Still Cleaning up the Diet...

One week logging, planning is better but still working on putting it in action.
I think I will need to make it very simple, lots of the same meals and snacks planned for during the day; things that are portable since my days change constantly.  Can't fight your lifestyle but have to learn to work with it.

A quick recap:

Every morning is pretty much the same; Oatmeal and coffee, sometimes with a banana and flax oil.

Also on the menu have been hummus and pita chips, Whole Wheat English muffin with laughing cow cheese and a morning star patty.  Roast chicken with potatoes and carrots, Slow Cooker pot roast for dinners.

The weekend was chaotic.  Things weren't terrible until the Lobster Fest commercials won my family over and we hit Red Lobster for dinner....enough said!

New week:
Monday:
Oatmeal and Coffee breakfast
Spinach Salad w/ Chicken and pita chips for lunch
Pesto pizza (arugala, chicken, tomatoes, pine nuts on whole wheat pita pocket)
**not home most of day, need to have travel snacks ready

Tuesday:
Oatmeal and Coffee for breakfast
Snack: Crumpet w/ pumpkin butter and banana
Lunch: English muffin with morning start sausage and laughing cow cheese.
Snack: nuts
OOPS: handful of veggie stix and dark chocolate stick.
Dinner: Cheeseburger soup from soup swap with friends (I'm pretty sure this had a billion calories)

Wednesday:
Breakfast: Oatmeal w/ banana and coffee
Snack: Luna Bar
Lunch (out at restaurant): omelet with spinach and feta, multi-grain toast w/ jelly.
No dinner - stomach hurt after lunch.  Will probably snack on apple and peanut butter.

Stomach hurt after both spinach meals :(  Will have to incorporate it into my protein shake, seems to work well there.

Off to more planning keeping things consistent.  I always find it easier to stay on track when I have pretty much the same thing with only dinners changing.

I need a chef!

Even fitness professionals need to check in!

A year since I've used my blog...oops!
I'll be blogging on a few things here but I'm starting with tracking my diet.
Even fitness professionals can let things slip and need to check in.  I'm sure you see many pros online who are perfect and act like it's no big deal to have the perfect diet, they NEVER make a mistake or get lazy.  Maybe for some that is true, I see many people in the industry who are obsessive about it, I take a more relaxed everyday type of approach.
I am busy and cannot put all my efforts into what I eat.  I've been a bit lazy about it over the summer and now into the fall but I know it's time to get back on track or I'll be working hard at losing weight instead of a few pounds and maintaining.

I've recruited one of my friends (also in the fitness field) who knows a thing or two about needing to stay accountable and have someone to check in with.  Her and I have done multiple contests together for body fat, weight loss... but each year we make sure we are maintaining our weight from the year before and not letting a pound or two here and there sneak up so before you know it you are 15-20lbs over!

Cheri,
Here is a report of my fist 2 days.  For everyone else, here is how I work it; I start by tracking and doing my best to make all the good choices in week one.  I'm not obsessed with every carb or protien gram, I want to see what I am doing then make improvements:
I'm fine with about 1500 or so calories a day, when I keep the calories from good sources and increase the protein I have not had to keep my calories super low.

Tuesday: 
4:30am: Oatmeal, flax oil, coffee with sugar free creamer
8am: WW English muffin (100 kcal), morning start sausage patty, laughing cow light cheese wedge
10am: 1/2 think thin bar (yuck!), banana
2pm: Tuna packet, 1 serving wheat thins, light laughing cow cheese (LC), apple
4pm: Pumpkin Chai non fat latte at Caribou Coffee for meeting:  OOPS! Just looked this up at 390 calories!
8pm: home made Clam Chowder; more broth than thick but still made with mild and cream.

*Review: Heavy on the carbs and comes in at about 1215 calories which does not include the soup for dinner since I don't know the count. Also does not include creamer since I didn't measure.

Wednesday:
6:30am: Oatmeal, flax oil, banana, coffee w/ sf creamer
10:45am: morning star sausage patty, WW English muffin, LC cheese, apple
2:30 Think thin nut bar
4pm: nuts (I may have to nix this snack.  Nuts can be a great idea but the calories stack up quickly, I probably had 300 calories worth and that is only 1/2 cup).

6:30pm: Chicken Bratwurst baked with apples and yams.  Check fresh french bread.

**Review: Better day, a little lighter on the carbs and some type of protein included almost each time I ate.  That is key, trying to get protein in with each meal and snack.

When it comes to carbs and cutting back I don't try to eliminate and I never count fruit toward my carb count.  Fruit has so many good things that out way worrying about the carb count.  I try to limit it to 2 pieces a day.  I'm bad about taking vitamins so definitely need to get fruits and good veggies in.
When I am using straight carbs like wheat thins and English muffins, I get the light option and count out 1 portion.

Burning off the Feast!

Happy Holidays!  Let the celebrations begin.
Between now and the new year there will be parties, shopping, drinks and FOOD.  Oh...the FOOD!

Many magazines and trainers will be ready to show you the 'top 30 ways' to avoid overeating on Thanksgiving.  What!?  I'm all about eating on special holidays.  After all, I only eat sweet potatoes with marshmallows once per year, why would I want to skip it?

What I do advise is increasing your activity around the holidays.  An extra workout or two per week, a little longer, work a little harder...  I certainly don't skip a dish on Thanksgiving nor do I skip a Christmas cookie but you may find me in the gym a little bit more.

Tomorrow morning before the big feast my boot campers will get some insight on how many calories are in some of the dishes they may be serving and just how hard it can be to burn it off.  If they weren't motivated to work harder before the meal, I hope they will be motivated to do some extra work in the week following.
Below you'll find approximate calories in these dishes and about how many calories you will burn off doing the exercise it's paired with.

The menu totals 1787 calories.  If you get through the workout 2x you'll burn about 350 calories on average.  You can see, it will take some extra work to make up for your splurges so be sure to work hard!
Happy Thanksgiving :)

Spinach Dip: 2tbsp = 130 kcal

2 Suicide Runs on Track (fast as you can!!)

= 20 kcal.

Pumpernickel Bread: 1 slice = 65 kcal

30 Tricep Extensions = 5 kcal.

Bacon wrapped dates w/ goat cheese (5pcs.) = 223

30 Squats w/ Kick = 28 kcal

Turkey J: 4oz = 120 kcal

25 Bicep Curl-to-Shoulder Press = 17 kcal.

 

Mashed Potatoes & Gravy: 5oz = 120 kcal.

40 walking lunges w/ glute raise = 20 kcal.

Sweet Potatoes w/ Maple Glaze: 3oz = 130

Jog Lap (medium pace) = 8 kcal./min.

Stuffing: 1oz = 160 kcal.

Step Ups (30 each side) = 16 kcal.

Dinner Roll w/ butter = 140 kcal.

Run Lap (fast) = 11 kcal./min

Pumpkin Pie: 1 slice = 229 kcal.

Jump Rope 100x (fast) = 20 kcal.

Apple Pie: 1 slice = 277 kcal.

10 Burpee w/ Med Ball = 10 kcal.

Wine: 4oz glass = 115 kcal.

8x per side - Turkish Get Up (modified) = 10 kcal.

Champagne: 1 serving = 78 kcal.

Incline Back Row-15 each side = 8 kcal.

 

 

 

Making fitness a family affair

Kids have boundless energy, or at least they should.  You'd be surprised how un-fit many kids can be.  Of course young children do not need to start a workout regimen but when they start to get about middle school age it's a great idea to get the entire family into being healthy and active.

This has always naturally come to my family considering my line of work.  From the time Taylor was a toddler she was involved in some way; sitting on her dad's back while he did push-ups, getting a piggy back ride from me while I did lunges across the back yard, mimicking my back yard workout moves...
As she got older and started playing sports she became more involved in our activities.  In the summer we would hit the lakefront trail as a family and do the exercise stations down the path from Diversey Harbor, if she had a day off school and tagged along to one of my boot camps she would want to jump in and often calling out campers for doing push-ups on their knees (Yikes!) and now that she is a young athlete she participated in conditioning over the summer to stay in shape for soccer season.

There are lots of ways to be active with the kids.  My daughter is only 11 so she is not on a hard-core workout plan. She has soccer practice 2x per week and 1-2 games per week.  This is quite enough in season.  When she is working out with us over the summer we try to keep it fun and light.  She has not worked out with anything more than her own body weight.  We have gone for short runs, sprints (which she loves because she is way faster than me!), played exercise games and partner exercises.  I keep the plyometric work low for her since all her joints are still growing and not yet set.  Besides light jogs and agility we work on planks, do push ups, bear crawls, lunges, core and lots of stretching.  You'd be surprised how UN-flexible kids are.

As I mentioned she does this in the summer when not playing soccer and this past summer was the first time she worked out on a regular basis, 2x per week.

Not every child or family wants to do a traditional workout together.  Here are more ideas you can use to get your family moving:

• Bike Rides
• Hit the park and try tennis.
• Go to the beach and take games with you instead of hanging in your chair; volleyball, Frisbee, football...
• Walk the family dog together.
• Learn how to roller blade.
• If your child is old enough try paddle boarding in the summer.
• Check out places like Sky High and have fun together bouncing all over the room on trampolines.
• Good old fashioned game of kickball or t-ball at the park.

If your kids are old enough and used to hanging out with their ipad or kindle they may groan at first but once you get everyone going they will appreciate the time you are spending with them.

Being active with your kids will build memories, bonds and health.

 A few years ago; Halloween Kids Dash.

  Partner Push Ups

 Partner Abs

 Partner Jumps

 My little assistant showing off her front kick.

 This year assisting me at a fundraiser boot camp.

Halloween in the City

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays.
Living in the city, it's always nice get out to the "burbs" or a pumpkin farm but this year it just didn't happen. Between work, soccer, school, fundraisers... the suburban pumpkin trip just wasn't happening.

So, we decided to go super city!  Our usual parking lot pumpkin patch was gone.  In it's place is construction of a new building :(  Where to go??

Nightmare on Clark St. ended up being the perfect city-style spot to grab a pumpkin and get some fun pics of our outing.  I expected a parking garage with pumpkins tossed around the floor but little did we know we were in for an experience or as my co-pumpkin picker would say...a "magical" experience.

As we entered the garage we were pleasantly surprised to see stacks of hay bails, tons and tons of pumpkins, gourds, corn stalks and plenty of picture opps.  For a city garage they really did a great job and we had a great time.

Don't underestimate those city lots, the experience is all what you make of it :)
Happy Halloween!!

Facebook...WTF?

Majority of us are on facebook, obsessed with facebook or at least have a facebook account.  I won't put everyone because the second I do someone will pipe up saying they are not on facebook...sure.

Why is this titled WTF?  Well, FB has become so many things, a fun place to share pictures, post what's going on in your day, a political platform, a business marketing tool, a place to post your own agenda to the masses (if you have masses of "friends"), share stories or just bitch about what everyone else on FB is doing.

I'm sure if I asked 100 people what FB should be used for I will get 100 different answers.  It's becoming another format for people to complain about the thoughts and actions of others...just what we need, right?

Here's the thing, if you post something silly like what you had for dinner or that you are at Whole Foods for the 5th time this week people say "Who cares.", if you post an opinion about the current Presidential race you will have some people slamming you for it, maybe even un-friending you...NOT THAT!!!!! 

I personally have 4 FB pages (yeah, I know), 2 are for business, 1 is to share support for my daughter and her charitable work for wildlife and the last is just my personal page.  I keep the biz pages and my daughters page focused on only things that pertain to the topic. My personal page (like every one's) can go any which way. 
I'm sure I have annoyed people with the sharing of multiple vacation albums but it's the best way for my family in other states to see them.  I'm sure I've made comments that are not the same view as my "friends" but if we had a conversation face-to-face I would say the same thing.  No, I'm not one way on FB and another in person.
I share a lot about animal rescue which can be cute, sad and sometimes hard to take (and believe me, I edit and do not share the wort I see).

Still, many times when I go to post something I think twice about it because I have to remember how my FB friends are... will they be offended, will they block me, will they get mad.  Really, should I even care?  It's MY FB page, right?

So, who knows what FB is supposed to be.  I figure the only thing it really is, is a bazillion dollar idea for the owner and investors.  Good for them, wish I was a computer whiz and thought of it myself.  For everyone else, it's your page so post whatever the hell you want and own it :)

Happy posting, liking, commenting, blocking, sharing....

Bow~Wow Boot Camp at the Mutt Strut Chicago

Bow~ Wow Boot Camp had a great opportunity this past weekend to help run the Doggy Olympic area at our Local Mutt Strut.

Check out the link below to see fun pics of dogs trying hurdles, tunnel crawls and balancing on a Bosu.

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.459783737392976.101436.410215622349788&type=1&l=fd43c97220

The Mutt Strut was a fundraiser to help a local shelter, Chicago Canine Rescue, raise funds to help more dogs and puppies in need.

Please be sure to check your local shelter when looking for the next addition to your family.  If you don't find them there and decide to get one from a breeder please be sure to only use a responsible breeder, one you can visit to make sure the conditions the parents are kept in and environment is safe and healthy for the dogs.  Please do not buy from a pet shop.
Thank you

Are You Listening?

I just came across this quote on FB when I was trying to figure out how to start this post.  This sums it up, this is my goal as a mother.  Besides the obvious reasons for our volunteer trip to Africa (we love animals, we believe they have every right to be here, they need our help!) this is exactly what started it.

My daughter wants to be a Zoologist and save endangered species.  She is only 11 years old, this gives me 2 options;

1.  Pat her on the head and say, that's nice, you should go play zoo with your stuffed animals.

OR
2.  Fly her to Africa and let her help real lions, rhinos, monkeys, cervals and who knows what.  Let her get up at dawn. Let her work in the summer heat of Africa.  Let her get scratched, bitten and stepped on by these wild animals, maybe even come home with a scar or two.  Let her see how much work it takes to raise thousands of dollars in order to volunteer.  Let her go into a malaria area and take pills and get shots. 
Does this sound like a lot for an 11 year old to take on?

Well, I opt for #2 because this is how I see it;

1. Let her chase her dreams!
2. Let her really do something to help.
3. Let her have the experience of a lifetime.
4. Let her know, I take her seriously and if she wants to save the animals, then that's exactly what we are going to help do!
5. Let her know SHE CAN make a difference in the world!

Because of this my 11 year old and I will travel to South Africa in December, 2012.  During those 3 weeks we will work each day at a sanctuary called Care for Wild Africa to care for infant wildlife who may have been orphaned due to poaching or injured due to anything.  She will have many lessons on these animals, learn what it takes to care for them, learn what the people trying to save them are up against. 

There are many opportunities for families to volunteer.  If you or your child have a vision, a passion or just want to do something helpful then go do it.  Too many leave it up to the next guy.  If we all left it up to the next guy, who would help?

My daughter will no doubt have the best time "playing" with these animals but I think, I hope, she comes back with a larger view of the world and what it means to really step outside of the "box" and go after exactly what you want.


**To follow our journey to Africa please visit our FB page:
https://www.facebook.com/KeepingWildlifeWild
We are sharing everything we have been doing to raise our donation $$ and will post during our time in Africa to share our experience.

Paleo...Caveman...what? Playing with diets.

 

Meat, Fish, Veggies, Nuts, Fruit, Good Fats...Yes, Yes, Yes!
Grains, Starchy Veggies, Dairy, Sugar...NO, NO, No!

Sounds familiar but the Paleo, aka - Caveman, diet must have a slight twist to it because a new rush of people are diving in to eat only what they could grow, catch or gather if we didn't have the convenience of the grocery store.

At first, I thought, isn't this the old Atkins but then I remembered you could have dairy on the Atkins, I think.
Gluten Free?? Nope, no grains at all.  Even the "good" ones.

So, something new and of course, I'M IN!! 
Not so much because I have carefully read over the benefits of the Paleo Diet (I haven't read much of anything besides the grocery list) or I want to find my inner cave-woman but more so because I have been over indulgent lately and I want to get back to increasing my protein intake.  In the past when I have cut down on carbs and upped the protein I have to admit my insides did feel better.
So, I'm off to try this new idea (which I guess is actually a very old, old, old idea).  Which so far on day 1 I have failed straight out the gate with oatmeal this morning.  C'mon, it's oatmeal and I have eaten it every morning for years!

Here is the way I like to ease in to a new way of doing things and I think it can be beneficial for many people, m-o-d-e-r-a-t-i-o-n.  Most people jump in with 2 feet and maybe even an anchor tied to those 2 feet.  Then they drown!  Here's my advice:

• Do what you can handle to not freak out.
• As you get used to cutting a few things out, get a little more strict with yourself as you go.
• If it's not for you don't force yourself, one way isn't the absolute only way to go.
• Find a balance with what you like from a program and what you like for your life but you still feel good and see results.
• Don't take forever!  By easing into it I don't mean take a year to cut out pasta from your diet, I'm talking over a few weeks cut out more and more and add in the good things more and more.

This week I am upping my protein and veggie intake, cutting out most carbs but not all.  Next week I may be more prepared and give up my oatmeal...most days.

On the menu this week:
Salad with Chicken, Salmon & veggies, Eggs, Fruit, no-carb meatballs, Pork loin, Turkey, mixed nuts and oatmeal :) 

Once you feel the result of change you will be ALL IN, no matter what it is you are trying to do. You have to stick to it until the point you can tell it's working, from there it's all down hill (as in easy, not that it sucks ;)

Wish me luck!  Maybe next month I'll be climbing trees and flipping boulders for my workouts but probably not.

WELCOME... to the world of Oz

Hi,
Welcome to my world where most things revolve around fitness and pets.

As you can see from the areas to visit, Workout, Food & Booze and Volunteer, my goal is to help people stay fit and healthy, have fun and help pets stay healthy and safe.  I hope you will benefit from ideas, exercises and recipes I will be sharing.  I also hope you will visit the volunteer page and become inspired to find your own passion to support or help spread the word about different opportunities or pets we are trying to find homes for. 
And, you may have some silly, snarky, off the wall posts to look forward to as well.  That's the point of having your own blog, right??

Go explore, see what Windy City Boot Camp, Bow~Wow Boot Camp and Virtual Training is all about.
I'll have information up on all pages soon.  There's still plenty of summer-time left to share my fave foods and cocktails too.