Crazy Cold Weather? Let me help warm you up!

 
    Right now the kids and I are in MI. The weather is so cold. There is so much snow it's crazy! I am from GA so driving in snow isn't my thing. I'd rather stay at home and look at it from inside. However, you are required to shovel the driveways and side walks even if you aren't going anywhere so that gives you a little mini workout in itself. I'm not going to the gym due to the weather and the fact that the schools are closed so my kids are here with me so I need to work out at home. As you know from previous post I like home workouts too so I don't mind.

    Here is what I did today and I hope you try it out. It's a cardio blast and it will get your heart pumping I promise! It only takes about 15-20 min but you feel like you just did a hour.

30 sec. plank
30 sec. squat jumps

30 sec. burpees
30 sec. mountain climbers
30 sec. jumping jacks
30 sec. march in place
30 sec. wall taps
30 sec. alternating lunge jumps
30 sec. speed skaters
30 sec. plank

repeat 3 times with a 15 sec. at the end.

(You want to do as many as you can in those 30 seconds. Don't worry about counting just do it!)

Now if you need a break that's fine take it but make sure it's short. No longer than 10-15 sec and then continue with the next one. That list looks long but it really is only 5 min total. What I did was the whole routine and then took a break before I started again but it's totally up to you. Make sure you are listening to your body and if you truly need a break take a short one. Also try to push yourself because usually when you think you can't do anymore you can squeeze 2 more out!

It's a new year with new possibilities and I know a lot of people said that they were promising to workout and be healthier and it's day 6 so many people are already finding the excuse of the crazy weather to get out of their workout. I spoke to two who did that this morning. So, I thought I would post this to help keep you going with your goals in 2014. My goal was to stay dedicated to this blog and take to to places I never thought it could go and reach people I never thought it could reach! I want to help people and encourage them to stay strong and focused!! I hope to help so many people that I don't even know all the people affected. You have to go big or go home so that's what I'm doing with my dream!

More to come,
     Stay Fabulous!

slide to the left, slide to the right

AT HOME WORK OUT!!!

Personally I know how hard it can be to make it to the gym. Between work, school, and kids it's nearly impossible to breath let along go to the gym. I love my at home workouts. I honestly prefer them over the gym at times. One of my secrets for my at home work outs are furniture sliders. They typically come in a pack of 6 at most home improvement stores for just a few bucks.

Furniture sliders

There are SO MANY workouts you can do with furniture sliders. The example pictured below (excuse my ugly feet) is a fairly simple one. All you do is start in a crouched down position with your knees drawn in and hands flat on the ground. Next you slide your feet straight back into a plank position. After that you begin to slide one leg at a time up then slide back to plank. You are basically doing mountain climbers but using furniture sliders. This is a great ab work out. There are all kind of exercises you can do with these. Don't be afraid to experiment with them and see what you come up with. A few exercises are pikes, an inward/outward leg rotation, just bringing legs from plank to crouch continuously. I hope you try this out and see results from it. I love love love my furniture slider workouts!! one last thing.... when you first get started you may lose balance a lot. It's okay, I promise, everyone starts off that way but one your body gets stronger you won't lose balance as often. You will be surprised how quickly your body get stronger!!

knees drawn in

slide one foot forward then
back and repeat with other leg

slide straight back

Wishing, Hoping, Dreaming!

  We all wish we could do things a little different. Hope things turn out a certain way. Dream of our future and how it will be. Very few of us actually end up doing what we said we would be doing. Example, I'm suppose to doing what Erin Andrews does... I'm far from that!

   Today I have done a lot of reflecting on myself, my  past, and my choices. I'm happy with few and disappointed with many. So today (as I cleaned my house and jammed out with Pandora) I decided I wasn't going to live that way anymore. I am going to live opposite of that! I will be happy with many and disappointed with few from this point forward. I know I should have thought about that six years ago when I was 20 but I waited until I was 26 and jamming out to Bare Naked Ladies on Pandora's 90's Pop station. Talk about flash backs!!! I really really enjoyed my reflection time for the few hours I listened to the N'SYNC, 2000's Pop, and 90's Pop stations on Pandora.

   I am about to do my work out and I'm going to grind hard! I'm going to take that hour and push myself so hard that I sweat out ALL of my disappointment and ALL of my "failures" and ALL of my wrong decisions. With every drop of sweat will be me letting go of all of that and leaving it on the mat to wipe up and leave behind. A new dedication has started! Not just with my workouts but with my life, my goals, my wishing, hoping, and dreaming!

 












  I will be doing a 2 part work out. First one will be HEAVY cardio then some endurance/ resistance training. I'm pumped and excited..... Here we go!

Cardio:
25 jumping jacks
15 jump squats
:30 high knees
10 burpees
30 skaters
50 mountain climbers
(2x's)

Undecided on my second half of the routine, will probably make it up as I go.

We All Need A Passion!

     Let's admit it, we all love saving money but we also love to have what we want. Almost everyone I know LOVES either Starbucks or Dunkin' Donuts. When we figure out where to meet and catch up/grab a coffee it's usually one of those places. People also use these places for the wifi, or to have not so fancy meetings with clients or partners, or a casual first date to break the ice. Now that it is the summer most of those people have converted to iced coffee, chillers, coolattas, and teas that these places offer(such as Tazo teas). I too love me an iced Passion Tea that Starbucks offers however my funds aren't what they use to be! I am a very social person and like to go out with friends, hang out, and have a good time but I have to make sure it's in the budget. So it got me thinking!!!

     If I can be so dedicated to do prep meals each week and not eat junk and workout every day then I sure as heck can make my own tea and save a little money. Here is what I found out after doing the math and realizing I wasn't missing out on anything... except money. Now I get to keep that money and spread the money saving tips to you!! You're welcome.

     One box of Tazo Passion Tea cost $4.39(plus tax) and one bottle of Vanilla Stevia cost $16.99(plus tax). Now I know you are thinking $16.99 for sweetener?!?!?!? Just hang with me and let me explain and show you how much money you are actually SAVING! Let me break both of those down for you. One box of Tazo Passion Tea comes with 20 tea bags so each tea bag is only .22 (mind is blown, isn't it). Now this is the tricky part when figuring out how many of what and the cost. One serving of Stevia is 5 drops. Each bottle is a total of 240 serving so that equals 1,200 drops. That is a lot of drops in one bottle, but that isn't relevant just interesting, so when you break it down it cost .07 per serving of Stevia (remember that is 5 drops). So in total you spend a GRAND TOTAL of .29!!!! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!?!? Too good to be true???? NO!!!!!

 

   Let's break it down a little more. You are thinking how on earth are you going to break it down more than you just did, all I can say is keep reading and watch the savings! So we already know that it's .29 for us to make our own tea so let's do the whole box. You will spend $5.80 to drink 20 of your own made from home tea! If you were to buy a Passion tea every time you went to Starbucks or at least 20 times you went to Starbucks you would spend anywhere from $29-$40. I just showed you how to spend $5.80 for 20 teas no matter the size! At Starbucks you have your choice of Tall @ $1.45, Grande @ $1.75, and Venti @ $2.00. Multiply each of those by 20 and you get $29-$40. That's also before taxes. So go ahead and add a little to those totals.

    Real quick lets go back to the shock of $16.99 for the bottle of Stevia. You get 240 servings per bottle so after one box of teas you still have 220 servings left to use on whatever you choose OR you can use the remaining 220 on twelve more boxes of teas! Choice is yours!

     But wait all this talk about making our own tea but we still want to go out with our friends!!! I totally feel you. I still do but still save my money. I make sure I keep a few tea bags in my purse or in my car and if I know I'm going out I'll drop the bottle of Stevia in my purse as well. It's small enough to put in there and not take up any space. I'm just going to Starbucks so it's not a big deal. You can order a water and it is usually free but some times they will charge .50 depending on the Starbucks but even still it only cost you .79! Better  than $1.45-$2. I hope this helped you because I know it has me! From time to time I will show you this mom's frugal ways to have what I want but not break the bank.

Traveling

  Traveling seems to always be a challenge for people trying to eat healthy. For me it's the easiest to eat healthy. I pack a cooler full and go. I have my fruit, hummus, guacamole, Greek yogurt, pita, organic all natural pb, oatmeal, and almonds counted out to 14 in a baggie. For drinks I have bottles of water and tea bags. I also have Stevia to add to my drinks and yogurt and oatmeal. I love Tazo passion tea (you can get it at Starbucks but they don't use Stevia to sweeten it they use regular sugar). When you get gas or have to go pee at a rest stop do a little exercising. Do some jumping jacks, burpees, tuck jumps, or what ever you want to get a little exercise in! So because I am on vacay I am keeping this short and sweet but I hope this helped you with your next trip!

Going Bananas!!!

    As a kid I HATED bananas. Thought they were the nastiest thing I had ever eaten and honestly that didn't change until I decided to train my palate to enjoy the foods that were good for me. Now I eat bananas every day. Either straight up peeled or in a recipe. They are so good for you and they are pretty cheap to buy which is always good!

Some of the benefits are:

    There are much more benefits than these 10 but these are 10 great reason to start adding bananas to your diet. I'll touch on a few personal reasons as why I now don't mind and actually crave them on occasion. 1) Helps over come depression- bananas have a high levels of trytophan which turns into serotonin which makes your brain happy! Who doesn't want their brain to be happy? After my divorce I was down for a bit and I'm not claiming that bananas brought me my happiness BUT I'm glad I was eating them to help with making my brain happy. 2) Helps protect against cramps during workouts and leg cramps at night. Being a personal trainer I work out all the time. I love working out and don't know what I would do with my time if I didn't.... what is it that people do that don't work out? I guess that's a topic for another post... 3) Improves PMS symptoms. Bananas help regulate blood sugar and produces stress relieving relaxation. Now I don't deal with serious PMS symptoms (other than wanting to eat EVERYTHING) but the stress relieving benefits I'll take all day! 4) High in potassium and low in salt. Great combo because just about all bodily functions depend on potassium to some extent. 5) High in fiber so that helps if you are dealing with any constipation. I don't have that issue however when I was pregnant it was a serious issue and I found relief through eating bananas. Thank goodness because being pregnant is already full of discomfort so you don't want to add constipation on top of that! Ask any pregnant women I'm 99% sure they will agree. 6) Bananas help in preventing anemia. I have a very big problem with this and have to take iron supplements to help with that so when I found out that bananas helped with that I was all for it! Pass a banana please! 7) Provides us with energy!!! Bananas have B6 in them so that will give you some energy....being a single mom and having two kids and two jobs I need all the energy I can get! (I also have coffee that helps with that, not sure where I would be without it! Matter of fact I have my iced coffee right beside me as I type.) 
    So those are some of the benefits and personal reasons why you should incorporate bananas (or nanas as my 3yr old use to call them) into your diet. If you are an absolute hater of bananas then try putting them in smoothies, or spread some all natural peanut butter on them, or dip them in some dark chocolate if you need to! No one is saying you have to eat them all day every day but you should try to eat them and don't give up on them, maybe one day you will bite one and be like hhhhmmmm I guess this isn't THAT bad. 

   One of my fave things to do with bananas is slice a banana and melt all natural peanut butter and drizzle on top then sprinkle some unsweetened coconut on top. YUUMY!!! Every now and then I will also drizzle some melted dark chocolate on top and some times I also add chia seeds. Just depends on my mood but that is a snack I have often! So try it out and hopefully that will help you get them down if you aren't the biggest banana lover.  

Believe In Your Dreams!

Nothing in life comes easy! That is so true on so many levels, however so many people give up right before things happen and never know how something could have affected them. They give up because it gets so hard that they don't see the end result anywhere close and just give up. Lately I have been in that "I just want to give up" mood and that is NOT acceptable. So I have lit my own fire under my own butt and decided I will not give up! I will continue to push forth no matter how hard or how long it takes because for all I know what I'm striving for could be right around the corner or even through the next door that opens up for me and I would never know because I didn't keep pushing!!! I have to keep believing in my dreams because I refuse to be ordinary. I hope you do the same if you are feeling that lost hope. I promise you things will get better and easier but until then stay strong!! You got this and no one can do it for you so push on my friend push on. This post is short and sweet and to the point and I am sorry for my long absence but I'm about to make some major changes that I have been working on behind the scenes for my blog! Hint: videos!!!!! So happy to be back and in full swing!


More to come,
     Stay Fabulous