Weekly Workout #4

By the end of this week you will have been doing these high intensity workouts for 20 to 24 days depending on your commitment every week. You should be feeling stronger and your clothes should be nice and loose. If not, don't be discouraged! Make sure your caloric intake is low (1200 to 1500 range)  but full of good healthy foods. Diet is really 90% of the weight loss game so you can't ignore it if you want results. But most of all you need to be patient and see things through. It took time to put the weight on and it is going to take time to take it off or if your not interested in weight loss but just toning up it takes a long term commitment to build and strengthen muscle but it will be worth it. Think lifestyle change here, but it really is an easy lifestyle change, just 20 minutes a day and yummy healthy food, sounds like a great life to me and I am living it! If you have questions or just need some encouragement leave a comment below, email me or hop on the Facebook. Lets work together and reach the fitness goals we have! With that said here is the workout breakdown for this week. Enjoy . . . it''s a "crunchy one"!

Weekly Workout  #4

Complete as many sets as possible in 11 minutes

20  Squat jacks

10  Flat press ups with knee crunch (alternate knees)

40  Low Knee High Knee Combo (alternate every 10, only count one knee for high knees)

20   Mountain Climbers

---Rest 1 minute ---

Mini set – complete as many sets as possible in 8 minutes

20 Frog Squats with side knee crunch (weighted)

20 Banana Crunches

20 Side Plank Crunches (10 on each side)

Instruction Video

Real time Workout

Upcoming posts...

Body Image - What we think we see

Got Sway back? I do - Let's fix it!

I have worked very hard to rid my body of fat and tone my muscles and though I am not all the way there I was continually frustrated with my lower abs. It almost seemed like the harder I worked the more prominent my lower pooch became. I was confused and I was also experiencing some serious lower back pain throughout the day. At first I figured it was because I had 5 c-sections and my lower abs had been through the ringer to say the least and maybe I was just never destined to have that completely flat look again. Then in a casual phone conversation with my sister-in-law who has also been shedding the baby weight and exercising a lot she complained of almost identical symptoms, lower belly pooch no matter how much weight she lost along with lower back pain. After speaking to her I figured there had to be a reason other then just having a baby for this lower back pain accompanied by a pooch with solid abs yet make you look like your 3 months prego and it all was brought on after beginning to exercise on a regular and intense basis. Well it did not take me long to discover exactly what it was. It's called an anterior pelvic tilt or Lordosis ( I grew up with horses and we had a few old ones with serious sway back and I always told my husband that is how I felt)  The cause for anterior pelvic tilt is most commonly tight hip flexors, although there are other causes as well. It only took one good attempt at a hip flexor stretch to discover  this was the muscle group causing my tilt and pooch. I could hardly do the stretch and when I did it was extremely painful. I had been concentrating on on my major muscle groups when I stretched, like quads, hamstrings and back but I had failed to give the correct amount of attention and time to these small hidden muscles.

So how do you know if you have it? Well if you have similar symptoms to me or when you turn sideways your hips and back look like this guy or this lady below then it's a pretty sure self diagnosis although you could always visit a Chiropractor and express your thoughts about having Lordosis and they should be able to confirm it right away. But if the front of your pelvis sits lower then the back I'd say you've got it.

  This picture above is exactly how I look, well I don't wear weird undies like that but the sway in the back producing a flat lower pooch is almost exact. So how do you fix this issue? Stretch, stretch, stretch! I could get into all the medical terms and reasons for this problem and tell you how to do it but I chose the lazy route and found a you tube video to do it for me (gotta love you tube!)

I have committed myself to doing stretches for my hip flexors 4 times a day for 4 minutes each time. So if you have this issue (which a lot of women do) then you may consider joining me in this quest to rid yourself of the pooch and improve your spinal placement and posture. What I love about this discovery is the proof that it is not all about pounds but rather a balance in your body and how so many factors contribute to a lean and healthy looking you! 

Easy changes in your diet & Recipe

Sometimes changing your eating can be intimidating, especially if you are a picky eater or just not used to some of the more healthy choices. Just like the workouts, change can take time but there are 3 simple changes I found were not only easy for me but even easy for my kids (and I have 2 very picky eaters).

The first change is two fold,
 #1 eat salad EVERYDAY or close to it. We almost always have a salad as a side dish with our dinner and if we don't have it with dinner I have it for lunch. But here is the important part and is truly not as painful as it may sound. Get rid of the ICEBURG! This lettuce has very little nutritional value. Some say they use it because it has practically no calories but lets think wisely here. 2 cups of iceburg may not have more than 10 calories but it also has almost nothing else for your body whereas 2 cups of organic baby spinach only has 20 calories but also Vitamin A 110% and C 40% as well as calcium 8%, protein 3g, potassium 13% and iron 15%. And baby spinach is exactly what I am suggesting you change to. Some of you may be thinking, "but I hate spinach." I am not a huge fan of cooked spinach but I can tell you from experience that I instantly LOVED when I switched our salad over to baby spinach and my kids didn't even skip a beat, I said it was salad and they ALL ate it and never said a word about it tasting different.




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Also I get the plastic tubs of spinach which I buy Natures Promise organic baby spinach 1lb tub. It usually costs me about $5.99 at Martin's but do not be fooled,  this tub is magical and even though it may not look like a lot at first, I am telling you it just keeps giving. I feed my family of seven salad 5 times a week and one tub will do that! They really pack that spinach in there!


Change #2
Eat less meat! It is important to get protein daily but it does not always need to be from meat. There are so many other great healthy sources out there like, beans, lentils, nuts and eggs. If you think about it, most people eat meat 1-2 times a day, maybe a turkey sandwich for lunch and then chicken and potatoes for dinner. Meats take longer for you system to digest because the protein molecules are bigger and more complex, it will usually stay in your stomach for about 4 to 5 hours before it begins to move on into your small intestine. So if you had meat for lunch you would scarcely had gotten this out of your stomach  and into your small intestine by the time you eat another serving of meat for dinner. This can lead to bowel issues as well as an overall sluggish digestive system. It helps to give your body a break from some of the "heavier" stuff and instead of eating meat that day give it simple, easy and digestive friendly things like beans for your protein which will aid in cleaning out your bowels. Don't get me started on the amount of crusted fecal matter the average american has stuck to the walls of their colon, it is shocking and gross and this is a food post so I will not mingle the subjects but I will tell you some people have several pounds built up and studies have shown heavy consumption of meats with little fruit and veggies is a BIG cause for this excess and toxic weight in your gut. Anyway moving on, my family and I do not consume meat everyday. In fact we probably consume meat only 4 days a week. This was a slow and sometimes tough process for the hubby but even he has embraced it since he now sees and feels the impact on not only his health but on our bank account! (meat is expensive) 


Change #3
Choose fruits and veggies for your snacks rather than carbs such as crackers or chips or other such things. You will not only save yourself lots of calories but it will help you get your full servings in of fruits and vegetables. You really can not eat enough of these two things. If you are hungry for a snack grab and apple or peach or a handful of carrots and celery and snack on that. If you are still hungry after that then you can move on to some carbs but you will find you will eat less of them thus helping you keep your caloric intake in check. My family eats organic apples and carrots DAILY, they are almost always present for snack and with  lunch in some form or another. I thought surely my kids would tire of this but I have yet to ever hear one of them say, "Oh NOOOOOO, APPLES" Instead the are reaching there little hands up while I cut them and I have to remind them they will lose a finger and to just wait until the apples are ready. I must say I have found a big difference between organic apples and non-organic. The organics are just more flavorful and tender and this is an item to consider buying organic especially because it is usually the same price if not maybe slightly higher. I get a 3lb bag for 4.99 which works out to $1.66 a pound, pretty good in my book and we go through 2 to 3 bags a week. There is a reason the saying "An apple a day keeps the Doctor away" came into being!

So there are some simple changes anyone can make and if your not a big fan of the items I listed just try it for 2 weeks and watch your taste buds adapt, it is amazing. Play around with things find out what the right stuff for you is. Everyone is different but what I challenge you to do is to stick to whole foods,  READ LABELS and really pay attention to what you are putting into your body. Your food is your fuel and your first source of vitamins, minerals and medicine. So many people struggle with illnesses that could be corrected if they would only look at their diets and make healthy changes.

Below I have listed 2 salad recipes (ideas really) as well as a homemade dressing recipe that is so very yummy! Enjoy

Spinach Apple Salad

Organic baby spinach, thinly sliced apples (I use a potato peeler to get the slices very thin), sliced onion, your choice of nut or seed ( I really like pumpkins seeds or sunflower)
Dressing - Newman's Own all Natural  Poppyseed dressing or this Homemade Berry Vinaigrette
  Berry Vinaigrette
1/2 Cup Vinegar
1/3 to 1/2 Cup Extra Virgin Organic Olive Oil or Grapeseed Oil
1/2 Cup honey ( I use a little less then half)
2 cloves garlic
2 tsps Onion powder
1 cup of fresh strawberries (or you could do raspberries but my kids like the strawberries)
1 1/2 tsp poppy seeds

Blend all ingredients in blender except oil and poppy seeds, add the oil a little at a time to the blended mixture and then add the poppy seeds and pulse a few times until mixed

Southwest Spinach Salad

Organic baby spinach, thinly sliced red and green bell peppers, sliced carrots and onion. 

Dressing mix 2 Tlbs of organic ranch dressing with 1/2 cup homemade salsa (click the link for the yummy and super simple recipe) Shake together in a bottle or whisk in a bowl, drizzle on salad. I sometime also take a few Kirkland Organic Tortilla Chips ( from Costco) and crush them over my salad for some yummy crunch that fits perfectly with the southwest taste!

I would love to hear if you implement these changes and how it goes!

Weekly Workout #3

Here it is Weekly Workout #3 and I am warning you it will leave your legs shaking but you will also feel amazing afterwards. These workouts truly fire up your metabolism and super charge your energy levels for the rest of the day. This is not something that if you do a little here and then maybe a little there you will magically  reach your goals. If you want to see results by only doing 20 minutes a day you HAVE to commit to doing it 5 days a week and eating right. Keep your calories between 1200 and 1500 (unless you are nursing) eat lots of fruits and vegetables drink your minimum intake of water, which should be close to 70 or even 100 ounces of water a day. These things are minor changes and 20 minutes is not long but when you combine all these things together and STICK WITH IT, not giving yourself excuses, then you WILL see results. The magical weight loss cure is so simple it's practically stupid, you watch what you eat, exercise, drink lots of water and DON"T GIVE UP! So many people give it a try for a week or a month or even 6 months and don't see immediate results and then throw in the towel and say "I've tried it doesn't work."  But how many of those people truly committed themselves on every level? I love the show Biggest Loser because it is absolute PROOF that the simple lifestyle change of "eat right and exercise" really works for anyone. Those contestants all have conditions such as diabetes, thyroid issues, bad knees and the list could go forever. So many of them have tried every diet in the book. But what ends up transforming their bodies? Good old fashion determination and commitment. They exercise and eat right. Am I burning this into your brain yet? Not all of us can leave home for 3 months and  have a personal trainer kick our butts all day long however if you allow it, I am more than willing to kick you butt for 20 minutes a day in the comfort of your own home.  So stick with it and let's get after it. Week 3 here we go!

Weekly Workout  #3

Complete as many sets as possible in 11 minutes

20 run lunges

10 burpees

10 slide squats with kick

20 Crab touches

---Rest 1 minute ---

Mini set – complete as many sets as possible in 8 minutes

20 weighted swivel dips

20 Butt lifts on wall

20 twisting leg extensions

Instruction Video

Real Time Workout

Upcoming posts you don't want to miss:

3 things to change in your Diet today 

Body Image, what is real and what's not

Be the Camel

Some of you may wonder why an entire post would need to be dedicated to water. I mean come on it's just water right? WRONG. Did you realize that water is actually classified as a "nutrient" even though there is no nutrition like vitamins and such in it.Among all this  talk about super foods and super berries and magical weight loss pills and weightless sprinkles  the fact remains that WATER is you best friend and ally when it comes to staying healthy as well as losing weight. I have never understood the quest to find the miracle cure for weight loss because the proven answers have always been right there for us, you eat the food pyramid meaning a balanced diet and for weight loss you take in less calories then you burn and drink plenty of water. It is ridiculously simple so why do so many people fail to do this? Well it is usually because they are not taking this method to the extreme (or so it would seem extreme in today's twisted society) that is needed, therefore they receive little to no results. Water does so much for our bodies it is hard to list all the benefits of taking in an adequate supply of water. Fitness.com has a great summary of the purposes of water, "Regular water consumption is good for our health and diet, and is essential for many functions of the body. It is important in helping with digestion; the absorption of food, the regulation of body temperature and blood circulation, the carrying of nutrients and oxygen to the cells in the body, and for the removal of toxins. Water also helps with the movement of joints, and helps protect tissues and organs in the body. It is also good to drink water for metabolic and weight loss purposes. Drinking water metabolizes stored fats, and helps maintain proper muscle tone. Most importantly though, drinking water will prevent dehydration, which can have detrimental effects on the body."
I dunno sounds like a miracle cure to me yet so many of us push right past the evaluation of our water consumption and head straight to the pharmacy, or doctor when we have a aliment. Do you get constipated a lot? Drink more water. Do you get headaches and muscle aches a lot? Drink more water? Do you often feel fatigued or just sluggish? Do you have food cravings and the munchies? Drink more water. Do you have unexplained breakouts or skin problems such as dry skin or eczema? Drink more water. Do you sometimes want to box up your kids and ship them to Sweden? Take a breather and go get a massage or pedicure but on your way. . . .  drink more water, because believe it or not, water intake is linked to your moods as well as conditions such as  anxiety and depression.
I could go on and on about the things a healthy water intake can do for your body but frankly the list is just too long.
However since this blog is about fitness let's concentrate on weight loss. Water not only helps to breakdown and flush out those fat cells, it also helps us to feel full and calm the munchies and cravings. It is also essential so you are not retaining excess water which is somewhat of a superficial weight, but weight non the less and can leave you feeling bloated and just plain sluggish. If your body is not receiving the right amount of water it stores it to prevent becoming dehydrated because you are telling your body it can not count on a consistent supply therefore spooking it into survival mode. But if you take in the proper amount of water it allows your body to flush all the unnecessary stored water out of your body along with the toxins, fat and chemicals it was holding in there with it. Think of a quickly moving spring of water, running down the mountain side, the water is clear and clean. But what about a stagnant puddle, what does that water look like? Gross right? Well if you aren't drinking the right amount of water you have "stagnant gross puddles" just sitting around in your system and are slow to drain along with all the toxins they contain. But if you are drinking lots and lots of water you have more of the quick clean mountain stream which is cleansing on so many levels.

So hopefully I have you convinced about how important water is, now your question should be, what is a healthy or correct water intake? Many of us have heard the whole "8 glasses a day" and while this is a decent recommendation the fact is there are too many variants. 8 glasses of water might be enough for me but is it enough for a 250 pound man? No way. So the simple formula is this, take your body weight and divide it in half then change pounds to ounces and this is your MINIMUM water intake a day. If you weight 140lbs you should be drinking at LEAST 70 ounces of water a day. Once you have this base water intake you need to factor in your activity level, whether or not you work outside in the sun, as well as other demands on your body (i.e nursing a baby) I drink a a minimum of 70 ounces of water a day, no I do not weight 140 lbs but I have found through trail and error that this is my minimum for feeling good and achieving the results I need. But when I really want to feel great I drink 90 to 100 ounces of water a day, not only does this increase my energy, make my skin glow and cleanse my system it also helps me to feel full it calms my urges to snack and I have no issues with staying within my caloric intake to achieve weight loss.
So if you are not seeing results with your fitness goals, first assess your water intake, it plays a vital role in your overall health as well as your weight loss goals. I challenge everyone this week to "drink like a camel" drink more water then you are used to, slowly increase you tolerance for it. Most of you will find you will be visiting the bathroom quite a bit at first as your body releases all the water it has been hanging on to and as your bladder becomes accustomed to the increase in fluid output but if you stick with it, just like these workouts, you will benefit in huge ways!

Weekly Workout #2

Here is the second weekly workout! Some of you may still be a bit sore from last week but just remember to stretch after your workouts. Tuesday I am usually quite sore but then Wednesday I am only a little and by Thursday, Friday and Saturday I am feeling great! These workouts are so short but will deliver great results if you just commit to them as well as eating healthy. If I can juggle 5 kids, writing books and all the other chaos of life but still get a 20 minute workout in everyday you can too, so no excuses, just get it done!

This workout should be done everyday for the next 5 or 6 days and rest on Sunday - Have Fun with it!

Weekly Workout  #2

Get your chair!  ( one you can stand on, or a piano bench)

Main Set - Complete as many sets as possible in 11 minutes

20 round kick  2 point squats

20 tri dips with chair

20 step ups with knee crunch (right leg)

20 step ups with knee crunch (left leg)

20 plank jacks

---Rest 1 minute ---

Mini set – complete as many sets as possible in 8 minutes

10 one arm push-ups (right)

10 one arm push-ups (left)

20 knee push ups

10 weighted wood cutters (left)

10 Weighted wood cutter (right)

20 Star crunches

Instructions and Modifications 

Real Time Workout

Don't Miss these upcoming posts:

Be the Camel - The importance of water intake

Got Sway back? - I do let's fix it together

What Changes can you make to your diet today?

Foe or Friend? When to ignore the scale.

Let's face it when I say "get fit" everyone automatically hears "lose weight". Why? I wish I knew the exact reason but it seems that weight loss is the first thing most people mention when hearing the word fitness. Sadly too many people only pay attention to the numbers on the scale when trying to get fit. When people are only focused on pounds they can easily get caught up in diets that aren't healthy for their body (don't get me started on the HCG Diet again) If you set a goal to go from 155 pounds to 125 pounds and try and achieve that by simply just dieting and maybe doing cardio here or there you could most certainly reach your goal weight if your diet is extreme enough and achieve some fat loss but often your end result is flabby thin. Now one could argue that flabby thin is better than flabby overweight, and I suppose it is but I will tell you there is a better alternative and that is toned and firm. Fat loss is good, but muscle gain is even better and the more muscle you gain the more fat you will lose and keeping it off is easier. When it comes to weight loss your metabolism is key because your metabolism is the rate at which your body burns calories, and if calories burned is more than calories taken in then pounds will be lost. So what do you think has the biggest effect on your metabolism? Nope it's not what you eat or your age or even your activity level all though all those do effect it to a degree and it most certainly is not a miracle pill. Muscle tissue is the biggest contributor to controlling your metabolism. Simply put, the more muscle you have the more calories you will burn. Two women who weigh the same at 145 pounds, but one woman has a higher muscle mass than the other, the woman with more muscle will burn more calories than the woman with very little muscle even though they weigh the same. Even if they are just sitting in a chair typing on a keyboard the woman with more muscle will burn more calories. Your body is burning calories all day everyday 24/7 even when you sleep; but people with muscles burn more calories snoring then someone lacking in the muscle department.

So when I say you need to gain muscle now you are probably thinking "but I don't want to look bulky". Once again I do not know why there are so many misconceptions about these things but the last thing muscle is, is BULKY. When someone says muscle maybe we think of a body builder and yes they are bulky but that is because they have gone to an extreme with building muscle. Muscle is lean and takes up a whole lot less room then fat in your body. Growing up I remember often hearing the saying "muscle weighs more than fat" I think I heard it so much because people were constantly trying to cover up their surprise when they would pick me up or weigh me. I was a very active little girl, from the time I was six I was swimming competitively and playing soccer plus mix in some gymnastics and dance here and there and I continued these activities through high school. I had a great deal of muscle and I remember going to the doctor in high school for a physical and him slightly gaffing at the scale when he weighed me. I looked at him wondering what was wrong and my expression was enough to prompt an explanation from him. "I didn't think you weighed that much, you certainly don't look like you do. Well muscle weighs more than fat" he said. This was a doctor telling me this. But enough with the blast from the past the point is muscle does NOT weight more then fat. A pound is a pound, is a pound either way you put it. A pound of feathers will weigh the same as a pound of metal.... ummm yeah they both weigh a pound there is no other answer, but there will be more feathers then metal. This is the same with fat and muscle in our bodies. Check out this picture below of 5lbs of fat versus 5 lbs of muscle.

I think it is obvious that you would rather have 5lbs of muscle versus 5lbs of fat, it takes up less space and has a smoother shape. So why am I going into such detail about muscle and weight loss and fat? Well #1 just to help educate people but also to help change your mind set. While we are doing these workouts and EATING RIGHT  , eehhhemmm let me emphasize that a little more, eating healthy and balanced food which will fuel your body, you are gonna be jumping on the scale and some of you will instantly see some weight loss but a lot of you will not. Does this mean these workouts aren't doing anything for your body? Absolutely not.  As long as your not out eating Big Macs and fries or things of the sort but are watching your caloric intake then these workouts are changing your body but it won't always immediately manifest itself in pounds lost. These workouts are designed to build muscle as well as deliver cardio but, muscle building is the focus. Why? Well I already said why earlier in this post, because the more muscle you have the more calories you burn and the more calories you burn the more fat you will lose. To super charge your fat burner, a.k.a metabolism, you need to have muscle! When I first began training the way I do I hit it hard and only saw 2 pounds weight loss in a month, but I didn't get discouraged because my clothes were obviously loser on me and I could see a big difference in my body. Currently I weigh 8 pounds more then I did when I got married but I can fit into my wedding dress. Now I am only 5'3" and 5lbs has a much bigger effect on me then it would a woman who is 5'7". If I gain or lose 5lbs we are talking a full dress size here so when I say 8lbs, it is a big deal on my short frame. Yet I can fit into clothes I wore when I weighed 8lbs less. It's because I have more muscle today then I did 10 years ago and muscle is leaner. 

So what is a healthy way of measuring your fitness success? I am not saying you need to toss the scale out the window but you do need to change your focus. Get a measuring tape and take waist, hip and thigh measurements, pay attention to how your clothes fit or just how you feel. Do you feel stronger, leaner, healthier? Can you run further, lift heavier, endure longer? Focus on these types of improvements so you do not get discouraged when you hop on that scale and see minimal or no movement. The weight loss will eventually come but you must endure and stick through the muscle building phase and if you do you will hit a place where the pounds are melting off with very minimal effort. Muscle is also beneficial in keeping the fat off for the long haul. 

To sum it all up the next time you step on that scale  remember you are building muscle and stay positive. Positive thinking will get you everywhere in life but negative thinking will get you nowhere but depressed. I have been there I know exactly what it is like to want that fat to be gone and be gone fast, I went from 122 pounds to 178 with my first pregnancy. Like I said earlier I am 5'3" and 56 pounds made me unrecognizable. Even after I had my baby and my initial water weight came off I was left with a solid 40 pounds to lose. I had scarcely gotten down by 20 and then I was pregnant again. I didn't gain as much weight this time but I started at a higherweight and ended up being 169lbs. After my second baby I literally felt like I had mountains to climb, but I stuck with it and after 7 years and 3 more pregnancies I am on my way to being in the best shape of my life. It takes time, it takes effort and most of all dedication and positive thinking. So think happy thoughts,  ignore the scale and just stick with me, because you can do this!

Recipe -Chipotle/ Cafe Rio Burritos

Here is the Healthy Weekly Recipe and this is one of my absolute favorites, so give it a try!

I was originally introduced to this recipe in all of it's sugaray glory and though it was good I knew the recipe could be better in terms of health. So after experimenting every time to find the right mixture of health and flavor I finally came to the conclusion listed below. I love this recipe and make it often because the leftovers provide a quick, healthy, delicious lunch at my finger tips and the fact that you can mix and match what you put in your burrito drives this recipe home because each day you can change it up a bit. This might seem like a lot of work but like I said if I do it big one night it feeds my entire family again another night and I can have lunch for the week so one night of work equals many easy meals after that. Also you use a lot of the same ingredients in each of the dishes so that is helpful.
ENJOY!

The Meat:
Pork Tenderloin (however many pounds you need however over 2 lbs and you will need more of the sauce, you can also use chicken or beef)
2 cups organic beef broth ( I use the Organic Better than Bouillon reduced sodium from Costco, I also get the chicken one, these are AWESOME and a must in my kitchen)
2 cloves minced garlic
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground ginger
2 TLB apple cider vinegar or Lemon Juice (this helps tenderize and penetrate the meat with flavor) 
1 medium onion sliced

Mix ingredients, you can either marinate the meat in this over night (minus the sliced onion) and then put the meat and mixture in the Crockpot in the morning (add the onion here) or you can mix it all and cook it same day. If I remember I like to marinate it in the firidge overnight but it works just fine if you forget and just put in all in the crock the morning of.
Cook in crockpot on low for 8 hours, you want the meat to be falling apart so it may be different for your crockpot.

The Beans: ( I double this for my family and for plenty of leftovers)
1 can Black Beans or Pinto ( I like black but my kids sometimes prefer pinto) rise and drain
2 cloves minced garlic
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 can tomatoes sauce plus 1/2 can water ( I use organic sauce with no sugar added you can also use tomato juice and just do 1 1/2 cups of juice)

Simmer on medium low in a pot on the stove until liquid becomes thick and beans are heated through, add 2 TBLS chopped cilantro in the end and stir

The Rice or Quinoa ( I use organic brown rice or Quinoa however you can even use the Instant brown rice for this)
1 cup Brown Rice (or Quinoa)
2 cups chicken broth (once again I use the organic better than bouillon so I mix 2 tsps with 2 cups water)
Juice of  1/2 lime
2 tsp garlic powder
Place in Rice cooker or follow basic rice cooking instructions for stove top
When the rice is done fluff and add this mixture to it
Juice of 1/2 lime and 3 TLBS of fresh chopped cilantro at this point you can add 1 tsp of sugar to the lime cilantro mixture and it will make it slightly sweet, however I negate the sugar cause I just don't feel like it needs it.

***Slice some green and red bell peppers as well as an onion and with some of the juice from the pork roast in the crock pot, saute the vegetables in a pan until tender.

***Serve all this with whole wheat tortilla's and for my kids I add cheese and sour cream however I refrain from these extra items because of the extra calories. I also always have a jar of my families homemade salsa on hand so I have included this easy but delicious recipe below, seriously amazing slasa! I have been doing it for years and my mother has been doing this recipe for even longer.

Bonus Recipe -super easy Salsa 

Collingwood Family Salsa

2 cans diced tomato with mild green chili, drained( Rotel is a good brand for this but I have recently gone organic)
1/2 Large onion or 1 small to medium onion sliced
2 tsps minced garlic
1/2 to 1 cup of fresh cilantro ( it just depends on how much you like, I like a lot)
1 TBLS white vinegar (this helps preserve it)
1/2 to 1 whole (depending on size) Red Bell pepper (this is optional but when I add it I find it brings a sweetness to the salsa that is refreshing sometimes and makes it less spicy so my children like it more as well)
Put all ingredients in a blender and pulse until salsa is blended. This salsa is not chunky it is more of the authentic style and is a smother texture but oh so delicious. I use this in lots of things including salad dressing for low calorie dressings ( I will give those recipes another time). So I usually have a jar of this in my fridge.

To eat or not to eat? That is the question.

Let me clear the air by first saying the title of this post is not questioning if you should eat or not, starving yourself is NEVER the answer. Even if in the short run it delivers results, the damage you do to your body for the long haul will eventually manifest itself and it is not pretty, it WILL come back and bite you in the butt, if not by weight gain it will be by screwing with your metabolism and the healthy and proper function of your internal organs (proven science here people). That is why you will never hear me promote something like the HCG diet. Someone mentions that diet to you I want you to tuck tail and run, get as far away from that stuff as possible. People doing diets such as the HCG are literally starving themselves (500 calories a day sometimes for more than 45 days) and yeah we have all heard of such huge successes stories I am sure but most of the people I know who have done it end up gaining all or most of the weight back almost immediately or over the span of a year or two. Thus is the result of fad diets. Dieting is not just about losing weight, imprint that in your mind right now, it is not all about weight loss. People who do HCG and starve themselves may be losing weight but is it healthy? What about organs like your heart and brain that depend on a certain amount of healthy fat to function normally? These are things to consider whenever we are putting food in our mouths or restricting calories.
To eat or not to eat is rather a question you should ask pertaining to individual items every time you go to put something in your mouth. For example your hubby brought home a box of donuts and plopped them on the counter. You are starving and while talking to him about his day you walk over and help yourself to a donut or two because they are just so dang good, and after all you deserve it right? I know I am not alone when I admit I was not, and still am not always, a conscientious eater. But if you choose to think about every item you put in your mouth down to taking a bite of an ice cream sandwich you can easily change your eating habits. Instead of just mindlessly grabbing the donut before you put it to your mouth ask; To eat or not to eat and WHY? Why do I want the donut? Is it because I am hungry  or do I have the munchies or am I just craving sugar or is it just because it was there? If you analyze your thoughts process a lot of times you will come to realize that your reasons for the donut aren't the best and while you sit there like Jekyll and Hyde contemplating a donut soon enough you will drive yourself crazy and realize that donut is just not worth the insanity. lol All joking aside if people truly pay attention to the items they eat it really can open up their eyes not only to their REAL caloric intake but to the quality of those calories.
This is why I am a HUGE promoter of keeping a food journal and I encourage everyone participating in this Fit at Home Mom program to keep one. A food journal is simple, find a note book and commit to writing down EVERYTHING you stick in your mouth. If you breakdown and eat some potato chips then count them and write: 13 potato chips. It may seem a little over the top but if you want to change your body a huge part of it, if not most of it comes from what you eat. At the end of the day if you analyse your journal you can begin to see where you maybe did not make the best choices and then plan ahead for the next day of what you can substitute. If you make decisions ahead of time when it comes time to make the choice it is so much easier because you have already made it. When I first started this method I would even write down how many calories things were, so if I grabbed those 13 potato chips I read the label to see how many calories 13 chips would be. It did not take long to see how quickly I could push past my  daily caloric intake or how quickly I would reach it and still be hungry.
I am not here to tell everyone what foods you should all have in your homes but I will tell you that when I made the decision to only do all natural and organic foods in my home for my entire family I really no longer had to keep a food journal. A lot of people say, well I can't afford natural and organic (not everything in my home is organic but everything is at least natural) but you would be surprised with a little bit of effort how affordable it is. I feed a family of 7 all natural and organic on a budget of $200 a week for grocery or $1000.00 a month, this is my food budget. But keep in mind I am feeding a family of 7 three meals a day including snack( I pack my husbands and kids lunches). Now we don't all live in the same area and so resources play a huge factor in this, however I imagine that everyone has access to a place with fruits and vegetables. My fridge is FULL of fruits and vegetables! My pantry has things like whole wheat products, beans, quinoa, whole wheat flour and stuff like that. All these things are full of fiber, and vitamins and minerals and will leave you feeling full and your body will be energized. Obviously I do A LOT of cooking and baking because I have mostly ingredients and not packaged foods (I have some just not a lot)
Now am I saying I NEVER have junk or a treat. Nope actually yesterday I made chocolate chips cookies for my family and I ate one,(okay two)! I do not think you should completely deny yourself everything, it will leave you feeling depressed but keep in mind that if everything is done with moderation it will lead to a healthier you.

So here is what a day in my food journal looks like -( I picked a random day from a month ago because I am not as consistent with my journal anymore)

Breakfast
Whole wheat bagel with cream cheese 
1 cup fresh pineapple
Fresh juice -orange,apple, carrot (I juice these items for my family in the mornings)

2 handfuls of organic carrots

Lunch
Spinach, onion and apple salad with poppy seed dressing
Cheese stick
Leftover 1/2 whole wheat peanut butter and jelly sandwich (typical mom playing vulture and cleaning up what my kids didn't eat, but careful with this cause it can get ya)

apple 

Dinner
Cafe Rio Burritos (homemade) - Mine had
1 whole wheat tortilla, black beans, cilantro lime quinoa, sauteed bell pepper and onions and homemade salsa
(I will be giving this recipe this week, so yummy and so versatile and works great for left overs to eat for lunch)
1 small homemade brownie


Some things to note about this day, I did not eat any meat, I am not vegetarian but I do not eat meat everyday. However I got plenty of protein from the beans and quinoa that day. Another thing to do is write down that day if you were hungry and when. I had a smiling face at the bottom of this page which meant I went to bed feeling full. Also it is great to write down your water intake along with it. I no longer do this because I drink between 70 and 90 ounces of water EVERYDAY! I will talk more about this in a post coming Thursday. But keep in mind that a large water intake helps with not being hungry especially when eating all these items which have high fiber.

So for those of you wondering what you should be eating and what your caloric intake should be for losing weight. Well there is not one answer for everyone unfortunately but there are some general guidelines you can follow and then tweak and experiment until you get the correct formula for your body.
Generally when women want to lose weight they should reduce their calorie intake into a range of 1200 to 1600 calories a day, you need to factor in how active you are.Women should never drop below 1200 calories a day this would qualify as starving yourself. (I will do a post on the benefits of intermittent fasting, I do this but it is different then starving yourself) If you make sure your calories are from first fruits and vegetables, then carbs like breads as well as beans and pastas and protein and fats then this will help to keep your calories down. If you always eat fruits and vegetables before anything else you will find you fill up before you take in too many starches or sugars. When first starting to control your eating do things like keep a bowl of baby carrots on the counter or an apple, if you start to feel hungry tell yourself you must eat the bowl of carrots before you get into the pantry or fridge. You will find that if you do this you will either fill up  and are no longer hungry or you have satisfied your munchies or you will eat less of whatever you decide to move onto.

I am not an absolute saint when it comes to eating, I fall off the wagon here and there just like the next person but I find that more and more I have less desire for food that is processed or junk or sugary because of how I feel when I eat the right stuff. I also have a much easier time bouncing back after a binge because the binge is short lived and makes me not want to fall of the wagon again because I feel gross. It really is a detox process to get all the refined sugars and starches and such out of your system but once you do you will find the cravings and addictions go WAY down and it make eating healthy so much easier. Now my version of falling off the wagon is sooooo much different then before and people would laugh at what I deem an eating spree

One more thing to consider. It is truly wise to apply these changes not just for you but for your family. I have done the "this is what I make my family and then try and restrain myself to my little salad while I watch them eating cheese enchiladas and cake" scenario. This is difficult and is too hard if not impossible to sustain. But if you change your entire families eating over all the sudden it is not such a struggle to fix dinner because everyone can partake. I had an epiphany when I changed our food over and realized, why would I only eat these things for myself? Don't I want my children to be healthy and NOT have to deal with weight issues when they are older. Why feed them junk now just so they have to eventually diet and change habit's when they are older? Doesn't make sense, yet we do it ALL the time. We diet and refrain from what we feed our family but if we would feed our family healthy portions of fruits vegetables, whole grains and lean protein and healthy fats (you do need fats in your diet especially kids) then we all stay healthy together at the same time teaching our children and particularly our girls what healthy eating is so if they become mothers they hopefully struggle less with the postpartum weight loss most of us do. Save your kids the trouble now and commit your family to healthy eating, your body and theirs will thank you for it!

* Specific diet changes and how to make them for not just you but your family posting next week

Weekly Workout #1

It's here! Your first weekly workout. The exercises in this are pretty basic and there are modifications for anyone who needs them. What is important to keep in mind is that these strength and muscle building movements will work for you even if you do the modifications as long as you are pushing your body as far as it can go. At the end of this workout you should be dripping sweat and breathing hard, if not then you didn't push hard enough! Commit right now to see this thing through and give it your all. 20 minutes is a fraction of your day and you can find the time if you truly want to change your body. You can do it, you just have to believe that you can and then work hard to make it happen. Here it is your chance to change and I am here to help you do that so let's get going!

Get a timer, some water, hand weights and be near a wall, here is the workout breakdown

WEEKLY WORKOUT #1 

Do this workout everyday for 5 or 6 days  and then rest on Sunday

Main Set

Complete these 5 exercises all the way through as many times as possible in 11 minutes.

            20 – Squat Jumps

            20 – Switch Lunges

            10 - Push up Jacks

  20  – One leg squat with side kick (right)

  20–  One leg squat with side kick (left)

           

- - - -- 1 minute rest - - - -

Mini Set – Complete these 5 exercises all the way through as many times as possible in 8 minutes

          20 – Squatting bicep curls (weighted)

          20 – Plie Pulses (weighted)

20 – Military press , alternate between straight above and slightly in front    

20 -  Lower Ab lift and tap

         20 -  Bicycle Extensions (only count 1 Leg for 20)

Below there are two videos, the instruction video where every exercise is demonstrated and a modification is provided. You can watch that to ensure you know what to do and then feel free to get your music this outline and bust it out, or you can watch the other video which is a real time workout where you can keep pace with me and I will be there to push you hard because I am simply pushing myself hard, whatever you chose to do, commit, push hard and get it done! Make sure to hop on the Facebook or this blog afterward and leave comments about how you did and what you think!

Instruction Video

Real Time Workout

Don't Miss these posts coming later this week.....


 * Be the Camel - The importance of Water intake
 * Weekly Recipe - A few important changes to make today
 * Scales, are they foe or friend?

 * Got Swayback? I do, let's fix it together!