Tag: healthy

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#WorkoutWednesday – The Bear Crawl

I haven’t shared progress in a month and am sad to say there’s been little progress. In fact, a setback with all the wedding prep and celebrations. But I’m back at it and trying not to get frustrated, which happens often on this health journey of mine. For today I’m sharing an exercise that I’ve heard a lot about and have to try: The Bear Crawl. When you watch this video you’ll think, looks easy enough, but I’m told it’s not. The nice thing about it is that it works all parts of your body and you can do it anywhere you have enough space. No weights or fancy equipment to do this exercise. Always a good thing if you’re not near a gym. If you see me doing this on the beach next summer, join in!

Agility exercise workout bear crawl

Thanks to Jason Thomas at www.ironwarriortraining.com for the Bear Crawl Video!
Original Image by Rain Carnation from Pixabay

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#TransformationTuesday – Goals Reached, New Goals Set

My goal was to lose another five pounds in June and I can happily say that I met that goal. Total weight loss since April 1 when I started this phase and began sharing it with you is 21.6 pounds. Very happy that I was able to accomplish that and along the way, I’m learning what things to eat to keep me full and satisfied. One good article I found that lists these foods was in the NY Post and can be found here: https://nyp.st/303tn83. The amazing thing is that I was intuitively eating many of these healthy foods instead of other less healthy choices. You’ll notice that I didn’t use the word “bad” because I don’t want to get into a mindset of what’s good and bad or whether my behavior was good or bad. Apparently, that’s not a helpful way to tackle eating issues. In any case, I’m pleased with meeting my goals and am setting another goal of losing another five pounds by the end of July. This may be hard since I’ll be at two different conferences in the middle of the month and that’s not only going to challenge me to keep eating healthy, but it will also change up what exercise I can do each day. I’m going to have to stay motivated and find ways to keep moving despite being at the conferences. I’ll share more soon on my journey to get healthier!
Transformation Tuesday Weight Loss Goals

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#TransformationTuesday – Hitting an early weight loss plateau

After an amazing three weeks in which I lost almost ten pounds, I’ve been stuck at the same weight now for a week. Sigh. It’s time to consider what’s changed in the last week that might have impacted on my earlier success. For starters, I did have some more carbs in the mix and it just confirms that I have to stay away from things like bread and exchange healthier carbs for those like the carbs in fruits and vegetables. The other thing is my exercise routine. I’ve gone back to adding an extra twenty minutes of cardio after my twice weekly strength training. Last but not least, I have to look and see if I’m actually eating enough calories versus the calories burned due to activity. It’s never good to go into a mode that my body will consider a starvation mode. If you’ve hit similar plateaus with your weight loss, here are links to some articles that might be helpful:

Mayo Clinic: Getting Past a Weight Loss Plateau – https://mayocl.in/2DSwXsQ
My Fitness Pal: 10 Tips to Overcome a Weight-Loss Plateau – https://undrarmr.co/2DX4nqy
WebMD: 10 Ways to Move Beyond a Weight Loss Plateau – https://wb.md/2DTxTgW
Jillian Michaels: Break Through Any Weight-Loss Plateau – http://bit.ly/2DSeWeo

The content on the above websites is owned by the respective authors. Before starting any physical regimen you should consult with a physician. My linking to the above sites does not constitute an endorsement of any of the suggestions therein. (Sorry but you know those darn lawyers!)

Original Scale Image by TeroVesalainen from Pixabay

Original Hammer Image by bluebudgie from Pixabay

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#MotivationMonday – Inches Lost and Personal Bests

I wish I could post that I lost more pounds, but sadly I didn’t. Still at the same weight thanks to having to eat out three times last week. Tough to watch salt and calories, but I have to do better next time. Despite that, I can tell from clothes that are no longer tight that I’ve lost some inches. Plus, I did personal bests at the gym on the assisted pull-ups and my dead lifts (110 pounds!). Yeah. Also hit my daily step counts and then some, so all is good this week. Working on being better for next week. How about you? How did you all do last week?

Original dumbbell Image by Roy Buri from Pixabay

Original tape measure Image by annca from Pixabay

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#FitnessFriday #FoodieFriday – Cashew & Date Caramels

Is there something perverse about working out while watching the Food Network? Seriously? Yep, I do it. Ironic much, but I get lots of ideas for new recipes and ways to make what I’m eating tastier and healthier. I’ve lost 25 pounds so far and it’s been with a balance of sound nutrition and exercise. The thing is, if you feel deprived all the time, you won’t maintain your new lifestyle. I’ve been at it for 6 months with this new regimen and I can honestly say I don’t feel deprived. Anyway, one of the things I came across was vegan caramels. VEGAN! you say. Well, I have tried vegan food recently and found it quite tasty, not that I’m giving up the meat. But variety is nice. Plus, caramels are so fattening but these recipes use mostly three ingredients: dates, cashews, and chocolate. Three tasty things. So take a moment to check out these recipes!

Fitness Friday Foodie Friday

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#TuesdayTip National Bagel Day

Oooh, bagels. Those crusty, chewy, tasty treats! I’ve been watching my carbs because I do see a difference in my body when I eat them, but today I made an exception since it’s NATIONAL BAGEL DAY! Happiness.

So how can you have bagels more often if you are trying to be healthier. This Tuesday I have some tips for you.

    1. See if there is a whole grain/multi grain option.
    2. Scoop out the center stuff and just leave the crusty goodness. You can eliminate close to half the calories (around 400 for a regular bagel) and you get the sense of eating more by doing this instead of just eating half a bagel.
    3. Choose a non-animal fat spread, like mashed avocados or a natural nut butter. Hint on the “natural” nut butters: Read the label. If you’re getting a natural peanut butter it should have just one ingredient: Peanuts. You’d be surprised by what some of the “natural” nut butters actually contain.
    4. Add an egg or other low-fat meat protein, like a lean prosciutto or Canadian ham.
    5. Use a low fat/non fat cream cheese.

Ever wonder how bagels are made? Click here to check out this cool movie about Brooklyn Bagels or watch it below!

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bagelday

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Honey Cinnamon Roasted Chick Peas #Recipe #Healthy

Before we get to today’s recipe, please take a moment to visit with me at my Smartgirls SciFi interview and a spotlight at Books a la Mode!

Now for the recipe, kind of. My friends and I were chatting about diets in general and to be honest, it’s more about a lifestyle change and not just a diet. You go off diets and then you have that rebound that I’ve done more times than I care to think about.

So this time I am committing to a change that will be more permanent. I’ve almost eliminated soda from my life. I limit myself to one a day. I’m drinking more water and watching my carbs. I went off a bit this weekend and all I could think about on Monday were bagels, muffins, donuts and all those things that I know do not sit well with me.

I’m also trying to deal with cholesterol that’s a little too high and that prompted a discussion of honey and cinnamon. Apparently this combination has been touted as a cleanse, but apparently the two can also help lower your cholesterol.

So I’ve been having both in my coffee and oatmeal, but I thought I’d search out a fun way to combine these two! Lucky for you I found an interesting recipe for Honey Cinnamon Roasted Chick Peas!

Thanks to The Pastry Affair for the recipe. I can’t wait to try it out this weekend since I think I’ve got a can of chick peas sitting around. I usually use them to make hummus, but this sounds far tastier!

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