This is how I "roll"

Thursday will be an adventure, as I plan on taking both of my youngest kiddos to Rollers for some skating action! I have decided that I want to make the most out of this trip, so I am going to skate along with the kiddos! If I am going to be there for two hours, I mine as well take advantage of the opportunity to exercise. Now, I am a little nervous....the last time I was on roller skates was New Year's Eve 2002! TJ and I took Cass skating and I was pregnant with Seth. I am pretty sure that I was tripped, but I ended the night early by falling and catching myself with my knee. For MONTHS, my knee hurt. When I would kneel to scrub the bathtub, it was painful. I have since recovered from this injury, but I am tempted to wear protective gear tomorrow, just to avoid any chances of a repeat. I have no doubt that I will make the best of this opportunity to relive my middle school days. Watch for pictures tomorrow.....if I can walk!!!

Luck of the Irish OR whatever that means!

Don't worry, I have not forgotten about the Honeymoon from Hell post...I have just been busy. However, I wanted to give an update of my workout progress and almost healthy eating habits.....

Today I logged 90 minutes at the gym. I warmed up on the treadmill for 20. I then did a long circuit of weight machines, free weights, and ab work. After that, I finished up with 30 minutes on the stationary bike. This was basically mindless burning of calories, as I enjoyed reading the People magazine and tuned out everyone in the gym!

Food wise, I am still holding strong with lots of fruits, veggies, and whole grains. I have had a few slips with some ice cream and Easter candy. (Darn Mini Robin Eggs) I also had Chinese for lunch today, so that fried rice and egg roll were not the best choices. But I did have lean chicken and veggies...it balanced out nicely. Not sure what I am fixing the family for dinner, but I will be having a salad and fruit. I am kinda feeling gross at the moment!

Tonight, I plan to jump on the Leg Magic machine and introduce that back into my routine! I desperately want to tone up my legs and I know that machine is the trick! Today, I was able to slip into a pair of jeans that I have not worn in a while. This little success is the motivation boost I need to really get serious. I know what I need to do....now I just need to follow through!

Happy Anniversary to my Husband

Eight years ago today, my family grew by two feet. TJ and I were married on Saturday, March 16, 2002 at the Saffordville United Methodist Church in Saffordville, Kansas. We had a super small wedding. Guests included immediate family, my grandparents and the Tubach Family, who were like my second family, so it only felt right. TJ, Cass and I walked down the aisle as a family. We stood on the stage as a family and took those sacred vows! During the unity candle, we all three participated. Nothing Fancy ~ just a small ceremony because two people fell in love.

Afterwards, the wedding party and guests were treated to lunch at the Grand Central Hotel in Cottonwood Falls, Kansas. We also enjoyed wedding cake, courtesy of Cathy Jones!

The next day, the couple embarked on what was later to be known as the "Honeymoon from Hell"........to be continued.......

What's in YOUR body???

Let's face it...we ALL want to look good and feel comfortable in a bathing suit. Granted, if today's swimming suits looked anything like those in this picture, NO ONE would care what their body looked like. Unfortunately, these are not in style and we are left with limited selections when it comes to styles of suits that actually make us look (and feel) thin.

I am going to visit a little about food today! Not sure which episode it was, but Alexis from the Real Housewives of Orange County said that our bodies come from 60% of what we eat and 40% of exercise. That statement was HUGE for me! I had never really heard it in those terms, but I totally believed her. I mean, she is HOT....so she must know what she is talking about.

Today, a friend asked me if I were following the Weight Watchers plan for my eating. I was honest and said no. Let me preface this by saying that I totally support the Weight Watchers plan and I know from experience that it can work. My only reason for not doing it right now is that I don't have a membership, plus I don't enjoy tracking points. But here is WHAT I am doing: eating healthy, watching my portions, making smart choices, eating MORE fruits, veggies, and whole grains, limiting my indulgences.

I stop and think....is this good for me? What benefit is this to my body?

Okay, so now I am going to get gross, so if you have a weak stomach or take offense to people talking about poop, I suggest that you stop reading!!! Here it goes...I have battled with IBS for most of my adult life. For those of you who don't know what IBS is, it is Irritable Bowel Syndrome. My digestive tract goes between diarrhea and constipation. There has rarely been a time that I have been 'normal'. I have been to numerous doctors and received tons of advice. In recent years, my body has been more constipated than the other. This was something new for me, because during my twenties, I spent many a bathroom trip with 'gizzard cancer' a/k/a diarrhea. This was my weight loss program. If I felt sluggish, I knew what my trigger foods were and I would eat them. However, after turning 30, my body turned a corner the opposite directions. I have tried Miralax, Senna, Benefiber, and other OTC laxatives. They might work for a short time, but then by body gets used to them and I have to take more and more. THIS is not healthy or how my body is supposed to work. I do not want to become addicted to laxatives just to take a pooh!

HOWEVER, since starting Walk Kansas on March 7th....I have increased my fruits, veggies, and whole grains. I have reduced the amount the processed foods I have eaten, and I am drinking LOTS more water. I have also increased my daily exercise routine. With this change in my diet, I have not had to take a single laxative! I have had normal and regular bathroom visits! It is amazing how much better my digestive system feels.

This revelation has lead me to honestly look at my eating habits. I always thought that I ate fairly healthy. In reality, I ate like crap! I would start out my day with a healthy breakfast and even a healthy mid-morning snack. By lunch, I would reach for a processed diet meal and pair it up with a salad. However, this would never fill me up, so I would then snack on things like cookies, candy, chips, etc. By the evening, I would fix supper and eat too much. I would also have a bedtime snack...sometimes ice cream, pudding, popcorn, etc. I would also deal with stress by eating! Usually I would reach for chocolate or pop. These are my two vices when I am battling a difficult day.

My entire mindset has changed since starting Walk Kansas and since I have been feeling much better! It was like a light bulb went off in my brain! What I don't get, is WHY have I been in denial for so long? Eating healthy is not difficult and it actually tastes pretty darn good! Granted, it does take a little extra planning, but it is totally worth it.

My goal is to eat fresh fruits and veggies when at all possible. Frozen will be my next choice. Whole grains, like wheat bread, brown rice, and wheat pasta. Low Fat Dairy such as yogurt and skim milk in my smoothies. Fresh, low fat protein. This is going to include chicken, fish, pork and lean ground beef. Now, am I going to allow myself that occasional splurge???? Hell Yes! But I am not going to over indulge. It is all about BALANCE! Too much of one thing is not good! We need to have small amounts of many things. This advice is good for your eating habits, as well as in your life in general. I hope you all can strive to find that healthy balance in your lives!!!

Spring Break Spirit Lifter

We started out our spring break by sleeping in later than normal and then hitting the gym by 8:30 a.m. The kids had fun running around the basketball court at Emporia Fitness. I logged in 90 minutes of exercise : Treadmill Interval Running, Weight Machines, Free Weights, Abs, and then finished up on the Stair Master. For me, it was a GREAT workout for a Monday Morning! I could handle this everyday! We came home and made some healthy and refreshing fruit smoothies! Now time to clean the house!

Time is ticking away as I sit in front of the computer, so I am going to get busy around the house! I will post later about my food journal and anything else funny that my kids come up with today! It should be an interesting week!

Sunday "Sweat" Fest

Today was my first day back to the gym since either Monday or Tuesday of last week. Most of my exercise last week came from low impact walking. I am starting to feel back to normal, so I ventured to the gym today. After chatting with Heather Lake, one of the participant's in the Gazette's Get Fit Challenge, I had a new treadmill workout that I wanted to attempt. It was an awesome, heart pumping, sweat-fest and it will be added into my weekly routine! You know it is a good workout when you can ring out your sports bra afterwards!



Incline Treadmill Workout:



5 minute warm up at a speed of 3.0 on incline level 1. (I walked at 3.7 speed for entire time) After the warm up, you increase the incline by 1 level. Walk for a minute and then increase the incline again by 1 level. The treadmill can go increase at .5 increments, but you actually go up 1 whole level each minute. You go all the way up to an incline of 15, walking a minute each level. After 15, I then lowered the incline by 1 level each minute, until I was back to 1. When I hit level 1, I did a 5 minute cool down. It was a total of 38 minutes ~ 300 calories burned ~ 2.3 miles. If you think you cannot get a great workout on the treadmill, try this routine! It was AMAZING! At about Level 7 or 8, I realized it was going to get tough. From level 10 through 15, I had to hold onto treadmill to avoid falling backwards. At one point I felt the urge to increase the speed, but I felt as if I needed to conservative and not be a hero on my first day back. Seriously, this workout rocked!



After the treadmill, I jumped on the elliptical trainer for 22 minutes, as I wanted to log in 60 minutes of exercise. For that 22 minutes, I burned 200 calories ~ 2.15 miles. I then went to the Ab Coaster and did 50 reps.



For strength training, I pushed around the large grocery cart at Wal-mart...you know the kind that has the seats in the front for two children. I had Karah and Seth with me, so it added at least 60 pounds of resistance. Add in a case of pop, bottled water, bottled tea, and 2 gallons of milk, plus all of the other groceries...it was one heck of an overall body workout just maneuvering through Wal-mart and trying not to take out an end cap or an old lady driving one of those electric carts. It was comparable to driving a semi! I worked up a sweat by the time I made it to the checkout.



So far I have had a great food day and hope to continue through tonight and into next week. Last week I logged 310 exercise minutes, 57 fruit/veggies, and 6 days worth of whole grains. Not too bad of a first week in the Walk Kansas Challenge, considering I was sick with strep for most of the week.

"Live and Let Diet" by Alton Brown - MUST SEE

I have been a HUGE fan of the Food Network TV Star Alton Brown for many years! So much, that one of my all time favorite Christmas Presents I have ever received is an autographed cookbook that my fabulous gal-pal Monica gave me a few years back. (The cookbook takes a close to second to TJ telling me he loved me for the first time on Christmas Morning 2000.) At any rate, last night while laying in bed nursing my sick body, I stumbled upon a fabulous episode of Good Eats. It was titled "Live and Let Diet". Alton Brown gets personal as he shares with the world how he dropped 50 pounds in 9-months by eating healthy. This episode was wonderful and I felt compelled to share it with my blogging friends. Whether you are trying to lose weight or just want to improve your eating habits, Alton gives you some VERY good advice on what to eat and even shares a few recipes with you. I am a huge believer that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Alton shares a recipe for a fabulous fruit smoothie - which I actually made today for myself. (3 fruit servings for Walk Kansas Challenge as well) I have posted the three different YouTube links so you can watch the entire episode. If you have about 20 minutes to spare, it is totally worth your time to check out these links!!!

Live and Let Diet - Part One

Live and Let Diet - Part Two

Live and Let Diet - Part Three