The home fitness challenge

So every book I have been reading lately is about fitness or is a cookbook. I am determined to at least beat my mom for our Biggest Loser prize. I don't mind reading about fitness as a whole, but I always seem to get overwhelmed when they say I should spend 20 minutes on cardio, 20 minutes on weight training, and 20 minutes on flexibility training. This would be awesome- in a perfect world. I don't even have kids and I can't find the time to get to the gym. I always love when the books say "it's a matter of priority" or "you have to make the time". Right. I am up at four in the morning to get ready for work. I am home at four in the afternoon. I make dinner, clean up dinner, do a quick craft to supplement income, and then I am in bed. Most of the time I don't get to go to sleep until about ten. Where can I fit in this fitness time? 

This was my excuse. The only time that I really take time away from my life is when I sit down for two hours on Tuesday and watch my favorite show. So I decided to work out at home during the show. Since my gym is about 15 miles away from my house and sometimes (about half the time) I just can't get there, I decided to look at setting up a simple home gym. The problem was I had to research really expensive options because I am brokety-broke-broke.  :)

I scoured books and found that the top five inexpensive pieces of equipment were: 

1) A jump rope. I was surprised to see this one at the top of the list. I mean, I have not used a jump rope since elementary school! I found that this single piece of equipment kicks my butt more than any other. I do about ten minutes of jump rope before my show comes on for a nice warm up. I have found that a nicer jump rope set me back about $10 but it swings a lot better than the cheapies. (BTW, I love that I have a big enough basement that I can jump rope in :) It is cold outside right now!) - cost $10

2) stability ball. I expected to see this one one the list because there are so many things this is good for. I was introduced to these by a Physical Therapist a few years back and I have had one ever since.  My problem was that the ball was too big for me. I found a "kids size" one and- presto- I am good! So important tip here? Check the size of the ball compared to your body (there will generally be a height range printed on the package). The main thing I do with the ball is sit on it instead of the couch during my show. This strengthens "the core". On commercial, I try a few of the fitness moves that were included on a sheet in the box- sit ups, push ups, and wall squats. - cost $10

3) resistance bands. These are really very useful. I was not expecting that when I bought them. They can be used for strength training or just stretching. There was an instructional DVD included when I bought my set, and my favorite move is "rows". This totally rocks and makes me think of sunny oceans (because of the rowing motion...see? No? Maybe I am a bit nutso...). I row during commercial breaks and I also use it for stretches during the show. - cost $13

4) free weights. I got two 2lb dumbells and two 5lb ones. These were recommended by all of the books, so I figured I would give them a shot. A weight bench was also recommended, but I simply use a straight-backed chair. I do easy exercises like kickbacks, bicep curls, or shoulder presses during the middle of the show. -cost $15

5) exercise mat. I had a yoga mat years ago and loved it, because it made getting on the floor a little less disgusting. But my dog ate my yoga mat years ago too. I had to finally get a new one and I didn't realize how much I missed it. This is a great piece of equipment to help me be more comfortable while working on the floor. I also do a quick 15 minute yoga routine after the show to help me quiet my mind and get ready for bed. - cost $15

Total cost for my home gym: $65

Total cost for exercise videos to help me work out: free (some came with the equipment and the rest came from the library)

Total cost for a sign to keep the husband and the dogs out of the room while I am working out: nada (cardboard and sharpie)

Total cost for not having to go out in the cold, drive to the gym, and shower in the locker room: totally and completely and utterly priceless. 

On being positive

I am officially in the positive state of mind. Let me explain. 

I am generally a positive person in my home life, but about six months ago it was getting really hard to be positive at work. Now, don't get me wrong- I like my job. I think it is rewarding, fun, and nurtures my creativity. However, I was really struggling with the daily grind of it all. Our center director calls it 'the whirlwind' because he attended this class and learned about The Four Disciplines of Execution. We had a Management Summit and learned all about the whirlwind and how we can't let it rule our daily lives, because then we will never succeed. Well the whirlwind was kicking my a$$ and I was not feeling like I could keep up. The tediousness of having to track things, and email, and taking time away from my agents to handle the little things. All I wanted to do was tell my agents about goals, current issues, and praise them- because I do think their job is hard. So I did what any slacker would do. I just stopped caring. I did not put in the work that I know I am capable of, I stopped doing what I knew was required of me, and I drowned myself in negativity. The funny thing is that I don't think anyone really noticed except my husband, a single co-worker, and myself. I didn't let my job slip that much. I still got really good reviews from my class and my boss and I was totally being a negative nelly. I complained (quietly) about EVERYTHING. 

One day I realized that I couldn't think about anything good. Every thought I had that day led to something negative. Things like "I have a husband who loves me" led to "I can't stand how my walls are not painted". "I like my job" led to "It really sucks and I am going to get fired".  Sometimes it wasn't even so simple. A thought like "This cream puff is really good" could lead to "If you eat it then you will be fat and then the husband who loves you so much will think you are ugly and then he will not love you anymore and then he will decide one day that he wants a divorce and then you won't ever get to see your dogs anymore because you will have to live in a cheap apartment that won't let you have pets and the husband will want custody of the dogs anyway so you better just pick a fight with him now so that you can get the whole thing over with now". This would be why the husband says that I have an inner dialogue and why he also says that I was being completely nuts-o. 

So later that night I got to thinking about why I was being so nuts. It all led back to negativity. It is a slippery slope. One single negative thought led to all negative thought. So I decided to try this experiment. I think it really helped. I catch myself thinking good things now, instead of negative things. I finally made it to 21 days and I am so very.... content, relaxed, and happy at this moment. Positive thought is all the rage you know ;). I think that I will continue to wear my bracelet, though. Because I now have a new habit, but I also know how easy it is to slip back into the old habits. Anyway, cheers to the good life! Hooray!

Power boosters- Office edition

So I am reading articles about stress today, and how stress size is directly correlated to waist size. I don't think I have much stress, but I do know that my waist has increased since I have been at my current job. Being a corporate trainer is tough sometimes, but I think it is even harder when I am not in class. I have projects and things, but I don't have my agents to focus on, which can make life VERY boring. So a few of the things that I read were talking about power boosters- things that can make the mid day slump seem a bit better.

I'm at a call center, so I see people every day run the breakroom in the afternoon so they can grab the 40 oz Monster. I look at the ingredients and I just shudder, because these people are putting so many unhealthy things in their body EVERY DAY. Often, multiple times in a day. I just can't handle it. I remember the first time I drank a red bull. I thought my heart was going to explode! I could not imagine having to drink 3 of them to get through my day. So I was very excited to see these tips to help me get through the day.

* do five minutes of mental or physical activity for every hour you spend at the computer.
*Massage your own head and shoulders. Find trigger points of tension in the shoulders, jaw, and base of the skull. Hold pressure for 6-10 seconds.
*Go for a short walk around the office or outside around the block
*Lastly, use a stress ball. Squeezing a stress ball relieves stress while strengthening the forearms and wrists for typing.
*Stand perfectly still for two minutes. Just Regroup. Do some deep breathing exercises or quiet meditation.

I think this post was a great idea, a reminder to keep it fresh at work. After all, isn't freshness at work related to productivity? Hmmm....

Obama, Obama

He's our man. If he can't do it.... Well, hopefully he can do it.

Nie is back :)

Our biggest loser

I am officially the an email queen for our biggest loser competition. Included in the first email was a fitness tip and recipe (see below). Since starting our competition, it has been really hard to take out the sweets. My down fall is, and always has been, bakery items. I love the danish, I love my favorite cake, and I really, really, really love banana cream pie. (Warning: The links click to pictures of these forbidden items- click at your own risk!). So imagine the horror when I walk into my break room at work to see a whole spread of pastries, mini tarts, and coffee cakes. All of it was on sale for our first quarter fundraiser for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Utah.

Luckily, I was prepared. I packed the best lunch today and although I was tempted, I stayed strong. I also chewed a half stick of Extra Sweet Watermelon Gum. At five calories per stick, it is a great deal. It cuts my cravings so fast and lasts a while. I totally passed the danish test at work today because of it! Go Me!

Anyway, I hope that I can actually get to the gym tomorrow, otherwise I might go a bit crazy. I miss the warm weather only because I miss my bike. But really, a few more months of winter isn't bad either.

Big Tip of the Week:Shop the Perimeter

Recipe of the Day: Tuna Salad Twist

Plain old tuna salad seems like a great, low-cal, healthy item. But when using a full fat mayo it can be pretty bad for you. This is a lighter version with a few new flavors. This is also great because you can eat it open-faced, in a whole wheat pita, in a whole grain tortilla for a 'snack wrap', or my favorite: as a topping on a big bed of lettuce. If using as a main course this has 2 servings. If using as a snack item this has 4 servings.

8 oz (1 standard can) of white tuna in water- please buy from a reputable company that does not harm dolphins or whales :)
2 Tablespoons low-fat mayo
3/4 teaspoon lemon zest
1 squeeze of lemon juice, fresh is best
2 Tablespoons of chopped celery
2 Tablespoons of chopped green onion, optional
2 Tablespoons chopped dill pickle, optional

Drain tuna and place in a bowl. Mix in remainder of ingredients and blend well. Chill for at least one hour and serve.

As a main item (2 servings) the Per serving nutrition information: calories 170; fat 3 grams; carbs; 4 grams; protein 30 grams; fiber 2 grams

Haters

So I am reading a post today on Cjane and she is talking about the enemies. It got me thinking about blogs and how generally pointless they are in our lives. I mean, why write a blog? Why put your random musings and silly thoughts out there in the world for other people to make fun of? It's like leaving your diary in the middle of the hallway at a high school on purpose... What were you thinking????

My opinion is that there may be a few people that you can't physically connect with. It might be because you want to record your thoughts on a specific topic. It may be because you post somewhere else and you want your own personal blog, or it could be flat out narcissism. The point for me is that I don't really care. I mean, yes, blogs are good for all of those things, but really they are like reading letters to the editor in the NY times, or your local paper. You don't have to feel that way. Heck, you don't even have to read it! You can choose to spend your time reading other things that come from people who think, look, speak, and dream just like you. So this is a reminder for myself to think about the comments I make on blogs. I have never written anything hurtful or negative- that's just not my style- but I also want to send out my positive floaties into space. So the theme for my new month- positivity :)

The Beauty of Frozen Food

I try to be healthy. I also have a lot of work. I also get really tired at the end of the day, and therefore don't want to do anything. This includes cooking. Nope, don't want to do it on those nights that I get home late.  

I work 4 11 hour days and the problem with working 11 hour days is that I don't always get to eat like I want to. This would be why the early AM crew and the Late afternoon crew at our local McD's know us. Sad, but true :( In an effort to be healthier, my family chose to hold our own biggest loser competition. We each paid 25$ and we get 12 weeks to see who lost the biggest percentage of weight, and at the end? Winner takes all, just like biggest loser. 

So I weighed in on Saturday night and promptly wanted to cry. OUCH! I knew it was high, but really? Ouch. I am now determined to make that a more manageable number. The easiest way to do this is going to be saying goodbye to my local Mickey Dee's crew and saying hello to home cooking. This does not excite me. In fact, this makes me break out into a cold sweat. 

Enter: Frozen Food... (cue angelic chorus). I checked out a wonderful book on freezer cooking. Make things on the 3 days that I have off, freeze them, and then pull them out of the freezer later. Now I wonder why it took me so long to figure that out. Anyway, I made my healthy tofu lasagna last night. In fact, I made two. One was cooked and eaten and the other one is in the freezer for the next time I just can't face making dinner.   Hopefully this works for us, if not, I fear it will be back to the fast food sadness. Here's wishing myself luck, willpower, and more time.

Alright, Alright. I am sorry 2008

So. More than a whole year, and not a single post? Wow. I am lame.

I must admit that it was not a lack of topics, but rather a lack of time. I mean there was so much going on this past year, that I just did not have time for the old blog. Not to mention that I couldn't remember my password.

So. I have decided that I will try to be better for myself. I am going to add to this blog as a reminder of where I am in my life right now. I may not add daily, but I at least hope to add weekly, just as a reminder to be more 'me'.

To 2008: You were a year of change. For the first part of the year I tried really really hard to do things that just weren't me. In the last half of the year, I basically chucked it and decided to go with the gut. So everything that happened in you, 2008, pretty much happened in the latter part of 2008 (talking September to December here). So I changed my look, I decided that my friends were in a place that I no longer wanted to be in, I decided that I don't really like some people and were just trying to impress them. I decided to do things that I like. I started crafting again. I started writing again. I let God into my life (which probably deserves it's own post completely). I got pregnant. I lost my pregnancy. I went to the hospital a lot, but I was okay with it. I decided to ENJOY my job, because it really only sucks when I complain about it. I decided to ENJOY all the blessings in my life. I VOTED! I watched as the country voted, and cried when they announced the new hope (BTW, Do you think he is going to be like Luke Skywalker? Saving us from the evil Darth Congress? Or is he going to chicken out? Hmmm...). I also got scared, and laughed, and cried, and loved. Oh, and I let my silly husband talk me into playing World of Warcraft. 2008, you were a good year, but I am ready to let you go. You were a little bit bitter for me, which was my fault, but I am ready to move on to the sweet taste of 2009. It could end up with a bitter taste also, but the hope if that it will be sweet.

So to 2009: I hope that you realize the hope that is pinned on you. 2008 was a rough year. Fraught with the economic downturn, terror, a divided nation, and just plain freaky stuff. I have hope for you, 2009, that you will turn into one of the best years on record. That you will be stronger, and full of hope and change. I think that I share that hope with a lot of people, so good luck!

On the blog I hope to record all the plain and the extraordinary, the baby thing and the housewife scene, my hopes and my crushed dreams, my loves and my lacks, my God and the hacks, and most of all: the beautiful. So if anyone reads this... expect randomness.

Luck to me and happy reading!