Nice Walk Yesterday January 9, 2012

my friend Samantha and I went for a nice walk yesterday after church. her parents live next door to me, and she and I are doing the Warrior Dash together in April. she hasn’t exercised at all since around the time she found out she was pregnant sometime around the first part of last year, so we had to get out and get started on our training for the Warrior Dash.

it was warm for january but was also threatening to rain all morning, but after we left her parents’ house, the sun came out, the air really warmed up, and it turned out to be a beautiful day. we walked almost 3 and a half miles total, but it didn’t seem that far because we chatted the whole time. we were actually sweaty by the time we were through, even though our pace was pretty slow. my calves are so sore this morning, which surprised me since i’ve been running some this past week. i guess walking is just a different motion, though.  it is going to be a challenge to teach an hour long Zumba class tonight with sore calves. one of my biggest fears is catching a calf cramp in the middle of a song. i have issues with my calves anyway.

i’m so glad Samantha is out moving again and getting in some exercise. not only is it necessary for good health, exercise just makes you feel better if you get into the habit of it. and it was such a pleasant change to have someone to talk to during a workout. so many of my workouts are solo. we plan to try to get out every Sunday for our weekly walks, and i’m really looking forward to them.

First Run of the Year January 2, 2012

just went for my first run of 2012, and it was actually the first run i’ve done in about two months. i haven’t really been feeling like running lately as much as i work, but i started a challenge on dailymile.com with my friends to help motivate us to run 400 miles this year. it was my goal mileage for 2011, but i really didn’t put out much effort last year. i’m hoping i can do it this year, though. 400 miles is only about 8 miles per week. this year, though, i am going to count all my mileage, so that includes any walking i do, too. see, i do this weird argument with myself. i usually convince myself that walking isn’t worthy of counting as mileage (because really we walk every day and everyone can do it, so it’s not that special right? so wrong!), so on days when i don’t feel like running but could easily get a few miles of walking in, i don’t because it’s a waste of time if it doesn’t “count.” so then i burn zero calories all because i think i’m too good to count walking as exercise. i mean, i am a tough half marathoner. i can run 14 miles without stopping. i can train in 95 degree mississippi heat. it’s okay for others to walk but not for me. i can run and run and run. i can’t belittle myself to get on the treadmill and walk for two miles. oh so silly reasoning. egos. our pride stops us from doing so many good things for ourselves. walking is a great form of cardio. you burn almost as many calories as running without the impact of running. i admit that i have listened to running elitists and let their distaste for walking or run/walk influence me far too long. so long as i am moving my butt off the couch, who cares what i’m doing??? with three jobs, i know that i will probably not be able to do 400 miles worth of just running, but i am determined to do 400 miles regardless. i’ll run when i can and walk when i feel like it.

so back to my first run of the year. i was really nervous (as i always am before a run, which is odd after 5 years of running…), so i procrastinated for a few hours. i needed to eat. then, the food needed to digest. then, my dog needed to go out. then, i needed to hydrate. then, my garmin needed to charge. then, i needed a nap. then, i…had no more excuses. i bundled up because this southern girl does NOT like the cold. and boy was it cold! i wore my thin nike livestrong wind breaker, which i love love love. it makes me feel like such a runner (why, i don’t know). anyway, i started my garmin and was off. i was surprised to find that i wasn’t dying like i thought i would after having not run for two months. i figured it was just the cold wind numbing my pain, and i kept going. coming up near the first mile mark, i started to feel a little fatigue, and it was so COLD. the wind was gusting at about 20 miles per hour, and the shady spots in the road were so chilly. i glanced down at my windbreaker, which is a gorgeous blue and along the zipper on my chest in bright yellow is “LiveStrong,” the trademark for the Lance Armstrong Foundation for cancer research. when i look down, all i can see is the “strong” part of the logo, and it made me think about all those people out there battling cancer, living their lives day to day struggling much worse than i was out on the road today, and i picked up my pace. i resolved to finish the run with no walking, not because i was feeling snobbish toward walking but because i knew that i was strong enough to do two miles without a walk break. not only was i going to finish the last mile without walking, i was going to do it stronger and faster than the first, and i did. i am healthy, i am fit, and i am alive (in more ways than merely breathing). that’s what i have to celebrate this new year.

 

to join my 400 miles  in 2012 challenge, join dailymile.com for free and join the FIT IN 400 challenge or click here: FIT IN 400 Challenge

My Shakeology 3-Day Cleanse December 3, 2011

My Shakeology 3 Day Cleanse

This week, I decided to try the Shakeology 3-day Cleanse. It is supposed to remove toxins and gunk built up in your system, which I needed after splurging quite a lot over Thanksgiving. I hadn’t gained weight over the holiday, but I definitely didn’t feel my best. So basically, you drink a shake for breakfast, one for lunch, one for a snack, and eat a salad with grilled chicken (or other white protein) and low-fat dressing for supper. You can also have 1-2 pieces of fruit and green tea for snacks. I changed my plan just a bit. You’re supposed to mix your Shakeology with water for the three days, but I used almond milk instead, because #1, mixing it with water sounds really unappealing to me, and #2, I felt like I needed more calories than the 800 or so this cleanse has you down to. That’s just not healthy, in my opinion, even if it is only for 3 days. The other change I made was that I had decided that if I felt truly hungry, I’d eat extra fruit.

Day 1:
Today went pretty well. I had all three shakes plus two pieces of fruit, a delicious honey crisp apple and a d’anjou pear. I baked my chicken tonight and had a big salad with zesty Italian vinaigrette. I taught a Zumba class around 5 p.m., and I didn’t feel the least bit weak. By the time I went to bed, which was pretty late, I felt hungry enough that my tummy was growling again, so I ate ½ cup of mandarin oranges and went back to bed. I felt really…I don’t even know how to describe it. Not bloated and puffy. I know that probably isn’t clear, but it’s the only way I can describe it.

Day 2:
I have felt hungrier today. I had two shakes, one for breakfast and one for lunch, a navel orange, and a red d‘Anjou pear. I didn’t want the shake after school, so I ate my salad with chicken before going to my second job. I had a low fat Asian sesame dressing that was soooo delicious. When I got home from my night class, my 3rd shake still didn’t appeal to me, so I had a Mariani Sesame Honey Bar, which is an all natural seed, nut, raisin, and honey bar that I found on my last shopping trip to WalMart. I’d had one over Thanksgiving holiday week and thought that it was really bland, but eating it after being on this cleanse and not having much sugar and such, it tasted so delicious and sweet tonight! Yum!

Day 3:
I had two shakes, a honey crisp apple, and a d’anjou pear earlier today. I ate my chicken salad with low fat thousand island dressing this evening. I am sipping on coffee and might have some green tea later. I will probably have my third shake before bed. Sticking with the cleanse was more difficult today. It’s been a bit of a mental struggle. I didn’t have my morning shake right off, so it was about 9 a.m. before I had it, so I was very hungry by the time I drank it, and all I could think about was eating something solid instead. The shake satisfied me, though, but it was a little later than usual that I had my second shake, too. Also, I am one of those people that gets really sick of a food if I eat it for more than two meals in a row, so eating the same things with only little variations over the past three days has not been easy. Now, to be fair to the cleanse, I could have chosen to eat different white-meat protein sources, which would have changed things up a good bit, but I was definitely going for easy by batch cooking three days’ worth of chicken during my busy work week. I also feel a bit weaker today. I think I could probably teach Zumba tonight if I had to, but I’d struggle. Ended up drinking my last shake before bed, and it was very satisfying. I felt full and comfortable and not deprived.

 
Final Impressions:
For my measurements, I lost ½ inch from my waist, and 1 inch from my hips from when I measured on Wednesday. I also lost 2 lbs. So that comes down to 18.41% bodyfat, which is the lowest I’ve been in YEARS! Yes, I did a little dance :o) In fact, in all the years that I have been fitness-conscious and health-knowledgeable, I have never even seen this number!!! I am sure sometime in high school when I was in a size 0 jeans, I was down below this body fat, but I definitely wasn’t doing it the healthy way back then, so it doesn’t count! :oD Also, I didn’t lose muscle (I actually gained over a lb in muscle!), so if losing some of your lean body mass is a concern when doing a cleanse, I can at least say from my experience that Shakeology didn’t let me down there, either. I figured out my body fat by using this calculator:

Linear Software Body Fat Calculator

 
Want to try it? You can get Shakeology through me by going to myshakeology.com/cshows. You will also be a part of my Beachbody team, where I will coach you for free, offering advice, fitness and health info, and whatever level of motivation and support you need from me. The best part about Shakeology as a product is that there is a 30-day empty bag-no questions asked-money-back guarantee if you aren’t satisfied with it. It’s definitely worth a try. If you read back through my blog, I was pretty skeptical about it. In fact, my Beachbody coach had talked to me about it numerous times before I finally tried it. But I can say with all honesty that I have really liked the results I’ve gotten with it. I feel better, and I look better. That is worth the money to me. It isn’t the cheapest meal replacement out there, but it is the healthiest. It’s also the most filling that I’ve tried, and I’ve done things like SlimFast in the past that left me hungry all the time. Shakeology fills me up when I have it for lunch. I pay less than a dollar more per day than I was when I bought frozen low calorie dinners and fruit or yogurt for lunch, and I’m just as satisfied, if not more so. I am definitely more satisfied with what Shakeology has done for my body – made me slimmer by body fat reduction and smaller measurements, given me more energy throughout the day, and helped me stop obsessing about food so much. If you have more questions, just email me (csshows@yahoo.com) or message me on Facebook.

Zumba and Gyms September 23, 2011

I am working this weekend on a couple of Zumba songs to add to my class. One is an abs workout and the other is mostly cardio. I set up my playlist to have an extended stretching session at the end to help newcomers gain back some flexibility, but the whole routine is still a tad short. Classes are going pretty well, other than the occasional slip up from allowing my mind to wander and forgetting where we are in the song, but I cover myself pretty well. Teaching Zumba is surprisingly easy once you get the basic latin rhythms down and learn the choreography for the songs you want to do. I heard this morning that someone is teaching it in a neighboring town, but they aren’t Zumba licensed. It really annoys me, because I put in the hard work and hard-earned money to get my license to teach Zumba, and here is someone making money off of people and probably isn’t even teaching latin moves. I think it mostly irritates me because if these people take her class and it’s just some hip hop aerobics with the Zumba name attached to it, all these people go out thinking that this is what Zumba is like. So what if they’re turned off by her lack of inexperience and never try Zumba again? I can’t help being irritated. I want to keep the integrity of the fitness program in tact, because when I become a part of something, I truly care about it. But I knew I’d come across this. Anyway, if you are wondering if your Zumba instructor is legit or not (and therefore is worth all that money you’re paying her or him each month), go to the Zumba website and click ‘Find an Instructor,’ where you can type in their name. Also, if you’d like to try out a Zumba class, go there and click on ‘Find a Class,’ to find classes in your area. If you are interested in becoming a licensed Zumba instructor, click on the ‘Instructor Training’ link.

Part of the reason I love doing Zumba is that I really love being in the gym atmosphere. I love being surrounded by people who want to live healthier lives.  There is something so positive and hopeful about that. It’s so motivating. I love seeing people push themselves where they know deep down that their bodies can go. I love seeing people smile as they work out. I even love seeing the frowns that come from intense concentration and hard work, because when they’re done, the grins of accomplishment come out. I still love my at-home workouts, but since I’d finished school and no longer get to go to my college gym anymore, I have really missed those things. Now, if the little gym I worked at just had an indoor heated pool, I’d be in fitness Heaven! :)

Shakeology Week 2 September 18, 2011

Shakeology Week 2
Monday – got almost no sleep (less than 5 hours), pretty alert all day. Very small amounts of food satisfied me, and I didn’t think about food constantly like I usually do throughout the day. Came home to take a 30-40 min nap before bunko, slept about 10-15 mins and then was wide awake but pretty tired feeling by the end of bunko. Went to bed early. Had chocolate shakeology for lunch instead of breakfast today. I think it worked out better.

Thursday – I’ve been doing Shakeology for lunch instead of breakfast all week except today, and it’s worked out well. It keeps me pretty satisfied, not hungry like I thought I’d be by drinking a shake for lunch. I usually have a piece of fruit with it, too. Today, I decided to eat a grilled chicken salad  for lunch, so I made my Greenberry shakeology for breakfast. I mixed it with a cup of pineapple juice and a little almond milk, and it was so sweet and delicious!  I actually got enough sleep last night and wasn’t ridiculously tired at work today like I have been most of this week. This has been a doozy with starting up my Zumba class (finally!) and having football duty tomorrow night :o/ It’s the Homecoming game, too, so there will be massive amounts of Lions fans there. It will be a very busy night. Anyway, I am looking forward to some downtime this weekend. With all the grading I have to do, I might even enjoy some of it.

I went grocery shopping Tuesday night after my night class, and I was thrilled to spend only about $60 on food. I would have easily spent $150 before, so I’m already ahead for the month by buying Shakeology! The price was one of my biggest reservations, so I am so happy about that. Despite being very tired from all the working and other engagements I had this week, I was still able to go most days without a nap, which is a definite improvement in energy levels. It’s not miraculous, but it’s improvement. As for curbing my appetite, Shakeology has definitely done that. It doesn’t curb my appetite so much that I don’t eat anything (unlike some diet pills that have too many stimulants to be safe). I just didn’t want to overeat, which was good. That’s a definite problem of mine. But I still ate throughout the day. So over the past two weeks, I am down 4 lbs, minus 2.5 inches in my waist/hips areas, and had a decrease of about 1% body fat. 1% may not sound like a lot, but since I’m already in my ideal weight range, it’s a pretty big difference. Not shabby for two weeks and not a ton of exercise. Because of Bunko Monday night and Homecoming football duty Friday night coupled with teaching until pretty late on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I definitely didn’t have as many opportunities as I usually have to get in quality workouts this week. Planning on making next week much better for exercise.

Workout Nutrition September 7, 2011

I really love this graphic I stumbled upon about good nutrition for a person’s cardio day versus ST day (or workout if you do both on the same day). I am a visual learner, so this was a great find for me.  This is from The Greatist.

More Health and Fitness News & Tips at Greatist.

Zumba Training August 20, 2011

thought i’d do a quick post about my zumba training last weekend. we met up at a dance studio and signed some forms, and by 9 a.m., we were all lined up and starting our Masters Class, which is an intense, one-hour Zumba class held by a Master Instructor, in this case, Marcie Gill of Sen Tao fame (if you’ve seen the Zumba dvds). She is an awesome dancer. we went through a warm up, many songs and lots of moves i’d never done, having never done a Zumba class before, and then a cool down and stretch. After the class was over, we took a little break before she got us back on the floor to cover the merengue and how to add in arms, movement, fitness components, etc. then, we covered the salsa. after our lunch break, we covered cumbia and then raggaeton, which is my favorite style. some of the dances i had a little trouble with, but the workshop was very laid back, and if you messed up, it wasn’t a big deal. i really enjoyed it and wish i could do it again now that i’ve had time to review the dances and practice some more. the great thing about the workshop is that you do get a review of the basic steps and some of the add-ons for each to practice with. unfortunately, all of the steps marcie taught us aren’t on the review dvd. she gave us a handout with the names of the moves, but i don’t remember how to do them all. maybe later on, i’ll take another “refresher” workshop. it really was a fun but tiring day. of the 6 or so hours we were there, i danced for about 4 hours. when i say dance, i mean, we were sweating and pushing really hard. i feel much more prepared to teach now, though.

my first Zumba class will be in a few days at Around the Clock Fitness. i have been choreographing and practicing a lot. i have several songs ready, although i want to add in some more in the coming weeks. teaching Zumba is a lot of work, but it’s so much fun! i plan on doing an extended cool down/stretch for the first few weeks, though, which will take up 10-15 minutes of the time. i am excited about teaching and hope to have at least a few participants to start off with.

starting to see that sweet silver lining August 2, 2011

i love my life and am truly blessed, but i do feel that a few things are missing. it’s no secret that i have been unhappy with my career. i have worked for about the past 6 months to find other employment. i had recently resigned myself to teaching another year of high school. classes start back next monday, so i am preparing myself mentally for going back there. yet, i still have held out hope that something better would open up for me.

things have changed dramatically for me over the past week as far as my career goes. i was contacted by a local gym to begin teaching zumba classes. i signed up for a certification workshop which i’ll complete the weekend after my hubby leaves to go back overseas. i will get half of what i charge for the classes, so it could pay pretty decently. also, i would already work out on those days anyway, so why not have some fun and make money doing it?

on the first day of our trip to New Orleans last week, i was contacted by two colleges to teach English classes part-time. one was offering classes that were scheduled for day, so i had to turn them down. i was really bummed about that, but the second college, East Mississippi Community College, offered me a few night classes. i am really excited about this, because as the English department head explained to me, those that they would consider for a full-time position usually have to start out in an adjunct position. it helps them see if you are right for the position and college, and it helps you as an instructor get your feet wet and learn the ropes. with teaching high school full-time and two part-time gigs, i am going to be crazy busy this semester. i hope i can handle it all. i am also still trying to build my team beachbody business, but that doesn’t really take up a lot of my time.

jamie and i have been spending as much time together as possible. we went to New Orleans for a few days to shop and eat good creole food. we stayed in the Royal St. Charles and really liked the hotel. we did so much walking! even eating beignets and tons of salty, spicy rice dishes, i still lost weight last week. we also stopped in a few other cities in Louisiana, including Baton Rouge, for some shopping. Sunday was the baby dedication ceremony at our church, and several of our friends’ children were recognized. then, we had a big fifth Sunday dinner in the activity building, and i’m so glad jamie was here for that. he really misses church while being away. we spent the day today antiquing, and tomorrow, we plan on lounging by the pool and taking it easy.

Team Beachbody June 30, 2011

I recently signed up to be an Independent Team Beachbody Coach. I first tried out P90x about a year and a half ago and completed a round of it. Then, I tried Chalean Extreme and have now done a couple of rounds of it. It has been my favorite so far. I added Brazil Butt Lift into my Chalean Extreme workout plan to really focus on my trouble area! *lol* I have enjoyed using these programs and really respect Beachbody for producing high quality, well-rounded programs that produce good results for those who put out the effort, those who aspire to the Beachbody motto: Decide. Commit. Succeed.

Beachbody is offering fee waivers to active duty military and spouses, so I thought, what do I have to lose? I love the company, have had personal success using a few of their programs, and love to talk fitness and nutrition, so it seems like the perfect fit for me. Less than 48 hours later, I have my first client! I am so excited to help her achieve better fitness and healthier living. We’ll be starting Turbofire, Chalene Johnson’s newest program, together in about a week. While I have been successful at getting healthier myself, I am also hoping that coaching will motivate me to do an even better job of achieving and maintaining a high level of fitness. I just hope I can keep up with the demands of coaching when school starts back. That’s really the only thing that I am apprehensive about.

Music for Your Pace March 25, 2011

Finding upbeat music for your workouts can be difficult sometimes. I’ve recently started teaching a  fitness class which I call Body Blast, and I spent a while coming up with a decent playlist for it to keep the participants motivated. As a runner, I know the benefit of having upbeat music while training or even during a hard race. Jog.fm is a site devoted to letting you know how many beats per minute a song is and gives you lists of songs according to pace. So for instance, say your goal is to run a 10 min mile in training. You plug that in and it gives you songs you can listen to that should help keep your running cadence that fast. If you don’t think you’ll run to the music’s beat, I challenge you to put a good song with a particular beat on and hop on a treadmill. For me, I run right with the beat. Jamie used to sit out in our workshop while I ran when our treadmill was out there, and it was so evident that I was running with the beat that he noticed and even commented on it one night. So this website could be really useful for someone trying to increase their pace or even for the fitness instructor or exerciser who just wants some playlists with a certain beat speed.

Here’s the website: Jog.fm