Quick Tip - Incline Treadmill Cardio

Walking on the treadmill at a high incline is a great form of cardio.  Earlier in the week, I went for 20 minutes at a 3.2 speed, 10.0 incline.  Felt great!

During the workout, it is so tempting and easy to hold onto the top of the treadmill.  This isn't wrong to do, but you aren't maximizing your time on the equipment.  According to this article, holding on can even hurt your back and it won't help you get any stronger.

So what did I do to avoid temptation?  I simply held my phone in my hands while watching some YouTube...and it worked.  I wasn't tempted to hold on at all and I had a great workout!  

Just a simple tip, but try it out and maybe it will help you too!

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The Virgin "Diet" - Not For Me

There are tons of diets out there.  I really believe that a diet is not the way to go, but you need to find something that works and is sustainable for the long term.

However, I did hear about the Virgin Diet through another fitness blog and I wanted to learn more. The basis is to eliminate 7 foods that seem healthy but may be hurting you, and then slowly re-introducing them later on to see their effects.  For example - gluten.  There is so much talk and information about how bad it is for you and all the side effects from it.  That's one of the 7 foods and I would be curious to see what would happen with me.

I was thinking about ordering this book from Amazon, but I didn't really want to spend the money on it.  For some reason, I didn't even think about my local library.  This morning, I was so excited to check out an electronic version of the book.  I read the first chapter, and I was still intrigued.  However, then I went to the last part of the book and realize that this "diet" is meant for meat eaters. (*thumbs down*)  She even recommends that a vegetarian consumes some lean animal protein.  I stopped right then and there.  I am definitely not dissing the diet because it has worked for many people.  However, it is not the one for me.

Someone may ask - why not just eliminate these foods and not worry about the "diet"?  I really don't have a good answer to that question.  I do like educating myself, seeing what's out there, and following a plan is kind of nice.

I just ordered a book on Whole 30 from the library.  I am on a waiting list, but I'm very excited to read it.  It's another book that I have been thinking about for a few weeks, but didn't want to spend the money to purchase it quite yet.  I will definitely give a review on it once I get it and maybe it will help someone else out.

Have a wonderful day everyone - cardio time for me!

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Healthy Vegas?

Last week I was in Vegas for a few days.  It was a well-needed vacation after a crazy, yet fun, Q4.

I had so much fun...seeing old friends, gambling, food and spending time with my husband.  Best time ever!

I am not a drinker, but I love food.  I enjoyed buffets, but I tried not to stuff myself at every single meal.  I used a little bit of creativity at times.  Here is one dish I had...mixed berries and sliced almonds.  It was so tasty, but the fruit and almonds were at different stations of the buffet.  I actually had two bowls of it.  :)  YUM!

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2 Vegan Meals

I haven't had any meat for over 20 years and I feel my best when I follow a vegan diet.  The biggest question I get from people is - where do you get your protein?  There are so many options - beans, tvp, tofu, tempeh, quinoa, green veggies and much more.

Here are two meals I've had in recent months that are vegan and pack tons of protein, taste delicious and aren't too difficult to prepare.

This first meal is some tempeh, sweet potatoes, green peppers and cucumbers.  I buy my tempeh from Sprouts and they keep it next to the tofu and dairy.  I have heard some people say tempeh has a wierd flavor.  However, I find it rather tasty.

This next meal is black bean pasta.  I bought it from Amazon.com for about 4 bucks.  It packs so much protein and it's just made from beans and water.  It's not the exact same taste as pasta, but I think it's a great alternative.  Here I added some mushrooms and tomatoes, and then I sprinkled some Nutritional Yeast flakes on top to act as the parmesan cheese.  So good!!!

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Making the Time for a Shoulder Workout

As a small business owner, there is always going to be something to do.  There have been times in the past where I have sacrificed a workout in the gym in order to get more work done.  I definitely do not recommend this.  Health is #1.

I am working hard to strike a balance, still get my workouts in and not waste time during the day.  It's not easy, but every day it gets better.

Today was definitely one of those days where I had work to do and I could have definitely skipped my workout to get it all done.  Instead, I spent about 45 minutes and got a killer shoulder and cardio routine in.  I felt great afterwards - much better than if I would have skipped the gym.

Here is what I did -

3x15 db front raise
3x15 db shoulder press
3x1 minute of intense stairmill @ level 15
-
3x15 db lateral raise/candlestick raise combo
3x15 db up and outs
3x1 minute of intense stairmill @ level 15
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25 reps of seated shoulder press
stretch

Enjoy!

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Saving Money on Food

I hear it all of the time...isn't it expensive to eat healthy?  It probably can be, but I don't think it has to be.  I know for a fact that you can definitely eat healthy on a budget, and it will be cheaper than eating processed junk.  It may take some planning, but here are some tips that I use to keep my grocery bill down:

-Shop in bulk.  My favorite stores that have this available are WinCo and Frys. There are tons of selections, but the foods that I buy regularly from these sections are beans, nuts, dried fruit, oatmeal, flax seed and popcorn.  For example, oatmeal is about 60 cents/pound in the bulk section, and it's about $1.50/pound if I bought it in the cereal aisle.

-Coupons!  I currently subscribe to the Sunday paper, but you can also buy them off many different websites.  A few of my favorites are eBay and Klip2Save.  EBay will typically have a larger number of coupons to buy at once, but Klip2Save will let you buy individual coupons.  I must say that the customer service at Klip2Save is absolutely stellar.  I'm not saying the service at eBay is bad, but it's typically different sellers in every sale.  In general, I'll spend about 8 cents plus a reasonable shipping amount to save 50 cents to a dollar.  I do enjoy couponing though and I understand that some people do not.

-Eat according to the seasons.  That is going to be the produce that is typically cheaper or on sale.

-Learn when the sales start in your grocery store.  Is there a day during the week where the sales overlap?  For example, Sprouts starts their ad on Wednesdays.  However if you shop on that day, you get the sales from the last ad and the current ad.  It really helps out.

-Farmers markets or co-ops (depending on your area).  I live in Phoenix, AZ, so there is tons of produce available at very cheap prices and also year-round.  There are two programs that I take advantage of called Market on the Move and POW-WOW.  For both programs, you can spend $10 to get up to 60 pounds of produce.  It has saved us a ton of money and sometimes the produce lasts us nearly 10 days.  I highly recommend doing research to see if you have anything similar.  Here's an example of a couple loads I picked up last year:

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Fitness Appointments - Getting it Done

I absolutely LOVE my job.  However, sometimes I may love it a little too much.  It may also be due to the fact that I want to keep my business and never slow down.  I remember the corporate America days, and I don't want to go back!

In the past, this has caused me to skip my workouts and focus on my business.  I know this isn't ideal or healthy at all.

What have I done to try and change it?  One of three things:

-Workout first thing in the morning before I do any work
-Schedule it as an appointment in my day
-A combination of both

I'm not perfect, but doing these things have really helped.  I feel much better and more productive when I don't miss workouts.  You don't even need to spend a ton of time in the gym.  I try to get at least 60 minutes, but a good 20-30 quality session will have amazing benefits as well.

Enjoy and I guarantee that making time for a workout will do wonders for your business!

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