INSANITY MONTH 2- Update!!

INSANITY MONTH 2

UPDATE!!

Moving on from Insanity Month 1 to Month 2, I was a little nervous. First of all, I have never completed a fitness program. Secondly, I know how crazy Month 1 is and I had just really got used to it. And Third, the Recovery Week, I fell in LOVE with Core Cardio and Conditioning. It is a great workout and doing it every day, I knew what to expect and could improve daily on the routine.

Now we get into Insanity Month 2. I finished up Week 1 on Saturday. OMG, Insanity Month 2 feels like starting all over. Some of the moves, I could not do very well so I had to modify. Some of the moves like the side suicide jumps or side pushups (?) I could not do fast at all, so I only got in a few each rotation.
Okay, I expected it to be a step up but I was so confident in myself after getting those moves down in Month 1 that at first I felt slightly let down. I knew that I was NOT GOING TO QUIT, but I needed to get my mindset back in order. The program is designed to Challenge you. So moving on to the next phase of any program should honestly be a Challenge. REALITY CHECK!!

So how did I get my mindset correct??

I REFLECTED ON MY PROGRESS DURING MONTH 1. I remember not being able to do much during Week 1 and Week 2. I was so tired and felt so out of shape, out of breath and felt like "what did I get myself into, I don't know if I could do this." By Week 3, I was feeling great. I knew the moves, I was faster and stronger. Week 4, I felt like a Champion.

This is, in my mind how Month 2 should be. The workouts are about 10-12 minutes longer, so I’m going to feel tired especially during the first few days. Week 1 is like an intro to the moves, the intensity, and the time.  I’m in Week 2, (I finished up Day 2 today.)  Since I’ve been introduced the moves now I can push harder for proper form and more reps. By Week 3, I should be at a point where I know the workouts, I’m stronger and I’m able to do the exercises quicker.  And Week 4- completing the program will be VICTORY, on so many levels.

 I know I’ve posted this before somewhere but…

Ice Cream Anytime of the Day!!

This "Ice Cream" recipe is super easy!!

You only need a couple ingredients and you could be eating ice cream anytime of the day as well. Please let me know when you try it, how you like it and if you would do anything differently. I would love to have your feedback. Here you go!!

Ingredients
Frozen bananas
Milk of choice
Fresh fruit or nuts (optional)

Step 1
Done the night before or at least 2 hours prior.  Unpeel and freeze 2 or more bananas. I used about 1 1/2 bananas. (I always keep bananas in a ziploc bag in the freezer.)

Step 2
Put bananas in the blender and add about 1/2 cup of  your preferred milk. Blend til smooth and add milk to reach your desired consistency. I used Vanilla Soy Milk and blended until it looked like soft serve.

Step 3
Garnish and Serve.
To garnish add fresh fruit or slivered almonds.  I enjoyed mine topped with crushed almonds and chopped strawberries.

Wasn't that super simple? And it only takes like 5 minutes tops.  Its smooth and creamy and if you like bananas, its a very nice frozen treat.  Reminds me of Banana pudding. If you plan to share, this recipe will likely make enough ice cream for two. I ate mine alone though!

I've seen versions of this recipe floating around among some other coaches and I wanted to share it as well. I think adding a rum extract or topping with fresh pineapple would be a great variation. Can't wait to hear about your version. Remember to share your own variations and pics with me when you give this one a try!!
Thank you!!

Grocery Shopping part 1

Here are a few groceries I typically always pick up from Aldi that help me to stay on track. I have a family of 5 and everyone eats real food- meaning that no one is on babyfood and everyone eats real portions. I predominantly shop at Aldi and Walmart. I also frequent Dominicks for the food items that Aldi doesn’t carry.  I used to think that it sucked sometimes (shopping for the family) because you don’t want to make them to feel “deprived” or that they are on a diet. However, it’s a lifestyle change and it starts at home. Your family will benefit from exposure to different foods and will reap the health benefits as well.  Later down the road, you can hope that they too adopt healthier eating habits in their adult lives.

You can still prepare and enjoy your mac & cheese, cheesecake or sweet potatoes. Just learn to modify the recipe a bit to make it healthier.

I am sharing with you a few items I picked up from Aldi the other day to give you an idea of some meals I plan to prepare this week. Then I will post them as they are prepared (or a little later).  This picture is mostly foods that need to be refrigerated. When I have the choice between low fat and full fat, I typically choose low fat foods. Usually there is really not a big difference in the taste.  Whenever fresh fruits and vegetables are on sale, I pick them up as well.  Eggs are not pictured but I purchase them often and boil about 6 eggs at the start of every week. They are great to add proteins to a great meal and also as a quick snack.

Starting from left...
Low fat Whipped Cream—Perfect with fruit or to top of your Shakeology

2% Cottage Cheese—Use for breakfast/lunch/snack  Pair with strawberries or in a salad

Strawberries – Love them on spinach salad, in smoothie, or with whipped cream

Blueberries—Love them alone but sometimes I treat myself to blueberries in oatmeal or cream of wheat. With a little brown sugar and whipped cream. Yum

Corn Tortillias—Wrap just about anything. Great warmed up, with cheese, lettuce, salsa

Bell Peppers- sauté and add to eggs, throw them in a tortillia

Bananas—Alone or in Shakeology. Found a great Banana icecream recipe that I may try this week

Top Left

Pasta Stuffed tortellini-  Its filling and I just warm up some tomato sauce and drizzle over the cooked pasta. I usually serve with asparagus and garlic bread for the family.

Whole Wheat Bread- This bread isn’t fancy. I love sandwiches but if its not on a gourmet like bread, Im reminded of the days I brought my lunch to school EVERYDAY as a child.  So this is a just in case type of thing.  For the days when  I really feel like having a sandwich. Otherwise, my husband uses it for his lunch.

Lemon Juice concentrate—Add a little bit to my water pitcher for hint of flavor. Marinate fish and poultry.

Pistachios- Healthy snack with healthy oil.  Don’t eat the whole bag though.  Count out a serving and put the rest up.

Spinach- Uncooked in salads or in wraps.  With dinner its usually sautéed in a little olive oil with dash of salt and garlic clove.

Vanilla Soy Milk- This is my first year really giving soy milk a chance.  Anyway, I use it in my cereal and in my Shakeology shakes.

Barbeque Popped Chips—Nice alternative to bbq chips. Not a big chip person but I had craving for them this week.

Continuing Bottom Left...

Canned Pineapple- There were no tropical frozen fruit so I will freeze the pineapples for smoothie purposes and maybe snack on them to right out the can.

Mushrooms—Breakfast in scrambled eggs, Lunch throw in a salad or wrap Dinner sauté with spinach

Cherry Tomatoes—They are one of my faves so I may just snack on them but they are good in salads. great cooked in eggs and in pasta dishes too.

Fit&Active Pretzal bar- On the go snack in between meals. I prefer a fruit or a cheese stick but these are easier to throw in the car or bag sometimes.

Starting at Top Left...

Packaged Zucchini- gonna do a stir fry (my family doesn’t care for it but they will eat it)

 Low fat Vanilla Yogurt- Smoothies, Shakes, Fruit Parfaits

Turkey Bacon- They should  call it something else since it doesn’t taste like bacon. But I can cook it til its crisp and add it to eggs or make sandwich or salad

Light Sour Cream- tacos, wraps etc

Smoked Turkey Lunch Meat- quick snack with a string cheese

Lettuce-  I chop it up and add to whatever

Low Fat 2% Shredded Cheddar- Great altenative to full fat cheddar.  Im a cheese head so I use it at breakfast, lunch and dinner.  However, when cooking for the family I do a half and half mixture of both fat and low fat cheese. No fat and low fat cheese lack that “cheesiness” about them when they are melted. So in macaroni, lasagna or nachos I mix them with regular cheese.

Cherries – Delightful right out the box

Beans- (from My garden) with some dressing or stir fry

Cucumbers-  Great snack for kids and me too

These are just a few things that I make sure I have at home on a weekly basis.  I will add meals prepared from these items and others that I keep on hand very soon.

We Went Out--Twice!

We ate out twice this week.  Not because we planned to. It just so happened. It was one of those long Saturdays, we had been out with the kids so long and still had to drive over an hour home. So we stopped to grab a bite from the oh-so-famous Golden Arches, Mickey D's or what the kids only know as McDonalds.  Although stopping on the road to eat can blow up a healthy diet plan- eating out is something that is bound to happen sometime. So we just have to plan on only choosing the healthy options when we stop. And fortunately McDonalds does offer some "healthy" options. On this particular day, I got the southwest salad with grilled chicken. It comes with a lime wedge, so i squeezed a lil lime juice over the salad and used the dressing sparingly. I also had a bottled water. This choice still gave me the opportunity to mingle and eat with my family and it was enough to satisfy me.  I love french fries but honestly I didn't desire them this weekend.

We also went out again during the week. Uggh. This time without kids. It was a long evening of handling business errands about 40 mins away from home, so coming home to fix dinner was pretty much not an option available to me. The restaurant was Asian inspired, offering Chinese, Japanese and Thai dishes. I spent my late teens and early 20s eating "Chinese food."  You know fried chicken pieces and some sort of sauce, fried egg rolls, and shrimp fried rice. I know that that is not really true Chinese but it's what I knew and what I know I couldn't have this week. I opted for Thai but am not really familiar with any of it to be quite honest. I have had a few dishes before but I didn't want to go the Pad Thai or Pad See Ew route either.  Trying to go the less fried, less noodle, less fat route I chose a Curry Seafood Dish. I was pretty pleased. The dish was filled with seafood, shrimp, squid, crab, and scallops and veges some greens, baby corn, bamboo shoots and pea pods.  It was prepared in a broth that was a little creamy, perhaps with coconut milk. I ate about a third of the meal because I also had some pickled cabbage and cucumbers.

not my actual dish, my phone battery died and I left my camera

The bottom line is....

We have to be able to make healthier choices even when we are not at home.

Just because we ate out doesn't mean we fail. We will all still at some point be at the drive thru, at a traditional restaurant, at a family member's home or at a party. We dont have to choose not to eat and sit around watching everyone else eat. Just choose your healthiest option. Don't beat yourself up over it and continue making healthy choices. Continue your exercise plan. I enjoyed both meals I shared with my family. I didn't get all bent out of shape about it. I still completed my workouts for the day and still am heading in the right direction.

In life we have to have a measure of flexibility, just maintain control.

I’m Trading Fat for Muscle

I remember some time ago, I would watch what I ate but be afraid to add exercise to my health regimen.  Here was the Big reason why.  Whenever I would start exercising, even if I just decided to do something small like pushups and bicep curls, I would STOP losing or even GAIN weight. How depressing is that? I would have put so much effort into avoiding certain foods and then I weigh more now??

So I was set on just eating a certain way to lose the weight. But I specifically remembered a good friend telling me, that I had lost weight but also had “lost my curvy shape.”  I enjoyed the fact that I was smaller, but my now flabby body and oblong looking backside was just not cool. 

Well I now know better.  I know that at least for the first couple weeks of a new workout regimen its possible not to lose weight (I don’t look at the scale at all till around week 3-4) What’s more important is what’s happening inside my body.  I’m getting slimmer, I’m feeling better, and my body is more shapely and toned. So what’s happening exactly?  I’m gaining muscle maybe at the same rate that I’m losing fat. The scale doesn’t reflect that. Muscle is more dense than fat but it takes up less space.

5 pounds of muscle takes up about as much space as 3 tangerines. 5 pounds of fat takes about as much space as 3 grapefruits. I’ve traded fat for muscle.

So I’m thinner but not lighter, yet.

 Lesson here is that it is totally possible for you to give it your all and initially show no change in weight on the scale. You are losing inches of body fat and your body is shaping and looking more firm because you are trading fat for muscle.

We are not really in it to lose weight. We want to lose FAT and GAIN lean MUSCLE. So maybe instead of investing in a great scale, find a Funky Tape Measure.