Clean eating

When of my goals this year is to eat healthier. I have noticed that I am not getting the results I want from exercise alone, which is what I thought the key was, and have learned that is not the case. What you eat is the most important thing in fitness and health. There are several statements that say that abs are made in the kitchen not the gym. I have always thought I ate fairly healthy but I never really paid attention to how much I ate and never stopped myself from having a cookie or 3.

My goals are to eat clean- try and avoid processed foods and alot of sugar as much as possible. I want to try and eat only foods that could spoil....nothing that is still good a year after buying!

Try and avoid carbs at dinner/before bed and eat them only morning and lunch

Drink 8 glasses of water per day

Drink one cup (at least) of green tea a day

Protein shakes

I know this is going to be difficult due to my lack of willpower but I think if I can make it a routine and cook for meals at home, than it will become more of a lifestyle than something that takes effort. I am going to start tonight by cooking up some chicken breasts and kashi rice pilaf for lunches.

New Years Resolution

So it seems like everyone makes a New Years resolution to eat better and exercise more and hradly anyone asctually accomplishes it. I tend to not make resolutions because I seem to forget them right away and am terrible about following through with things I started, but this year I decided to write things down and make a change.
I am not going to have a resolution that I am going to eat right and exercise more, instead I am going to work on some more basic, personal goals that should help me to achieve my overall goal of being in the best shape of my life and living a healthy life in general.

1. Stop being so lazy-and have more motivation! I will admit that I am kind of lazy and lack motivation. I also tend to procrastinate alot and these qualities have held me back from acheiving my goals.

2. Have a more positive attitude-and keep the word CAN'T out of my vocabulary.

3. Drink more water-at least 8 oz a day

I feel that if I can work on these things, than I will also be achieving my overall goals. And now that they are written down for me, I will make an effort to look back and remind myself of them!


Happy New Year!

{Body} Yoga obsession

So I am in the middle of my 3rd week at CorePower yoga in St. Paul and I am OBSESSED! I always knew Yoga was a good workout, but I never knew it could be your total workout-strength training, cardio, stretching. There are way more kinds of yoga and variations than I ever knew! I will say, after my month is over I may have to give up some of my shopping tendancies to save for a recurring membership. And now I can add something else to my list of goals

-Complete a yoga teacher training program through CPY.
I think I will need to spend a little more time mastering the poses and such before doing this, but it is definetly on my bucket list.

http://www.corepoweryoga.com/

{Body} Yoga

 

i got a tripod for my camera so

i had to try it out. This is my

favorite yoga pose, Tree Pose



Awhile back I decided to jump on the whole yoga bandwagon, thinking it was just some cool fad to become more flexible...WRONG! Yoga is one of the hardest workouts I have done. I have tried several different kinds, including HOT yoga and everytime I am done I leave feeling like a million bucks. I usually do the P90X yoga, which is 90 minutes long and extremely difficult. By the end I am sweating almost as much as during a cardio workout. But I do not always have 90 minutes to workout in the morning so today i busted out my Yoga Meltdown by Jillian Michaels dvd because it was only 30 mins-what a workout! My body was shaking by the end. Besides the great workout that yoga provides, i also feel relaxed and more flexible. When I am done with my P90X in 3 weeks I am going to do a month at Corepower yoga, which I am really excited about. My goal is to not only become more flexible and stronger so that I can do the more advanced poses but to improve my breathing.  I feel like I spend so much time working on the poses and being more flexible that I tend to forget to breathe and do the breathe work that is so important in yoga. My goal is to try and focus on the breath as well, so that I get the maximum benefits.Oh, and one of the best parts of yoga-the super cute and flattering yoga gear from Lululemon (which I am wearing in the pics!)

                                              This is my other favorite pose, Royal Dancer.

{Body} Motivation

I just started my last month of my 3 month program P90X. I have been very happy with my results so far and this is the farthest I have made it in the program. I have attempted this program in the past and got burnt out and ended up not even finishing out the 2nd month. This week I have not been very good about finding the motivation to get up in the AM and workout. Today was no different. My alarm went off at 4:30 and all I wanted to do was stay in bed. I laid in bed for awhile and thought that if I do not get up and workout I would really regret it later. Whenever I workout I feel so much better throughout the day and have more energy. Finally at about 5:30 I pulled myself out of bed and did a short but intense workout-HIIT (High Intenstiy Interval Training) and core. I am so glad that I did. It is now the afternoon, the usual time that I start to crash, and I feel great. No fatigue! My muscles are a little sore, which reminds me of the hard work I did this morning. I try and let how I feel after a workout be my motivation for "pushing play". I have been trying to live my the idea of "sweat once a day", which I encourage everyone to do. Even if it is just 15 mins, like my HIIT workout this AM was, a little sweat is better than none!  Now I just have to remember this come tomorrow morning when I am sure it will be another struggle to get up and work out....What motivates you to workout?


ps...i love P90X and am so excited for P90X2 that comes out this winter! I encourage everyone to try it, even those that do not think they can. I am one of the least athletic people and I manage to keep up!

{Mind} Compliment Jar

Mental health is just as important as physical health for wellbeing. I was recently given a great idea that I wanted to share with everyone. All of us have bad days and times when we feel less than special. Sometimes we need a reminder of how awesome are! A great idea for this is to make a "compliment jar". Take any jar or container, decorate as you please, and start filling it up! Everytime someone pays you a compliment, whether its about your work life, fashion, personality or something nice you did for someone, write it down on a scrap of paper and put it in the jar. Collect your compliments for a week, month, year-how ever long you like. At the end of that time, dump out your compliments and read them, to see just how great you are. You can also use this anytime you are feeling down or having a bad day to help boost your mood.
Below is an example of my compliment jar that I made and will start to use. I have recently gotten into DIY and crafting so I thought this was a good way to try out a new idea.  I decorated the jar using homeade modge podge and a vintage label I found online.

I made homemade Modge Podge by mixing one bottle of Elmers glue with equal parts water...easy!



Here is the finished product! I just found a glass jar and modge podged the label to it. I used the modge podge all over the jar to create the frosted look. Now I just need to fill it up!

{Body} Supplements

On my journey throught the health and wellness world, I have stumbled upon and tried several supplements/herbs/vitamins that have all sorts of claims. As a healthcare practitioner, I know that some of these claims are bogus and there is no regulation of these OTC supplements by the FDA, so who knows what you are really getting with some of them. But I do feel that they have a place in health and many of them wont hurt you. Who knows, they may even be the key to longevity?!

Here is my current "supplement/vitamin" routine. It's not much, but I do feel a lot better in many ways when I take them:

1. Multivitamin (GNC womens ultra mega active blend)-it has extra Calcium + D, which all of us northern girls could use, plus an energy blend (mostly herbals and green tea extract). I do feel slightly more energetic when I take it.

2. CLA(conjugated linoleic acid)-I started taking this sinply because it has antioxidant and potential weight loss properties. Who knows if it does anything, but it derived from Omega 3,6,9, which are good for you overall.

3. Probiotics- these supplements are essentially millions of good bacteria that are found in yogurt in a concentrated form. They help regulate the digestive system by competing with gas/bloating causing and "bad" bacteria in the GI tract. I would be lost without them.

4. OxyElitePro- I probably should not admit to taking them, as I am in the medical field and should know better, but this is thermogenic. Basically, it increases your metabolism so you have more energy and burn more calories/fat during your workouts. It has about 100 mg of caffeine and some herbals in it. So far it seems to help and doesnt leave me feeling too shaky, but I only take the very minimal dose.

Are there any supplements /vitamins that you swear by?