Day 3 of BodyRockTv Challenge

This is Day 3 of the BodyrockTv 30 day Challenge and I am sore! Not crippling sore, but my muscles have definitely let me know that they have been working HARD these three days.  Well, really four days-I did a workout also on Sunday before the challenge started!

Recently my workout's have occurred in the AM rather than the afternoons like previously.  I am finding that working out within an hour of waking up ensures that my workout is complete and I can run errands, play with my children, clean, make lunch, dinner, snacks without worrying about when I will fit my workout in during the day. Today I was decided to do 1/3 of the workout from the challenge. This was 20 minutes of spider push-ups, squat and press, core work, step ups, clean and press (my favorite exercise currently), a lot of jumping rope, and lunges.  The workout was split into three parts 20 minute circuits and I was only able to complete the first 20 minutes before Rocket woke up from sleeping.  Once Rocket was awake I was more than sufficiently warmed up and pumped up from the HIIT workout to do a 25-30 minute run. I had a feeling that I should get my run in before the day truly began because there was a good chance that I would convince myself that I could put the run off until Thursday. My short run turned into a 55 minute run/walk. My total mileage was 4 miles--which is pretty awesome.  My average mile per hour was 13:45. I included a couple of walking breaks as I realized that once I had run 20 minutes that I wanted to run a long run.  As this run has been the farthest and longest I have run for, I knew that I should not push myself to hard so I walked .2 miles per 1 mile.

To fuel both workouts I juiced half a cucumber, 5 beet greens, 2 celery stalks, 1 apple, 1 beet, 2 carrots. I drank half before my HIIT workout and the other half before my run. Total I drank about 15 ounces. A little sweet so next time I will use half an apple. 

Below is a picture of the weights I am currently using while doing the challenge. I forgot to take a picture of one of my dinning room chairs as I also use that for step ups and tricep dips. I added a picture of Lex above since I sometimes use him as a weight as well

 ;-)

30 Day Challenge and Creating a Mindset for Success

Okay, last post I mentioned that I wanted to set goals for October and I was racking my head on what I wanted to accomplish this month. While I was on Pinterest I was looking through my HIIT (high intensity interval training) board and came across a pin from BodyRockTv that I have been eyeing to do. Once I viewed the video I was like "heck yes I will do this workout". 12 minutes later I was done and the workout was killer. 

After my workout I started looking through their current post and saw that they had a 30 day real time challenge starting October 7th. I read the instructions and thought to myself why not, this sounds like it would be really intense but I can do it! 

This morning after I drank a small glass of freshly pressed carrot, kale, orange, cucumber juice; set the boys up to be distracted (toys, puzzles, and some learning tv) and begun my workout. 43 minutes later I was exhilarated and pushed harder than I have been in awhile. Towards the end of my workout Lex had gotten restless so I picked him up and used him as a weight. He had fun and I continued my workout. He is nearly 25lbs now at 8 months!!!

As the day progressed, my shoulders, glutes, abs, quads began getting sore and I thought maybe I would do the 30 day challenge every other day. Finally it hit me that being pushed each day for 4 weeks WILL only get me STRONGER. Lisa the creator of the BodyRockTv 30 day challenge pointed out that their will be active rest days, yoga days so I am confident that although I will be pushed to my limits somedays, I will not injure myself. 

Likewise I remember that in basic training I was constantly being pushed beyond my limits sometimes and I was fine. The only injury I sustained was spraining my ankle which was because of rucking on uneven terrain. That will not be the case this time as my workouts will be done in my home or the gym. 

Running is still a priority for me. This months goal is to slowly get up to running 5 miles for my long run. Currently I am at 3.25. No need to rush increasing my mileage as the half marathon is not until March. Walking is completely permitted as my time on the road increases.

This week I am looking forward to doing a long walk/jog for an hour. 

Tomorrow will be an intense 50 minute HIIT workout. 

I last ran on Sunday for 25 minutes so Wednesday no matter what the challenge workout is I am running. I can already anticipate the sore body I will have. Sore muscles means stronger body. 

If there are any days that I have to miss because those things happen, I know it will be okay. 

Ready! Set! Success! 

(Adding links and pictures tomorrow) 

My 5k at the Bellingham Bay Marathon

Bellingham Bay Marathon 5k race was a fun and beautiful course to run. It was relatively easy although the terrain was not flat throughout. For me that made the race fun and slightly challenging. 

Race day was drizzly but not frigid. A long sleeve shirt, my neon blue race t-shirt and capri running tights were more than enough to kept me warm after I started running. 

As for the run itself, I did smashingly. I ran the 5k in 30:54, which is much faster than my goal of running 12 minute miles. My lovely friend who lives in Bellingham watched my kiddos for me during the race. Because I had no stroller to push, my pace was naturally faster so much so that my average minutes per mile were 9:57. A very excited whoop of laughter escaped me when I read that final race results online. 

Before the race, my friend and I snapped a couple pictures with my iPhone. Here they are: 

 

And one with me and my boys :-)

That is it for now. Next time my post should be about current training plans or November goals. 

First Race of the Fall!

September 29, 2013 will mark the beginning of my race season! I am very excited because I really enjoy the thrill of running in races. My goal is to run this up coming  5k, a trail 5k on October 20th, and a 10k on November 13th. The ultimate goal of my upcoming races is that I continue running and increasing my mileage  throughout the fall and into winter so I can run the half-marathon in the spring. I am not exactly sure what to expect as far as how cold and rainy it gets her in Tacoma, but since most of my runs will be with my boys in the double jogger, I will be running as frequently as I can.

The race is called the Bellingham Bay Marathon. As the name suggest that day there will be a marathon; also there will be a half-marathon and a 5k. It is just recently that I have been able to run a 5k while pushing a double jogger. My goal is to run the whole race while pushing my two boys in our jogger.

Currently I can complete a 5k run in about 37 minutes. This impresses me because my former slow running pace without a stroller was 12 minutes per mile; which means that without a jogger I should be running closer to a 10:45-11 minute mile split. The more I run faster I will become so that in a year's time I should be back to running a 5k in 25 minutes or less. This is really exciting. 

Also in Bellingham, WA I will be visiting a dear friend of mine who is also the boys godmother so that is an added excitement! 

That is it for now, until my post-race blog update. 

Coconut Almond Cocoa No-Bake Bar and Smoothie Combinations

Now that fall is officially here, I think I may have been trying to drink as many summer fruit and vegetable smoothies these past two weeks. Frosty smoothies are usually not the first thing I want when I wake up in the chilly morning.

Some of the smoothies I make I add protein powder. Right now my favorite brands are Vega One Vanilla Chai and Plant Fusion protein powder both Chocolate and Vanilla. Typically I only use half a scoop which is about 10-12 grams. Soy milk is my current non-dairy milk that I drinking lately. Most soy milk brands have 8-10 grams of protein per cup, therefore between the cup of soy milk and the 1/2 scoop of protein powder gives me 20 grams total, not including the protein from the vegetables and fruits added to the smoothie. 

The smoothies I make, usually have 2-3 servings of vegetables, and 1.5-2 servings of fruit. Three fruits may be listed but I use half servings of each fruit. In contrast, I use a 2 servings of leafy greens and one serving of cucumber or celery. 

This smoothie was made with kale, cherries, mango, cucumber, soy milk, 1/2 scoop of Plant Fusion chocolate protein powder

This smoothie was made from a beet, apple, celery, cucumber, coconut water, maca powder, and sesame seeds

                                                                                    This smoothie was made with frozen broccoli, banana, peaches, strawberries, cucumber, coconut butter, 1/2 scoop of Plant Fusion vanilla protein powder, and soy milk

Now for the no-bake Coconut Almond Cocoa Bar! 

This bar came about because I WANTED candy, specifically a candy bar. We do not typically keep candy in the house because we eat it, quickly, very quickly. 

My initial intention for this bar was to whirl some cashews, almond butter, maple syrup (no dates in the house right now), perhaps some oats in the food processor to make a sweet, nutty base which I could add chocolate chips by hand. I would then, roll into balls and eat them all over the next 3-5 hours. Homemade candy bars, all the indulgence but without the HFCS, or dairy products. 

What happen instead was 5 bars that I ate over 3 days before or after my workout. These bars besides the sweet, nutty base had maca powder, cocoa powder, shredded coconut, almond extract, and a scoop of Plant Fusion vanilla protein powder.  

I have a deep love affair with almond joy bars and this satisfies those flavors in addition to being  full of healthy fats, protein, and vitamins and minerals. 

Coconut Almond Cocoa Bar

makes 5

Ingredients: 

1/3 cup of almond butter

1/3 cup of cashews

2 tbsp of cocoa

1 tbsp of coconut shredded--plus addition tbsp for covering outside of bars

1/2-1 scoop of vegan protein powder -vanilla or chocolate

1/2 tsp of almond extract

1/4-1/3 cup of maple syrup or 6 dates soaked and a couple tbsp of water

1 tbsp of maca powder

Combine in food processor: cashews first and process until crumbly, add remaining ingredients except maple syrup. processed until well combined.  Add maple syrup slowly and when the dough starts form together, that is enough and you can stop the food processor. 

I placed my dough, which was not overly sticky at all, into a loft pan, froze it for an hour and then took it out and cut 5 bars.  Sprinkled my remaining shredded coconut and Voile all done. Keep remaining bars in air tight container in either fridge or freezer. .  

Enjoy!

Simple and Delicious Meals

                                                    

Quinoa, carrot, avocado on romaine lettuce with cilantro, lime dressing

                                                 

Caribbean black beans with pineapple

Spicy mixed greens

Brown rice

Pumpkin chocolate chip muffins

Whole wheat pizza with almond-tofu cheez, roasted eggplant, mushrooms, kale

Weight Loss Update with Pictures!

First an Update on My Two Boys: 

Time has flown this past 7 months since Lex's birth. Lex is thriving and still so baby-lovely. Babbling and creeping: exciting baby accomplishments. Rocket is an incredible toddler who is using his words to proclaim his needs and desires.   This time last year I was worried about his speech development but now that is a thing of the past. 

Post-Partum Weight-loss:  

Not that I am proud that I gained an extraordinary amount of weight while I was pregnant with Lex: I will say that I am proud that I am losing the weight. 

Some woman struggle to lose the extra weight gained during their pregnancy, especially after having their second child. I constantly re-adjust my expectations for weight loss and adhereing to my exercising plan because having little ones is not so predictable. even the best laid plans can be foiled because of baby and toddler woos. Despite having two little ones, I still prioritize my workouts and roughly plan the my meals to give me the maximun energy. If something comes up and I have to cancel my workout plans, it is not a big deal because I get right back on schedule as soon as I can. 

Weightloss Pictures: 

This picture was taken 7 weeks post-partum. I am about 200lbs.

This picture is 7 months post-partum and I currently weigh 165lbs. 

Lets just say I am very happy where I am at the point in my weight loss journey. I am back in my size 10 jeans (size I was in high school) which means I am wearing more of MY clothes as opposed to clothes I had to buy to have something to wear. I still have 20lbs to go until I am at my end of the year goal weight. 

If anyone feels that I am too obsession of my weight and losing weight, please remember the main purpose of this blog is to chronicle my fitness and nutrition journey. Therefore, that is what the bulk of what I am blogging about. 

Day to day on average I spend 15 minutes planning my workouts; 45 minutes total executing my workouts, and 2 hours planning, prepping, and cooking my food each day. I prepare each meal from stratch. Whether it been a smoothie, casserole, salad, wrap, or soup, I use 90% whole, unprocessed ingredients. The other 10% account for non-dairy milks, tofu, tortillas, and  chocolate chips. 

This was a fun post to write up, hope to do another progress picture blog post in 3-4 months. 

Next post will be 4 smoothie recipes.