Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Ditch The Scale



Numbers on a scale tend to make us do some crazy things...

Count calories.

Diet.

Restrict.

Set unrealistic goals.

Skip Meals.

I propose we throw out the scale. How many of you reading this check your weight everyday? Twice a day? More? Or even a few times a week? The scale is a tricky thing. It can be exciting, liberating, appear as a baramoter of success; or it can be defeating, discouraging, send you into a panic, and put you in chains. It can just be a tool to fuel insecurities about our bodies. Create pride and arroagance at how "little" one may weigh. Someone can be overweight or underweight and carry the same issues. 

We see the scale as this measurement (which is true to an extent) of which we succeed or fail when it comes to weight/body image. What the scale tells us makes us believe things about ourselves; good or bad. So we turn to diets, we count calories, we restrict ourselves from foods we like to eat often, we skip meals, and sometimes we go drastic with exercise and starvation. All to hit a number on a scale. 

But what if we stop going by a scale and start truly living in freedom with our weight? How you ask? Well, I've talked before (HERE and HERE) about starting with giving it to the Creator of our bodies, and that health is really a matter of the heart. So this is going beyond that. What does it look like to live a free life with weight, exercise, and eating? 

1. Prayer- I don't mean, say a prayer and be done for the day. This is a constant relationship with our Father about everything. It's leaning on Him to guide you when you're faced with the day. It's turning to the Word or speaking to God about a struggle such as not wanting to exercise or really wanting to go buy that ice cream and oreos. It's figuring out what things you turn to instead of Christ.

 Are you tired after a hard day of work and all you want to do is check-out in front of a TV, order pizza, stuff yourself, and then have some cookies and milk? You know that is not the life God has for us. You know why? Because when we live like that we are living for instant gratification. We don't want to give up 30 minutes to exercise. We don't want to make a better food choice because it might not taste as yummy as a greasy pizza. We feel like we deserve to do what we want since we worked hard all day. But you know what? When we lean on Christ and die to ourself, we will experience an energy, stable glucose levels, better sleep quality, and hopefully a spiritual boost and confidence that comes from death.

2. Involving others- I think this is very important with ditching the scale. What's life about? God says it's "Love God and love others." Those are the most important commands in scripture! So that means community. Involve the people around you. Be real with them. Tell them your struggles, ask them to pray for you, ask them to help you! If I had a friend tell me their struggles and they say they have problems eating healthy on the weekends, would like accountability, and tell me carbs and cheese are their weakness; by golly if I invite them over on a Saturday night I'm going to try and not have pizza and mozarella sticks waiting when they get here! I'm going to try and help them! 

When are we going to stop trying to get healthy/fit/lose weight on our own?! This life is meant to be lived with others. It doesn't have to be a shameful/guilty experience. It can be a freeing, liberating, and life changing experience. How many people can you impact by not trying to stick to "rules" but find freedom in loving God and loving others more than laziness and food? Tell people so they can champion alongside you and if they won't then look for different people...they are there!

3. Forgiveness- another big thing to ditching the scale is forgiving yourself (maybe forgiving others too). When you eat a cupcake or truly don't have time to exercise one day, don't beat yourself up. God's grace is so abundant, it runs all the way down to every bite of food you take. He isn't there to slap your hand when you mess up, so stop slapping your own. Sometimes when we "mess up" with these habits we tend to not forgive ourselves and throw in the towel. We quit. It's a journey not a score sheet. Just like the Christian walk, it's not about doing this or that to be made right with God, it's a journey, a relationship. That's what matters. So if you have past hurts and you're holding onto them, let go and give them to God. Forgiveness is a choice and not a feeling. 

4. Pay Attention- stop looking at your scale and start paying attention to what you're really doing. Are you choosing to lay on the couch for hours at night? Are you buying candy everyday at lunch? Are you turning to the fridge when someone makes you upset? Are you eating too fast? Are you feeling "entitled" to not exercise or eat better? Are you skipping vegetables for another roll at mealtime? Are you choosing another piece of pizza because you like the taste? 

Or are you exercising 3 times a day and eating only 2 meals the whole day to hit a goal? Are you speaking negatively to yourself everytime you look in the mirror? Do you talk hatefully to yourself when you get hungry so you will be too upet to eat? Do you hate putting on your clothes? Are you on medications for weight-induced problems? Are you embarassed to show your legs in shorts or your arms in a tanktop? Do you hide behind sweatshirts and sweatpants because you think it'll hide your extra weight? 

STOP. Each time you encounter these things ask yourself "where is that coming from?" and "what's God saying to me?" If you start talking to Him about this, He WILL SPEAK TO YOU. I can attest. From there you will have the opportunity to truly deal with what's going on inside of you and move on bringing freedom! 

THEREFORE, this is what I propose. I propose we take back our bodies, eating habits, and ditch the scale. Ditch it for at least a month. It's not bad to weigh yourself every once and a while but the point is to remove chains. Start doing those practices I mentioned and stop tracking, starving, dieting, and beating yourself up. Slow down when you eat. Plan. Talk with God. Sit down with your spouse, your family, a friend, a mentor, or anyone you can trust. Go back to basics. When you remove all these things (counting calories, buying weight loss pills, trying the newest craze, etc) and start eating foods that God made perfectly for us, actively talk to God/others, and forgive areas of your life that comes to your attention; I think your life will be less cluttered and more free to live the way you want. 

I will say that measurement isn't always a bad thing. I'm talking about balance. Check how you feel after meals, how you sleep at night, your energy levels during the day, your glucose levels after meals, whether you have regular bowel movements, stomach aches, headaches, serious health problems, your body fat percentage, how you see yourself, how you speak to yourself, etc. These are all measurements. It's not all about the scale. 

If you want to ditch the scale with me for at least a month then please let me know. I would love to be one of the people that cheers you on! I would love to share in your journey. Freedom is possible. One of my pastor's has said a few times, "God will only meet you in the present." Freedom comes today, not yesterday and not tomorrow. It starts NOW. :)

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:9, 10 ESV)

"Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you." 
(2 Corinthians 13:11 ESV)

"Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but it is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace."
James 3:13-18


Love God. Love Others.







Sunday, February 23, 2014

Spaghetti with Sweet Potato Noodles


There's a new little gadget I want...the Spiralizer. It makes veggies into noodles so you can still enjoy dishes but without the grains. The other awesome thing about it is you really can't tell a difference in taste/texture. With these sweet potato noodles I just used a julienne peeler which did a siimlar effect. 

But seriously, this was good. The other great (better than great) thing about using a vegetable in place of a noodle is how many more vitamins/minerals and fiber you're getting. You are replacing an empty calorie with loads of good calories! I'm definitely doing this all the time now. 

Sweet Potato Noodle Spaghetti (serves 2-4)
1 Large Sweet Potato peeled

Sauce (will serve 4-6 people):
15 oz plain tomato sauce
15 oz stewed tomatoes
½ pound grass fed hamburger
6 oz tomato paste
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp chili powder
3 tbsp parmesan cheese
2 tsp pepper
2 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp onion powder or ¼ minced fresh onion
1 tsp oregano 
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce






Directions:
1. Combine all sauce ingredients into a pot. Simmer 1 hour minimum (can simmer all day if needed) and stir periodically.
2. Take your peeled sweet potato and use a juilienne peeler or Spiralizer to slice into longer, pasta like noddles. You can grate it anyway you like, really. 
3. Steam the sweet potato (sliced) until soft and you'll notice a color change (15 minutes).
4. Put on plate and top with your spaghetti sauce. Serve with salad and/or vegetables!




Hannah approved! :)



Thursday, February 20, 2014

Gluten-Free Apple Cinnamon Muffins


So I'm trying to use less grains/gluten, as I mentioned in my last post. I decided to take my normal blueberry muffin recipe and tweak it some (I guess a lot). I found an all purpose GF flour and subbed that in. It turned out so much better than I thought! Take a look and try it out! 



GF Apple Cinnamon Muffins 
1 cup all purpose GF King Arthur Flour
1 cup oats
½ cup brown sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1 cup apple sauce (I used homemade cinnamon unsweetened)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla 
2 tbsp almond milk (or regular if you prefer) 

1. Mix dry ingredients in a mixer. 
2. Add the rest and beat thoroughly.
3. Scoop into muffin tins. Makes 12 muffins. 
4. Feel free to add small apple chunks if you want. My family doesn't like chunks and the applesauce is enough flavor :) 
5. Bake at 375 for 12-15 minutes. 





Monday, February 17, 2014

Pork Steak and Sweet Potato Apple Dish


So I'm trying to get us eating as close to paleo as I can. What's paleo? Well, it is essentially meat, fruits, vegetables, and minimal dairy (full fat preferred). Generally people have health issues with dairy products and grains. They cause infammation and that creates a host of problems in the body. For some it is more severe (celiac, etc). Every person/family is different though. For my family, we do better limiting our grains and dairy. I am lactose intolerant, plus my girls, and now we believe my husband is. So here's to hoping I can post more meals on the paleo side (hopefully a successful pizza recipe!) but I know we won't be strictly paleo (can you say breadsticks and cupcakes??), just hopefully 95%.



Onto the dish!! Ok, this really was a success. Abby wouldn't try the sweet potatoes but Hannah gobbled them up. The steak was tasty and I will definitely make this again. The sweet potato apple dish was good but we concluded sweet potato fries are more of our desired taste for something like this. But still good! Pork and apples seem to go well together. 

The pork steak was from DC Meats, in Osceola. Non-GMO, local, quality meat. I talked with one of the owners and even their regular beef is still about 90% grassfed. Quality place :)

Pork Steak and Sweet Potato Apple Dish
Pork Steak (can't remember the weight. It was one large enough for me and Kyle)
pork seasoning
1 large sweet potato
1 apple
2-2 ½ tbsp coconut oil
cinnamon
salt







1. Cut sweet potato into chunks. Place in skillet with a tbsp cocnut oil (more if needed). Stir frequently and brown.
2. While sweet potatoes cook, season steak (see picture). Grill it outside or like I did, since it's winter, on your stove top. With at least 1 tbsp of coconut oil melted on the pan at a medium high heat. Set on top and cook several minutes, turn and cook several minutes.
3. Peel and cut apple into chunks while steak is cooking. Add to sweet potatoes until soft.
4. Sprinkle cinnamon and salt on top. Taste and add more if needed. 
5. Remove steak when it reaches desired cooked stage (rare, medium, well)
6. Enjoy and serve with a vegetable or salad!


*Ok I had croutons in my salad so it wasn't 100% grain free....too bad. ha 

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

11 Steps to Guaranteed Weight Loss

Another year has come and gone and now we are already in month 2 of 2014. Time flies! New Years resolutions are filled with weight loss goals and the gyms are packed (especially with all this snow. Spring come soon!). I decided that I would like to share about the top 11 steps or things that produce healthy weight loss. Putting all the information that I talk about regularly with people in person, on facebook, and instagram so when the questions get asked, I can easily direct people to it :)

First off, I have never been heavy. I was heavier when I was in high school but since becoming an Elite Trainer, I am thinner and way more fit/healthy than I ever was. I do have experience with losing weight since have 2 kids. Here's a picture of my journey in a small snapshot (you can read all about it under My Journey tab).

That was after baby #2. I am still on my journey with different goals each month. Being fit can be fun!

I saw this comment on facebook just today, "I cut out soda for 16 days, ate healthy and I've exercised 5 days in a row, only to gain 2 pounds." First of all, ouch. That stinks. Second of all, how many of you have been there? You feel like you're sacrficing your world, only to get shot down on the scale! Well, weight loss has many factors (hence how many things I am going to touch on). And let me say that it's not a race, it is a journey

Losing weight is essentially dying to yourself. It's one facet of your life that means you have some things to give up but you gain a whole bunch of good things. If you're a Christian, there was a point when you said, "Ok God, not my will but yours. I want to follow You." That is dying to yourself. We have to do it everyday. When you get married you die to yourself when it comes to issues with your spouse. You are no longer a separate entity, you become one. Having kids requires A LOT of dying to yourself to nurture and take care of helpless beings you bring into the world. 

BUT, yes there is a but, we all know the gains of each of these things. 

As a Christian you experience freedom, joy, peace, and an everlasting life with a God who is madly in love with you. As a spouse you enjoy a close relationship with the one you will love and spend the rest of your life with. And as a parent you get such joy in raising your children and a bond that can never be broken. 

So with losing weight, there are things you may have to change. Things you have to give up. But the gains are so great. I mean really, things like not being addicted to food, enjoying seeing yourself in the mirror, wearing clothes that fit great, less health issues, more energy, better oxygen intake, more joy in activities, and the list goes on and on. So let's look at some things I'd like to highlight.

1. Mentally Deciding- this may seem simple but it's really more than just looking at yourself in the mirror or in a picture and saying, "yuck I look gross, I need to lose weight." It's taking a hard look at what you're doing when you eat, your schedule, if you are or aren't exercising, and asking God to really change your heart about this. Losing weight is a heart issue, bottom line. Are you willing to change? If not, then why? What's at the root of it? Sometimes this is a long process. No one is perfect. Remember that. But if you seek guidance from the One who can help you, He will fill in the gaps of your weaknesses. 

2. Figure out what foods don't work for your body- once you have decided, start targeting the foods you eat. List out what symptoms you might have of being lactose intolerant or a wheat sensitivity. Just write down how you feel most of the time and especially shortly after you eat a meal. You can do an elmination diet to see what foods you might be sensitive to (need to limit). 

For example, I found that I am lactose intolerant and my body doesn't like fried food or grains that much. So I stay away from milk, limit ice cream and rarely get fried food. I still eat grains but try to cut them out for most of the day. 

The biggest things that people usually have issues with are dairy, grains, corn, and meat. It seems that meat is the least people have issues with and if you get grassfed meat, issues decrease because the quality is totally different. 

3. Fruits and Vegetables- Increase your daily intake of fruits and vegetables! This is so important for weight loss. I mean it really is crucial. Our bodies need vitamins and minerals to be healthy. There's macronutrients (carbs, fats, proteins) and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals); fruits and vegetables are both. They provide essential vitamins and minerals while usually being on the carbohydrates side mainly but some have good amounts of proteins. It's not just enough to cut out junk foods, you need to fuel your body correctly to thrive. Just start googling fruits and vegetables health benefits. I guarantee you'll be blown away by how healthy each one is and see how getting a variety will improve your health plus help you lose weight and maintain a healthy weight.

4. Remove Processed Foods- I feel like we should all know this but I need to touch on it. This is CRITICAL to losing weight and being healthy. Ditch the frozen dinner "health" dishes and desserts. Calories are not the most important thing to losing weight. The quality of your calories is serious. If you want to eat a little dessert, by golly get the full fat ice cream and leave it at that. Your body will actually be able to metabolize it and use nutrients in it for good; not just confuse your body and make things worse. Plus, it's not about eating 3 candy bars a day and staying under 1000 calories to lose weight. Can you say muscle loss? Health problems? Heart attack? Yes, it will make you more unhealthy doing that. 

5. Eat Whole Foods- so we want to remove processed but add what our bodies really need, real food. Remove the margarine and buy butter. Breaking News!!! Eating the real thing tastes better and is better for you. Want french fries? Cut up some real potatoes, toss in olive oil, season and bake in the oven. Chicken nuggets? Use my recipe and make real chicken nuggets without all the chemical crap that restaurants use in it and fry in crappy oil. Tastes better, is more filling, and again, your body can metabolize it properly. So stay on the outside of the grocery store (perimeter) because that is where most of your whole foods are. They are perishable. I know, that means you have to shop more frequently. But it's worth it. 

6. Eat Frequently- yes. Read that carefully. I am giving you permission to eat every few hours. Jump for joy! Eating every few hours boosts the metabolism and curbs cravings. Be sure to really stick with a protein, fruit/vegetable. Eating a few crackers is not what I'm talking about. Protein stabilizes blood sugar, fills you up, and is used by your muscles to repair after workouts which creates more muscle. We already touched on fruits and vegetables. You will lose weight doing this. 

7. Lift Weights- I cannot say this enough. LIFT HEAVY. Especially if you are a new mom. Ok here's the scoop...if there is a secret to post partum weight loss and getting your pre-pregant body shape back, it's this. Why? The more muscle in your body, the faster your metabolism. The after burn of lifting weights is incredible. You continue to burn calories for 24-48 hours AFTER your workout. With steady state cardio you burn for 4-6 hours after. Big difference.

Every year after 20 years (men and women) of age, you lose a percentage of muscle mass PER YEAR. Now if you are a woman who has had 3 babies and hasn't lifted weights, well you will have gained signifcantly more body fat and lost more muscle mass than others. Why? Because you gain usually a minimum of 8-10 pounds of body fat with each pregnancy. This drastically slows the metabolism down. That is why it's so hard for you to lose weight. You need to speed up your metabolism while you're just sitting down and sleeping. Plus muscle reshapes your body, tightens, and tones your skin, and gives your muscles a more appealing look (as opposed to jiggly arm fat).

8. Change your Workouts often- do not repeat the same workouts for months on end. You need to change up what you're doing to see results. This is called periodization. Athletes do it and that's why you should....to get an athletes body! So this means if you like running, don't run at the same pace every time. Don't run the same distance. Mix in cross training and weight lifiting on off seasons (if you like running outside when it's nice). Be sure to also do light workouts after intense ones. Take a week off every few months and focus on stretching and improving balance. Same goes for any other type of workout. Your body adapts quickly and you must change so it will change. Periods of high intensity and low intensity is key!

9. Drink Water- this is another one I think we all should know but drinking water is vital to your body's health and weight loss. Your body is made up of approximately 70% water. If you don't get enough you'll get constipated, have headaches, muscle aches and pains, recover slower, etc. Water is such an easy thing to change and it will help you lose weight. Especially if you drink sugary drinks. Talk about reducing empty calories! Plus those sugary drinks spike your blood sugar which is not good for your pancreas, brain, and will lead to type 2 diabetes eventually.

10. Limit Added Sugar- if you decide to eat whole foods like I mentioned earlier, then this shouldn't be too much of a problem. But sugar is a culprit to weight loss. It is probably the number one thing that hinders it. Why? Cause it's so addictive and it's in everything! Processed foods, drinks, you name it. It keeps you wanting more. But it's so bad for you. I may have to write a whole other post on this. I'll be the first to admit I love sugary foods. I even have done posts on eliminating sugar to stop being addicted after my pregnancies. Let me say that I am not talking about sugar found naturally in fruits. I am talking about added sugars. Big difference. We already talked on how healthy fruits are, so don't get confused.

11. Lifestyle- if you really want to lose weight then you must make this a lifestyle change. The slogan of my fitness business was, "It's not a diet, it's a lifestyle." This process never ends so don't think it'll only take 3 months to lose x amount of weight. It takes time. Healthy weight loss is a gradual process. Your body can only remove so much fat at once (without taking muscle with it). It's science, really. If you've abused your body for years you cannot realistically expect it to change over the course of a couple months (even if you're a fan of Biggest Loser). You need consitency once you start. No turning back. See this as the start of a journey to being healthy and making changes that will help you lose the weight you need to lose but really change your body as a whole. Creating habits and influencing your family is part of that. Like I said earlier, it's deciding to die to yourself. But it does get easier. Once you die you gain new life. You will with this, I promise.


I hope this information helps you on your journey and I would love to talk with anyone who has questions, encouragement, accountability, motivation, or prayer. Thank you for all who do contact me because I love hearing from you and helping you! 

Saturday, February 8, 2014

Together



Growing up, my dad was the king of breakfast (still is). I have such fond memories of waking up on Saturday mornings to the smell of bacon and hearing him sing loudly and pans clanigng around. Another common sound was our microwave heating up water for his tea. He loves tea. 

Breakfast is one of my favorite meals of the day, probably because it is one of my parents' favorite meals and I have so many wonderful memories tied to it. Almost every Saturday morning I wake up and get excited to go start making breakfast for my family. Omelets, hashbrowns, fresh fruit, and scrambled eggs are some of the things I enjoy making most days of the week and especially the weekends. Yesterday (Saturday) morning I decided to make Buttermilk/restaurant pancakes with a blueberry sauce, bacon (I use Hormel no nitrite/nitrate), and greek yogurt. Find the recipe HERE.




My top love language is quality time. All my best memories are ones spent with people. Adventures, outings, vacations, sleepovers, play dates, family time, talking, and the list goes on. Breakfast, to me, is a chance to sit down together and enjoy some of the yummiest food of the day, with ones I love. 


Something that God has been revealing to me is that He is a God of quality time as well. He wants to spend time with people; with me. Relationships were important to Jesus, just look through the New Testament about all the time He spent with people; all the time He sat around a table eating a meal with others.


I'm so captivated by the love Jesus poured out over these meals He had with others. It makes me think that if it was so important for Him to spend time around a table with people, maybe it should be important to me. Maybe there is value in waiting for my husband to get home from work to eat dinner with the girls and I. Maybe one of the reasons I love having people over for a good home-cooked meal is because God has a purpose and a plan for that time with others. For me to focus on getting to know others, love on them, and not worry about the meal being totally perfect or the table looking put together. But just to enjoy llife with other people.

To sit and enjoy these days of seeing my daughters bond and hearing them squeal together as they learn to play and have fun as sisters is a huge treat. I am learning to slow down and really sit with God and other people so I don't miss what is important....



....relationships. :)

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

5 Benefits to Interval Training


I'm a mom of a 3 year old and one year old. I think it's safe to say that I don't have tons of time each day to devote to exercising. Honestly, I rarely, if ever (especially lately), leave my house to exercise. So I need to make my time effective. I have to be "wise" with the precious time I have to workout. If you are a mom then I know you're agreeing with me! Let me share a training method that every mom (or person, not just a mom) needs to put into their routine. It's interval training (HIT = high intensity training). 

I'm sure you have probably heard of it. What is it? Well, in short, it's bursts of energy followed by short time of rest. It can be 30 seconds of intensity followed by 30 seconds of rest. It can also be 3 minutes of intensity followed by 30 seconds of rest. What you are doing is training as hard as you possibly can for a short time to the point of exhaustion, followed by time to recover enough (not fully) to do it again. Essentially you are pushing your body's limits to produce faster results. This is SO IMPORTANT for each person. You want results? You want results at a faster speed? Who doesn't?! Interval training is an extremely effective way to get you the results you want. And it works for any level you are at because your max changes over time. 

I just thought I would share 5 benefits to interval training; and how about some examples? 

1. Burns more calories- your heart rate is being taken to extremely high levels (over 80% of with your target heart rate possibly) and because of that your body is heating up and using more oxygen than steady state exercise, which equals calories. A calorie is a unit of heat and calories burned are measured through oxygen intake and out take.

2. Uses anaerobic and aerobic- anaerobic means without oxygen. This means that our body uses energy from our muscles, which creates lactic acid. When that acid builds up we have to slow down, so our aerobic system (with oxygen) kicks in and our lungs and heart work hard to help the body recover. So you are working 2 vital systems in your body in the same workout (usually anaerobic is accomplished with weight lifting and aerobic is with cardio). Talk about multi-tasking and improving your body as a whole! 

3. Increases VO2 max- ok this is referring to your body's lactate threshold. When we exercise we can go so long before lactic acid fills our muscles and slows us down. By interval training we can increase that threshold because of training hard, resting and training hard. Why is this good? Because this means we can do more longer. Training for a half marathon? Interval training can help you run longer and gain faster speed. Keeping up with kids? Yes! This equals more energy just for your entire day as wife, mom, friend, daughter, employee, boss, etc. It helps you have more energy while resting, not just doing endurance workouts. And that is pretty important. 

4. Gets same results or better than long duration cardio- You can do 20 minutes of interval training and burn as many calories as a 60 minute moderate, steady state workout. I don't know about you but I would rather workout less time and get the same results as longer time. Also, by pushing yourself harder in a shorter amount of time you are pumping more blood to all your muscles, organs, and expanding your lungs with more oxygen than in steady state which increases the use of your lung capacity. Basically you are improving the entire health of your body and keeping it younger because you are delaying processes that slow down with age. Ever see your grandma walk up the stairs and take 5 minutes to catch her breath? Well, that can be delayed! Especially if you interval train. 

And because you are pushing at your max each individual workout, this means you are less likely to plateau because you are still challenging your body. Steady state can be more quickly adapted to resulting in less change. So if you see women at the gym still walking at a 3.5 on the treadmill, you're seeing a cycle of little change. Intensity is key to reaching your goals. The beauty is that intensity levels are different for each person and vary within yourself. The more you work, the higher your intensity can get. 

5. Avoids injuries- because you are not training constantly you are not overusing muscles, making them susceptible to injury. Endurance athetes are more susceptible to injury and over-use/burning out. 


So let me give an example exercise for interval training. For one minute repeat this exercise...

4 push-ups
8 mountain climbers (quickly bring your knee to your chest/stomach and back out)
bring both legs in to your hands
jump up
jump back out into plank position
Repeat
rest for 30 seconds and repeat another minute



Circuit:
Jog in place 30 seconds
Jumping jacks for 30 seconds
High knees for 30 seconds
Rest 30 seconds

Example:
If you enjoy runnning, sprint as fast as you can for 30 seconds then walk for a minute. Sprint 40 seconds, walk a minute. Continue adding 10 seconds with walking in between and once you hit 60 or 90 seconds bring it back down by 10 seconds each time. 




When you train hard you will see the results. I can do a 20 minute workout and look like the picture above...sweaty. My hair is sweaty and I'm "glistening" all over. I will say that once you cool down and recover, you feel the high. Your body feels great. So work interval training into your normal regimine one to 3 days a week and you'll see results!


Further sources on the subject:
ACE
Sports Medicine

*Make sure you are always approved for exercise with a physician, especially if you have any heart issues for HIT because of the range your heart rate will go to.

Monday, February 3, 2014

Bruschetta


In celebration of 60,000 plus views to my blog, I wanted to share some blog revamping and a favorite appetizer of mine. Bruscetta. I have loved bruscetta for years but never found a recipe I really liked when I made it. Until last year at a get together. So I really can't take credit for it because I got the recipe from a friend. Boy I like it (thanks Brenda!) and try to make it for most parties now :) 

Bruschetta
Large baguette or 2 small baguettes cut into slices
olive oil
tomatoes (I prefer roma)
basil
garlic clove
balsamic vinegar
salt
goat cheese (plain or honey)

Directions:
1. Cut 4 roma tomatoes, combine about 2 tbsp olive oil or to taste, about 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar or to taste, minced garlic close, salt to taste, and 1 tsp fresh or dried basil (or to taste as well). 
2. Heat oven 350 degrees.
3. Drizzle or use a basting brush to spread olive oil on baguette slices.
4. Bake slices for 5-8 minutes or until browning slightly and crisp. 
5. Cool slightly. Spread goat cheese and top with tomatoes. 
6. Enjoy!



Half the reason I like the bruschetta appetizer is because it means opening up my home or gathering somewhere else with others. My passion for God and for others is continually being shaped and molded. Food represents so many things and one of them is people. Girls nights, guests, family, date nights, holiday gatherings, new friends, old friends, and Christ. Christ gathered around a table with many types people and invested into them. He knew how to perfectly love others and invite them into a relationship with Him. As I get to know Him more, I see His passion for loving others and I want to learn how to love on others as well. I fail so many times and I can be really bad at actually loving other people, even my own family, but because of God's grace, He keeps molding me and redeeming my mistakes while instilling more of a true heart towards others.

Therefore, this blog is shifting a little towards just trying to love on others and the journey of my life. I will still be posting TONS on fitness and nutrition but there will be other tidbits of my family and other interests I have. Thanks for keeping with me and hopefully this will be a blessing to you.