Fit Mom Monday - Guest Blogger: Christa

Happy Fit Mom Monday, friends!!  Today my blog features an inspirational Fit Mom, Christa.  She lives in the Baltimore, MD area and she has a 10 month old baby girl.  Christa has led a very active life including participating in triathalons and she has some great information to share with us!

·      What got you started on your healthy journey, was it before or after having children? My healthy journey started before having my baby.

What are your current fitness & nutritional practices?
I actually don’t work out as much as I did before I had my daughter. My family comes first but working out is still important to me. My husband is supportive of me and knows that quick work-out break makes me a better mom. I run 2-3 times a week. I take spin class 1-2 times a week. I do stroller strides with my daughter 3-4 times a week. I’m also a fan of the Jillian Michaels 30 day shred.
I eat pretty clean. For breakfast I eat protein which is usually eggs. For lunch I like to eat oatmeal with yogurt. I love fruit smoothies for a snack. I also love pita chips! For dinner, I like baked chicken with vegetables. I do treat myself. When I feel like eating a cookie, I eat a cookie or two. ;) I enjoy food. I don’t deprive myself of food. You got to eat to stay active and have energy.  My favorite food is Mexican food. I love to eat chips & salsa at a Mexican restaurant and get the chicken fajita salad. Yum!
I have done Weight Watchers in the past. This really helped me understand calories, fat, fiber etc. I like how Weight Watchers teaches you how to eat.

·      Do you have any tips you’d like to share?

·      Be kind to yourself.  Moderation is key! I think it’s easy to be in opposite extremes. For example, live an unhealthy lifestyle and eat lots of junk food and not exercise. I also know people that are too caught up into what they eat or too caught up into working out. It’s good to have moderation. Too much of something is not usually good.

I also worked out throughout my pregnancy. I definitely think that working out helped my pregnancy. I ran three miles until I was 30 weeks pregnant. I also took spin classes a few days a week until I was 38 weeks pregnant. I also took pre-natal yoga. I was much more active before my pregnancy which allowed me to continue to be active in my pregnancy. I would definitely check with your doctor about what activities you can and cannot do during your pregnancy.

Please tell us a little more about yourself!
I grew up playing sports year round. Every season I played a different sport. I didn’t realize how much I enjoyed playing sports until I was in college and was no longer playing any sports. Looking back on my college years I wish I had swam for college. When I graduated college I found myself 20 lbs. heavier than I am now. I started working out at my gym. I soon started working with a trainer. Then in the summer time I started swimming laps again. I started taking more spin classes, kickboxing classes, and starting running more. Then in 2007, I trained for my first sprint triathlon in Atlanta, Georgia. It was an Iron Girl triathlon. The race was in June. A few months prior I started biking outside for the first time since I was young. Biking was a new sport to me. Since 2007, I have competed in 8 triathlons. I love triathlons. I found myself less sore after a triathlon than after a half marathon because you use different muscles in a triathlon. I hope to compete in another triathlon this year. I am thrilled that in my next race my husband will be cheering me on like he has in the past but this time my daughter gets to come too!

What I want other moms to know:
If you’re a mom you can compete in a race. In the delivery room my husband reminded me of the triathlons I competed in and nothing compares to childbirth. I realized then that I had to share that with other moms. I want to encourage other moms that if they want to race or get in shape-it can be done! My best advice: Start out with small goals. Do a 5k race where you can run/walk and then progressively push yourself harder. Each goal you accomplish will encourage you to push yourself one step farther.

You can follow Christa on her blog:  Angel FIT

 

Fit Mom Monday - Guest Blogger: Cortney

Not too long ago, I started posting Fit Mom Monday tips on my Fit & Healthy Mommy Facebook page.  They've been some of my more popular posts.  I love reaching out to moms and sharing fitness, nutrition and wellness updates!  I thought it would be fun to welcome guest bloggers and let other Fit & Healthy Moms share their journeys, successes, recipes and tips with us.

My very first Fit Mom Monday guest blogger is Cortney Blejwas.  Cortney is a mom of two little girls, ages 5 & 2 and she lives in the Anne Arundel County area in Maryland.  She is a very talented photographer and will be soon be certified to teach TurboKick!

I asked Cortney a few questions and here's what she shared.

·      What got you started on your healthy journey, was it before or after having children?
My journey started after having my daughters. Realizing that the way I felt, and looked could be changed if I put all of my will and determination into it, was really what got a fire under my britches. 

·     What are your current fitness & nutritional practices?I workout, one way or another, 6 days a week. My current fitness practice is that I am following TurboFire schedule for the second time, along with throwing in some circuits here and there. My first round of TurboFire deemed amazing results, and I knew I could go even harder my second time. I eat as clean as I can, and I track everything I put into my body. 

·         Do you have any tips you’d like to share?
Going with what I wrote in the previous answer, my biggest tip is to track everything you eat. It doesn’t necessarily mean calorie counting. Now, this is not to say it works for everyone, but simply writing down the type of food/drinks you put into your body will help hold yourself accountable. Another tip I have, and love, is to make it a point to find yourself a support system. There are so many people out there who are willing to be there for you. There are so many willing to be your accountability partner and biggest cheerleader. Debi, from Fit & Healthy Mommy, played a major role in my success, for just being the backbone of my support system.

I first realized I needed to do something about how I felt and looked, after coming back from a family vacation last summer. Consuming typical “camping foods” all of our vacation, didn’t help how I was feeling either. I felt sluggish, more tired than usual, my face was broken out all the time, and I was sick of feeling 10 years older than I was. I knew I had to put everything I had into making a change.

I have known Debi for about 5 years now. I followed her on her journey, and have always been inspired by her amazing ability to make goals and achieve them. I can’t answer why I never thought to turn to her prior to my “ah-ha” moment, but when I did decided that she was the one I needed to turn to, a whole new world opened up. When I first started to get on the working out train, I was doing Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred. I was not drawn to her style of instructing. I didn’t click with her way of fitness, and knew in order to be successful I needed to find something I loved. A friend, Sarah, told me to try Turbo Jam. She lent me some of the DVDs, and I was hooked! Cardio kickboxing was the way to go for me, I was certain! 

I wanted to go to one of Debi’s Turbo Kick classes as soon as possible. The gym she teaches at is approximately 40-45 minutes away from where I live. I didn’t, and don’t, care how long it takes me to drive there. Her class is completely worth it. She, and my friend Sarah mentioned I try TurboFire, since I loved Turbo Jam. I knew it was a bit faster of a pace than Turbo Jam, and that kind of excited me. I bought it, and fell in love! It truly was and is my soulmate workout. I have completed one entire 12 week round of the program, and along with eating clean and having the determination, have lost 17 lbs to date and about 10 inches overall. I feel amazing. After my first round, I stopped focusing on weight loss, and started to focus more on muscle gain. That was the best decision I have ever made in this journey. I am doing a second 12 week round and going at it hard core. I am also discovering that I really love circuit style workouts so much. I love to Turbo so much that I am getting certified to teach on March 9^th! Wish me luck! I am so excited for all of the plans I have that will come from having that certification. It is the step in the right direction of where I want/need to be. The biggest thing I learned in my journey so far is that I *can* do this. I have the will. I have the determination, and I *will* get where I want to be in due time.

You can connect with Cortney by visiting her blog, Cortney Kicks and on her Facebook page, also titled Cortney Kicks.

Here's Cortney's Chicken Avocado, Cranberry, and Almond Salad recipe

Makes 3 servings

254 calories

*4oz cooked chicken breast-diced

*2-3 organic celery stalks-chopped

*1/4 cup dried organic cranberries, roughly chopped

*8-10 raw almonds- crushed

*1 avocado-mashed

*1tbs organic mayo or Veganaise

*sea salt

*fresh cracked black pepper

Combine all ingredients and serve in a whole wheat pita pocket or on 3 romaine lettuce leaves. 

 

Shredded Chicken Tacos

Yesterday was busy.  Soccer, birthday party, KICK class...I knew it was going to be a crock pot dinner kind of day.  I won't mention that I really didn't feel like cooking anyway.  Oh.  Wait.  I did just mention it.  Ah well...

I had three chicken breasts in the fridge that I picked up from a local farm store on Thursday.  I tossed them in the crock pot with a packet of Frontera skillet taco seasoning for ground beef.  Totally cheaterly!!  Not only did I take the easy way out by using a packet, but I felt like a rebel because I wasn't using a skillet and surely wasn't using ground beef.  I didn't season the chicken.  I emptied the packet of sauce on top of the chicken, put the lid on, and let it cook on low for 6 hours.  Near the end of cooking, I took two forks and shredded the chicken so it could stew in the sauce for a bit.

I picked up a package of white corn taco shells and prepped the toppings prior to dinner.  I used bagged salad mix and ran a knife over it to finely chop it.  I also diced red onion & vine ripe tomato and set them in the fridge an hour before dinner.  While I should be avoiding cow's milk dairy, I opted for an aged cheddar that I grated and set aside as well.  

Right before dinner, I threw the taco shells in the oven to crisp them and mashed a couple of avocados with my Favorite Four (sea salt, white pepper, cumin & granulated garlic).  All I had to do when it was time for dinner was put everything on the table.  Easy peasy.  And, they were SO flippin' GOOD!

Prior to cooking

After shredding with 2 forks

Aged cheddar cheese

Avocados with my "Favorite Four" seasonings

Video coming soon re: cutting & storing avocados

Mashed avocado with seasonings

The toppings

I shredded the chicken further when took it out of the crock pot

Ready to eat!

A Fit Mommy Breakfast - Step by Step - Shakeology

Several people have asked me about Shakeology recently.  "When do you have it?  Is it a meal?  What does it taste like?  Will it keep me full for awhile or will I be hungry soon after having it?  Will it help with my cravings?  Will it help my digestion?  Will it help me to lose weight?"

I'll spare you the novel and simply say that for me, Shakeology is an integral start to my day.  When I'm not on top of my nutrition and I choose other breakfast options, let me tell you, my digestion gets "stuck", I get bloated and I crave chocolate.  Generally if I choose a different breakfast, it's something from Starbucks when I'm on the run or some other gluten, sugary food that I should be avoiding.  If that goes on for a few days in a row, I gain weight, eat an earlier lunch due to the empty calories, crave even more sugar, and so on.  Therefore, for me, it's a great breakfast option.

Mornings are crazy in my house.  I have to get three kids ready for school, do their hair, help them get dressed, make their lunches, get their backpacks ready and get them out the door on time.  Most days we don't catch the bus, so I drive them to school.  Having a shake is my best option because it's easy to make in a pinch and take in the car with me.

Here's a little step by step pictorial of how I make my morning Shakeology.

First things first - my Probiotic

Fish oil & Vitamins (I usually use New Chapter but ran out)

Start with crushed ice and water

Then some unsweetened vanilla almond milk

A scoop of Chocolate Shakeology

2T powdered peanut butter (PB2) - or sometimes 1T natural peanut butter

Throw it all into the Vitamix

Blend!

Yes, I had it in a Guinness glass today.  Don't judge.

40 Minutes of Awesome!

I had one of those days today.  Nothing awful happened, the girls were decent, I did pretty much everything I had to do today.  However, I felt lazy.  I procrastinated ALL day when I thought about working out.  I made excuses, found other things to do, and thought about bagging it...several times.  Have you been there?

Reluctantly, I went into the basement and made a mental checklist of my entire home workout library.  P90X, Insanity, Insanity: The Asylum, TurboFire, ChaLEAN Extreme, Les Mills PUMP, Les Mills COMBAT, Brazil Butt Lift - lots of choices.  I went right to my favorite workout - TurboFire: Fire 30 and Stretch 10.  I love the music, the moves, the HIITs and the stretch.  It's a whole body, high intense cardio workout.  The stretch helped with a lot of my soreness from yesterday's upper body weighted workout.  I didn't wear my heart rate monitor, but after 30 intense minutes, I was spent!  But, I felt AMAZING.  My mood lifted, my energy increased and my body felt less stiff and sore than it did before I worked out.  Why did I hem & haw all day when I knew I'd feel like this after?

I know you have heard this before.  We all have.  When you don't feel like working out...when the excuses are free flowing...stop and remember how GOOD you feel after an intense workout.  It doesn't have to take 2 hours - or even an hour.  If you give it all that you can, you will NEVER regret a great workout.  Who ever said "Gee, I really wish I hadn't worked out today".  Right.  No one.

Exercise not only helps you to lose weight, burn calories, melt fat and improve your cardiac health but there's also a plethora of other benefits.  The ones I experienced tonight are just a few.  I had MORE energy after my workout than I did before I started.  Exercise - while one might think it drains energy due to exertion - really does increase it over a period of time following the workout.  I know I'll be burning calories and fat for a few hours at a higher rate too.  Bonus!

Remember this post next time you want to bail on your workout.  Here's a tip - Journal!!  If you're already journaling what you eat and what your workouts are, add in how you're feeling throughout the day - especially following your workout - so you can look back and remember those thoughts & feelings when you're procrastinating.

Here's a few pictures from today!

Dinner - Zucchini Cashew soup and big salad

Stretching - it's SO important after your workout!

Post Fire 30 - and look, Ray's jersey over the TV - GO RAVENS!! :o)

After Stretch 10 - it took me a minute to get up off the floor after that 40 minutes