Healthy Glow: Healthy Eating, La Mode & Ramblings
Fitness to the Test: Bulgarian Split Squat
My area of concern/deep body issues (we all kind of have them and at least I am admitting mine!) is my legs. I actually just started wearing shorts a year and half ago…No lie. I am doing this after Zumba today at the gym.
“Beginner alternative: Static or walking lunges
Advanced alternative: Added weights (sandbag, dumbbell or medicine ball)
Works: legs, quads, glutes
How To Do It
A. With or without dumbbells, stand in a staggered stance, with one foot in front of the other. Place toes or the top of your foot (laces) on an elevated surface like a chair, bench, stability ball etc. Adjust your stance as needed.
B. Slowly, lower your body down in one straight line as far as you can (imagine you’re sinking down like an elevator). Place weight in the front heel (back foot used for balance only), and keep knees over your toes. If you can wiggle your toes at the bottom of the squat, you’re in the right position.
C. Lower slowly, then raise back up quickly. Repeat.
Aim for 10-20 per side, for at least 3 sets”
I love Fitvillans.
I think I have mentioned the healthy living blog Carrots n Cake (CNC) a million times. When I started my health journey I didn’t know that many people who were on a path to better health. So I tried the internet. The first blog I found was CNC. She updated her blog multiple times a day, she tries different workouts, creates healthy recipes that are easy to follow, and even shows when she eats super indulgent meals.
Yesterday, she posted tips on how to get back on track health-wise after eating indulgently and not working. I know personally after two weeks at home during the holidays, I gained 10 lbs. Words of inspiration/advice were so helpful in getting me back on track.
Don’t dwell on the past
Instead of dwelling on the mistakes I made in the past, I focus on the future. For me, the most important thing to remember is that those pounds gained are not permanent. With some strength, self-discipline, and hard work, they’ll come off.
Create a plan of attack
Creating a plan of attack with regard to my eating and exercise routine makes me feel in control. I start by planning my workouts for the week by scheduling them in my calendar. I’ll usually pick a couple of group exercise classes at my gym and schedule them like appointments that I cannot miss. Searching for nutritious recipes online and planning a few healthy meals also boosts my motivation to get (and stay!) on track.
Read health blogs for inspiration
When I’d rather sit on the couch than go for a run, I read some of my favorite health blogs for inspiration. I almost always find a recipe, new workout, or some words of advice that make me want to change my tune. Seeing others at their healthiest and happiest motivates me to think back to a time when I felt strong and fit. This always gets my butt in gear!
Make a change NOW
Instead of waiting to start a diet or new exercise routine on Monday, I make a change right away. Some of my favorites: I throw on my sneakers for a brisk walk around the block, I search for healthy recipes on the internet, or plan my workouts for the week. Jump-starting right away boosts my motivation to get on track and keeps me from falling further into bad habits that got me off course in the first place.
Schedule your workouts like appointments
I use my personal calendar to keep me organized with all aspects of my life– from project deadlines to doctor’s appointments to grocery lists and social events. I record everything in my calendar, including my workouts. On Sunday afternoons, I spend some time scheduling my workouts for the week, just like I would with any other obligation. I usually pick a couple of group exercise classes and schedule them like appointments that I can’t miss. Seeing my week all laid out with plenty of time for exercise helps me get back on track with my workouts.
Use your social networks for motivation
In addition to my blog readers, sending out a message on Twitter or Facebook to my followers can also help spur some motivation to get myself back on track. There’s been more than one occasion when I’ve wanted to blow off a workout, but my Twitter friends come to my rescue to encourage me to get my sweat on!
Be patient
Weight loss (and even maintenance) includes many ups and downs, so it’s easy to forget my successes. Instead of obsessively checking my progress on the scale and realizing it hasn’t changed as quickly as I’d like, I focus on the progress I’ve made off the scale. For instance, I recently have been incorporating more veggies into my meals. I’ve tried a bunch of new recipes and found easy ways to load up my diet with nutrients. Remembering my successes at times when I need them most gets me back on track (consistency is key!) so I see results. —CNC
Fitness to the Test: My Personal Bikini Journey
I am going on a four day trip to a beach in Mexico with some friends and I have been stressing myself out. Even after my three and half year weight loss journey, wearing a bikini and looking perfect gives me the “hebbie jebbies”. I talk a mean body confidence, self-love, respect your current body, on my blog and to my friends; but nothing right now unnerves me now like the thought of people seeing me in this swimsuit. Every time I look in the mirror I see my legs jiggle, my stomach puffs out a little bit, my legs are short and stumpy… It is not like I am not working out five times a week and eating healthy. If I really think about my bikini fear, the feelings really stems from the past. I think this fear comes from me still looking in the mirror and seeing overweight Katherine. These negative thoughts will eat me alive if I don’t stop. I am leaving for my trip in 16 days. Every time I look in the mirror, I want to think only positive thoughts. I only have one body and I am not going to spend time hating it.
I reblogged this Tumblr picture and this was the caption that was below it:
It’s warming up finally, so it’s time to post my steps to a perfect bikini body!
Step 1. Have body - Step 2. Have bikini - Step 3. Combine
(Step 4. Push anyone who objects into the pool)
Via cartoonfatshion
Question for my readers: Do you have negative thoughts about your body? How do you deal with them? What do you love most about your body?
(via myhappyfat)
In order to make my New Years Resolution goals stick I think it would be easier to break my goals into more manageable monthly goals.
1. Strength train ONCE a week. I don’t loose weight easily but I can loose inches. Starting today at 6:10pm at a body pump class. Hold me to it!
2. Cut down on drinking on the weekends. During the week, I usually have a glass of wine with dinner every night. However, on the weekends I usually can not say no. I would like to stick to a 3 drink minimum when going out with friends. However, Lent starts February 13 and I usually give up drinking anyway.
3. I have replaced one habit with another. I need to stick to only going grocery shopping once a week. Now that I am not shopping for clothing, I need to cut back on the shopping for food, products, and home goods. There is no reason to go shopping in the middle of the week when I already have a full fridge.
4. Loose a pound a week. Totally manageable. I currently weigh 155.2 and would like to weigh 153 by the end of the month. My ultimate goal is 145 by my birthday, six months from now.
5. Stop the crazy snacking. There is a birthday celebration with cake almost daily. There is always cookies and crazy snacks out all the time. Just because the snacks are out does NOT mean I always have to eat them.
What are your goals for the month?
“In his new book Fat Chance: Beating the Odds Against Sugar, Processed Food, Obesity, and Disease, endocrinologist and obesity doc Robert Lustig deconstructs the mythology of fat. He says exercise, for all its benefits, won’t help you shed pounds—and that fasting only worsens weight gain.” -National Public Radio’s Talk of the Nation Program.
I love stories that shed new light on a much discussed topic such as FAT. It is something that is discussed daily. I live in a culture where people will literally KILL themselves to avoid being fat. People will try not eating, eating processed food diet foods that come in cardboard boxes, even though whole food is just as good and exercise so beneficial. Doctor Lustig says it best, “Real food doesn’t need a label.”
If you want to be healthier, get stronger, and live a fuller life; eat whole foods and exercise.
Boom. It isn’t easy. I know. I lost 45-50lbs in the last 3 years. However, today, I had a healthy breakfast of 3 boiled eggs, black coffee, an orange, kimchi, and a sugar donut.
It takes time to make lifestyle changes.
If you want to hear this BLUNT and hearty story listen here: “This isn’t going to take you by surprise, but America is fat.”
picture via Walmart
I love the gym that I joined here in Mexico, however it is expensive. Expensive and crowded, two things that I do NOT like. I have two months more with the gym then I am not sure I am going to renew my membership. So I am trying to increase my at home/after work workouts. This one is perfect. Just because it is Friday DOES NOT mean a break from the gym.
I am going to try this Saturday and see how it goes. What are your fitness plans for the weekend?
A plateau means…
1. That it is humanly possible for you to lose additional weight but you are not. (your body does not keep losing weight indefinitely).
2. That you’re doing everything right: i.e. diet & exercise in adequate amounts.
3. That you were losing weight with what you were doing, but have stopped.
4. That you haven’t noticed any difference in 2 weeks or more.
When it comes to plateaus, there really are only a few ways to bust them. But they involve making changes to what you are currently doing. You cannot keep doing the same thing, expecting different results. A plateau is your body’s way of letting you know that it NEEDS to stay where it is based on what you are doing NOW. In most cases, it just needs a little TLC from you in order to get back on track.
Our bodies talk to us, and plateaus are feedback.
For Your Health: Stuck At A Plateau? Why Eating More, Sleeping More, and Changing What You’re Doing Can Help.
information via fitvillains
Not everyone has money to shell out to go to a fancy gym. The next best option is working out at home and the internet. There are so many workout sequences on the internet that you could do a different workout everyday and never do the same workout twice!
One of my favorite fitness resources, ACE, has created an awesome database of workouts that are listed step by step, with user ratings, pictures, and the purpose of each exercise.
According to a member of their board, Ted Vickey, President of Fitwell LLC and former White House Athletic Center Executive Director, “While I love belonging to a gym for the social interaction and the latest and greatest in fitness equipment, I do quite a bit of travelling these days and can often be away from my fitness facility for weeks on end.” He presents his favorite 25 fitness exercises “that you can do anytime, anywhere – from your living room floor in front of the TV, to a hotel room half-way around the world. The only equipment you need is yourself – meaning NO EXCUSES.”
I love the part about NO excuses. Sometimes the exercises have some slight technical fitness jargon, the pictures are pretty clear.
CLICK HERE to get your at home fitness on right now! NO EXCUSES!
I haven’t posted a workout in a minute! I have been keeping up my fitness routine and I have even found a gym here in Mexico. The classes are amazing! However, sometimes my schedule doesn’t permit me to go to the workout classes that my new gym has. My next best option, using my body weight and things I have around my home to challenge myself.
Here is a workout that I am going to try this weekend:
Let me know if you try it!
For my readers who live overseas, how do you keep up your fitness routine?
Fitness to the Test: The Fitnessista’s Treadmill Strength Workout
I am always looking for ways to make my regular workouts interesting and one of my favorite fitness blogs took a regular treadmill workout to the next level!
According to her workout instructions:
Overhead press: Press the weights up overhead as you take long, slow steps up the hill at a very steep incline.
Side shuffles: Sit your hips down while keeping nice posture and your torso lifted. Think about keeping soft knees the entire time, like a mini squat. You pick the pace. Repeat on the other side (30 sec each side).
Resistance band row: pull the bands back and think about squeezing a lemon in between your shoulder blades.
Lunges: Take LONG, slow steps, so you may need to reduce your speed dramatically to get in a good walking lunge. Lunge straight down and watch your front knee to make sure it doesn’t shoot forward.
Bicep curl: Bicep curl as you climb up the steep incline- you can do unilateral curls or hammer curls to switch things up.
Push-up: place your feet on either side of the belt and perform pushups with hands wide on the hand rails. Exhale on the way up and think about bringing your chest to the bar, not your forehead to the control panel.
Inverted row: STOP the treadmill belt and you’ll step to either side of the belt. Use the hand rails to perform a pull-up type movement, while keeping your hips lifted and squeezing your booty.
V-ups or windshield wipers: STOP the treadmill belt, and after it’s fully stopped, have a seat on the belt directly under the handrails, facing away from the control panel. Hold onto the hand rails, lean back slightly and engage your core. Exhale as you raise your legs, then inhale as you lower them towards the belt. Do not let them touch the belt and exhale to lift again. Repeat. For fun, try a windshield wiper-style movement from side to side.
BONUS: Perform each exercise for 1 minute and add 2 minutes of running or speed walking (challenging pace) in between each strength exercise. This type of workout will help to encourage muscular endurance as well as speed.
Enjoy!
Have a great weekend!
Somewhere in between losing my electricity for a couple of days, trying to check-off all of the DC restaurants I wanted to eat before I move to Mexico, entertaining friends who visit me in DC, studying, and life, I have fallen off my fitness and clean eating track!
My blog used to be about documenting my path to healthier living and fitness, but once I “reached” my goals, I fell into a routine. However, with all of these substantial changes in my life, my fitness and eating have gone off track.
I vow once a week to document what I eat on my blog and track my fitness and food on my favorite site, sparkpeople.com. It may seem weird to many people, but it works for me! I will check in with you all tomorrow!
What do you do to get yourself back on track? How do you balance living a healthy life with being social, going to events, and happy hours?
The Fitnessita’s Lovely Leg Burner -Clock lunges (alternating sides for 2 minutes) -Jumping lunges (1 minute) -Plie squat with calf raise (1 minute) -Hold plie squat position (30 seconds) -Sumo burpees (1 minute) -Donkey kicks (10 on each leg, and then hold the leg in the highest position, flex your foot and pulse towards the ceiling 20 times on each side) via The Fitnessista I know, I know some of you all are looking to make fitness a priority this year. I commend you for your commitment to your health and increase in your level of strength. You can’t run the world without having a healthy body to do it in! I love the Fitnessita’s blog and today she posted an awesome leg exercise that is great for people of all fitness levels! Remember consult your physician/physical trainer before making drastic changes to your fitness/health routines. 
Monday: Zumba Done!
Tuesday: Kickboxing Done!
Wednesday: Zumba/Treadmill or Treadmill/Stationary Bike I went on a extra, extra long walk with my dog instead. I wasn’t feeling the gym so I added exercise to my day in another way.
Thursday: Kickboxing I ran on the treadmill instead!
Friday: Treadmill/Stationary Bike Weights I walked around DC for 2 hours instead
Saturday: Long Walk with my dog Done!
Sunday: Day off Long walk with my dog!
If have found that if I document then I will do it! What are your fitness goals for the week?
Fitness to the Test: PLANK ROW TO ROTATION!
“TODAY’S CHALLENGE: 6 minutes! Complete 1 minute this move, followed by one minute of jump rope. Repeat 3 times for a quick cardio/strength workout (or add on to your current workout). You can do 6 minutes of ANYTHING. You can. Get ‘er done! Warm up first and stretch afterwards!”
Can’t wait to try this exercise courtesy of FitVillians only another couple of days until I am back on my regular routine!
