Fitness DVD Junkie

Remember, I'm busy and one of the major purposes of my blogging is  to keep it real and chronicle how to still make health and wellness work though I'm busy. I AM on Christmas break right now, and when we educators are on break, we feel like we can conquer the world. Then break ends and reality sets in, so stay tuned...

I do not have a lot of time to devote to exercise. I am not one of those people that will wake up at the crack of dawn to get a workout in. I'm just not. I'm willing to change some habits and sacrifice some things, but sleep is not one of those things.

Some things I've learned about me and working out: Cardio does nothing for me as far as weight loss. It's wonderful for my mood and also mentally helps me to stay focused diet-wise. But I could do cardio for an hour a day and never have any extra weight loss benefit from it. I have found that cardio can be a savior if I've had a rough eating day (or several). It helps to prevent weight gain disasters, but again it doesn't aid in my weight loss. Oh and certainly don't try and combine cardio with a very low cal diet. That's frustration waiting to happen. I've had friends come to me numerous times and tell me how they're eating 1000 calories a day and doing an hour of cardio 7 days a week and the scale isn't budging. Yeah, and it won't. I don't know the exact science, but too little food + an abundance of activity=stagnant weight loss. It's also true that our muscles hold on to water to make workouts more efficient if we are exercising, so the scale will read higher after a workout and even up to a couple of days after. Now, toning workouts seem to be super effective for me, especially when I work the large muscle groups in the lower body. Working out 20-30 minutes 2-3 times week is ideal for me. Some super health gurus might say it's not enough, but it's what I can work with for now. It's better than nothing, gotta start somewhere.

I'm a fitness DVD junkie for sure. I probably have 100 DVDs and even some VHS tapes. My absolute favorite are The FIRM. I've always seen my best results with those. I also have Beach Body workouts like Turbo Jam, Brazil Butt Lift, and Hip Hop Abs. I have Mel B's fitness DVD, and it's got quick 10 minute segments, great when time is short. I also have a nice collection of the 10 Minute Solutions series. I do get burned out on fitness DVDs, so the workouts I've recently sought out are 10-15 minute toning workouts from Youtube or printed somewhere on the web. I've found many on my favorite site, Pinterest! They give you a list of maybe 5-10 moves, sometimes with pics, sometimes not, tell you how many reps and how many sets. I like these, because I can do them while watching The Mindy Project, New Girl, Scandal, Once Upon a Time, you know, all those shows I love.

Here's part of my fitness DVD Collection:

 

 

I'll work out as far as I can make it work with my hectic life, but my true focus will be on calorie counting. I am an expert calorie counter. I rarely use guides. I can pretty much estimate/guesstimate the calorie value of a food to within +/- 75, because I've done it for so long. Even when I'm not aiming for weight loss, I still count calories. I made it a habit when I got married. So many married friends were telling me how I would put on weight once I was married. I was determined for that NOT to happen, so I started counting calories everyday. On my one year anniversary, I was up 2 pounds, and not the least bit upset about it. New Year's Day is tomorrow and I'm ready to rock and roll. I'll be posting beginning shots and even a weigh in shot, aaaarrrggghhh! Gotta start somewhere. :/ I'll also be keeping a food journal, right here on this blog. Come hang out with me!

 

Starting the Day off Right

I know that breakfast is important. That has been ingrained in me. My college major was nutrition, and if there are two things I left with, it's the importance of breakfast and I know you want to know the other one. That would be breastfeeding, but that's not relevant to this post, so moving on!

I've learned that if I start with a nutritious breakfast, I am more likely to eat well for the duration of the day. Another thing is water. If I'm drinking a decent amount of water, I do better with food. I have a little addiction to Diet Dr. Pepper, but having one on any particular day seems to throw me way off course.

Here are two of my favorite, healthful breakfasts. The first is a chocolate chip oatmeal cake from the Chocolate Covered Katie blog ,<---------- she's awesome. This little oatmeal cake is so filling. I can't even finish the entire thing. Eating half of it and saving the rest for later would still leave me feeling completely satisfied for a while. If you make this, do not neglect the nut butter. This makes it super decadent.



I make this in a mini-loaf pan, in case you were thinking it was a full-loaf pan. It's about 450-500 calories, which sounds like a lot, but remember half is enough. I topped it with whipped cream and chocolate chips like CCK does on her blog. I also added some sliced almonds, and my chocolate chips are dark chocolate, healthy chocolate, right?

My other favorite healthy breakfast is the green monster smoothie from the Divas Can Cook blog. I add dried oatmeal to it and mix it all up in my Vitamix.  The oatmeal adds satiety value. You'll find that just about anything with oatmeal will help you to feel full. The pre-made oatmeal packets that you make in the microwave get a bad rap. Processed oatmeal, how evil. Um no, we're busy remember and here's how I look at it: It's better than getting something from a fast food drive-through. It's portion controlled and the main ingredient is still oats. The oats have been cut a little smaller so that they'll cook faster. I am a believer in the quick oatmeal breakfast packet, yes sir!

Green smoothies are a perfect way of getting lots of nutrients in a quick, delicious, and easy to consume way. I vary my smoothies, with various fruits (frozen is fine), sometimes beets, carrots, avocado, the sky is the limit. I've had my Vitamix for about 4 years. I was so hesitant to spend so much on a kitchen appliance that sits on the counter, but it really is wonderful to have, money well spent.

My goal will be to make time for a nutritious breakfast more often than not. The smoothie doesn't take long to prepare. The oatmeal cake is something I'd prepare the night before, unless I just happened to be up really early (probably not happening).

Happy Almost New Year

Maybe if I do this publicly, I'll feel some extra motivation and blogging is exciting, right? I gave myself a goal of 1 year to lose all of my baby weight, but my little guy just turned two and I've still got 10ish pounds hanging around. I started well last year with a biggest loser type competition where I was competing for money on Weight Loss Wars. I won a nice amount by losing 10% of my body weight in 5 months which was very realistic. But after the competition, my weight loss stalled as I lost focus and I've even gained back some of what I lost.

So, why am I so busy? I have one child, so to some of you mom-pros, that's nothing. I agree and I bow down to those of you with 2+. But even having one has its challenges. I work outside of my home full-time. I am an educator, have been for the last 14 years, and am currently working as an elementary Reading Specialist. I love my professional gig! I also work inside my home. I'm a small business owner, and business is going well. That's a blessing! I work at least 20 hours a week in my home operating my business.

For the last 5 1/2 years, I've been a doctoral student. I am ABD right now, but I am still working hard and enrolled in my dissertation practicum each semester. I hope to be completing my program in about 2 years. And as if this weren't enough, I decided that I wanted to earn my mid-management credentials in education, so I am enrolled at a second university taking coursework toward principal certification.

So, ya see, not lots of time for working out and definitely very little time for cooking. I'm bad at packing lunches for myself, because I pack lunch and a day's worth of snacks for my little one to have at preschool. He has multiple food allergies (temporarily we hope), and it's just safer if we send all of his food. I'd like to do better at packing lunches for myself. I love me some Pinterest and this salad in a jar idea is looking like something I can handle. My goals is to find some jars while I'm still on Christmas break. I have no idea where to find mason jars!




Source: Pinterest

 

Blogging should make for an interesting and hopefully productive journey to wellness. Hope you'll hang out with me!