very proud!  Last night he was playing upstairs when he said "Mom, come look at this cool thing."  I went upstairs to witness the destruction of all of my hard work!  He had a "helicopter crash".  What the crap?  It is a good thing I kept the instructions!  This time Dad is puting it back together!  Am I a terrible mom?

12 Week LivFit:

O.K. guys it's week 1 of my new program!  I am loving it so far.  All strength and no cardio for 3 weeks!  It's my dream workout!  So, I decided to take my measurements this week and document the changes in my body as I progress.  I was going to do it in my journal, but I thought I'd share it with you all!  Here are my stats for Week 1.

Weight: 118.4 pounds (I am not trying to loose weight!  I might even gain a little with no cardio!)
Fat %: 18.9%
Biceps: 10 1/2 in.
Chest: 36 3/4 in.
Waist: 27 in.
Hips: 36 1/4 in.
Thigh: 19 1/4 in.
Calf: 13 1/4 in.

I will document my progress each week!  Hope this is all worth it!

Clean Eating Tip:

I allow myself one cheat meal OR dessert a week.  This week it was these buffalo nachos at a Denver Nuggets basketball game!  They were sooooo awesome and soooooo worth the calories.  Cheat meals are sometimes the highlight of my entire week!  I look so forward to them.  Below is an article from oxygenmag.com that confirms my love of cheating!!!!!

How cheating on your diet can be good for your mind and figure.

By Jennifer Sygo, MSc, RD; Photography Peter Chou; Recipe by Emily Zaler

Striking a balance that works for you is the key to avoiding the pitfalls of eating too perfectly. Just like you need to build rest and recovery into your workout routine, finding a way to enjoy some of your favorite, or even forbidden foods in moderation, is an important tool to keep you on track in the long run.

How often you choose to indulge depends on a few variables, including your personality, your goals, and the types of foods that you tend to crave. If you are weeks away from your first fitness competition, then keeping cheats to a bare minimum is probably best. On the other hand, if it’s a regular day or a regular week, then enjoying a planned cheat meal or favorite snack can help keep you on track. While some prefer to enjoy a small treat every day, others do better by having one “free” meal per week, or enjoying an extra glass of wine or a dessert when they go out socially.

As for the size of the cheat you can afford, that depends on a few factors. We know that cutting calories can help you to lose weight, but being too restrictive for too long can actually slow down your progress by making it difficult for your body to build all-important lean muscle. If you know that you’re consistently eating much less than you are burning (by 500 calories per day or more), then you might add a cheat food to help you to meet your daily needs. In these cases, you will want to make your cheats a bit healthier, since you’ll be eating them often. If you have less wiggle room in your diet, then you might want to limit your cheats to a few times per week, or keep the portions or calories lower when you do indulge.

On the other end of the spectrum, full-out cheat days or weekends can be risky in the long run, especially if you throw all common sense out the window. In the end, you’re better off having a pasta dinner or dessert on Saturday night than spending two whole days gorging on candy and fast food, followed by a week trying to undo the damage.

And if you don’t feel the need to cheat, that’s okay, too – there is no need to force yourself to indulge if you are comfortable with your current routine. The most important thing is that you maintain a routine that is stable, and sustainable, for you.

Clean Eating Recipe:

This is one of my family's favorites! I have to double the recipe because they all have seconds! It takes me about 15 minutes to make from start to finish.  I found the recipe on Rachel Ray and cleaned it up a little!  So good. 

Creamy Peanut Soup

Ingredients:

2 cans low sodium, organic chicken broth

1 cup natural peanut butter

6 scallions, sliced (dark gree parts kept separate)

1 cup fat free half and half

Sea Salt

Asian hot sauce

Lime wedges

Directions:

Puree broth, peanut butter, and scallion whites in a blender.  Pour into pot and simmer for 5 minutes.  Sir in half and half, season with sea salt and asian hot sauce.  Top with scallion greens.  Serve with lime wedges.