Cue the Insanity...

After a weekend of running, relaxing, and Richmond, I am back on the grind today.  Oh yeah... I ran a 5K this weekend in Richmond, Virginia.  But not just any 5K.  It was "the happiest 5K on the planet":  The Color Run. 

I had a blast!  I had paint tossed at me at several points during the race.  I guess I shouldn't call it a race--there were no timing chips and I certainly didn't time myself.  I can't wait to do it again next year!

After my race, I was plum out of fitness goals.  This is not a good thing.  Without a goal, I become hapless and complacent, trudging through each day without purpose or any kind of caring.  So, I set another goal.

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And as long as I'm scaring the crap out of myself here, I thought about the one program I've always wanted to try, but assumed I didn't have the guts to complete:  Insanity.

Insanity is a 60-day conditioning program, full of high intensity cardio and resistance exercises.  I'm trying to make this lifelong fitness journey less about aesthetics and more about my total health.  But I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I'm secretly hoping Insanity will help me get ready for my birthday "freakum dress."   Just sayin...

I've heard that Insanity is tough, but I've seen people get ridiculous results from it.  So I'm giving it a whirl.  Why?  Just because right now I think I can't, and I really want to change my mind. But in order to do it, I have to start thinking that I can.  I can and I will.

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As far as my diet is concerned, of course I'll be keeping better track of it.  My primary concern is getting enough calories, so I will likely use My Fitness Pal to track my diet.  There is a handy dandy nutrition guide (with recipes) that comes along with the Insanity package, so I'll utilize that to plan my meals.  We're talking lots of lean protein, fruits, and veggies, and 5 meals a day.  I have a basic idea of how I want to structure my meals, so I'm excited to hit the grocery store and stock up!

I'll take before, 30-day, and 60-day progress pics.  I would take measurements, but I never seem to do those right. I will post before pics in the next post, along with my results from the Fit Test. 

Stay tuned!

ETA:  So I didn't post pics on the next post, but they are coming soon!

All about the Female Body Breakthrough

I admit, I've been hiding from everyone/the blog/my life.  Sometimes I feel like a multitasking ninja, managing family, work, fitness, recreation, whatever without breaking a sweat.  Occasionally, I freak out and let the madness consume me.  I get tired, become emotional, get stressed... and work myself into a funk.  And then, I'm paralyzed.  I usually snap out of it after a few nights of good sleep and get back on top.

So, I said I was going to dish on the workout program I've been doing for the past 9 weeks.  The Female Body Breakthrough is a 16-week strength training program, designed to help build muscle mass and lose fat in a reasonable amount of time.  I know a lot of women think that lifting heavy weights will make them beefy, but the truth is that we don't nearly as much testosterone as men do.  So, it's much harder for us to build significant muscle mass.  As you build muscle, your metabolism increases, allowing you to burn fat at a faster rate and burn more calories even when you're not doing anything at all. 

There are four 4-week phases, all with different workouts.  You can also improve your nutrition in four phases for optimal fat loss.  Basically there are 3 major components of fat loss, in order of priority:

1. Nutrition
2. Strength training
3. Cardio

The first phase (Base Phase) has you doing 2-3 strength workouts per week, and no cardio at all until the third week. You focus on cleaning up your eating by eliminating processed and fried foods from your diet. 

Each phase has two strength workouts (A & B) which are alternated each week. There is one day of rest or stretching between workouts, in order to give your body ample time to recover.  For example, if you do 3 strength workouts each week, your schedule looks like this:

	Day 1	Day 2	Day 3	Day 4	Day 5	Day 6	Day 7
WEEK 1	Workout A	stretch	Workout B	stretch	Workout A	REST	REST
WEEK 2	Workout B	stretch	Workout A	stretch	Workout B	REST	REST

In each following phase, the workouts change again.  You lift heavier weights for fewer reps, and do more challenging exercises. You gradually add 1-2 highly intense cardio interval workouts (HIIT or metabolic circuits as they are called in the book), and by the third phase, you can add 1 more day of cardio-of-choice.  By then, your workout schedule may look like this:

	Day 1	Day 2	Day 3	Day 4	Day 5	Day 6	Day 7
WEEK 1	Workout A	HIIT cardio	Workout B	Stretch	Workout A	HIIT cardio	Opt. cardio
WEEK 2	Workout B	HIIT	Workout A	Stretch	Workout B	HIIT	cardio

This may look like a lot of exercise, but each strength workout is really only 30-45 minutes long, maybe as long as an hour, depending on your pace.  The HIIT cardio takes only 20-30 minutes.  In the book, author Rachel Cosgrove recommends that you only do 30 minutes on your day of optional cardio.  At most, you may be working out up to 6 hours each week.  Considering that there are 168 hours in a week, that's really not a lot of time at all.

I highly recommend this book for anyone looking to "tone up" or build strength.  I'm sure you'll get excellent results with consistency and patience.  To be honest, I've struggled with my nutrition.  In the book, Rachel has you eating clean and not counting calories until the final four weeks.  For me, counting calories is much easier.  When I can see the numbers, it motivates me to up my protein intake.  I know what to eat to manipulate the numbers, so I trick myself into eating more veggies, less starchy carbs, etc.  I don't eat a lot of processed food, but I do have a tendency to eat too much food, period.  Especially carbs.  Carbs are not forbidden, but you must eat the right kind of carbs (complex, full of fiber--sweet potatoes, green veggies, fruits) at the right times (in the morning or before and after a workout).  I still struggle with carb timing, but I am giving myself time to improve.

My results so far have not been dramatic, and I know it is because of my eating habits. But I am figuring out what works best for me, and sticking with that.  Consistency is what will lead to success.

Life is Short: Eat pancakes!

I love pancakes, y'all.  I pretty much love all traditional, high-carb, sugary breakfast foods.  I've made the switch to high protein breakfasts featuring oatmeal, egg whites, and the like.  I quickly get bored with eggs and oatmeal, so I went on a hunt for high-protein versions of my favorite breakfast foods. 

I soon discovered... protein pancakes.  I didn't know that protein pancakes could taste so good.  When I first made this, I was expecting heavy, gritty bricks.  Instead, I ended up with a stack of buttery, light, fluffy cakes that rival the ones at my favorite local diner.  This recipe (adapted from this one) is my favorite by far.  And the best part is, they are all natural.

Pancakes (now, with Protein)
Servings:  1, makes 3 to 4 pancakes
Prep time:  5 min
Cooking time:  5 min

Ingredients:
1/2 c old fashioned oats
1/2 c low fat or fat free cottage cheese (if you're watching sodium, use reduced sodium or no salt added)
1/2 c egg whites (or egg beaters)
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
dash of salt (optional)
water (optional)

Mix everything together in a blender or food processor.  I used my Ninja blender.  Funny story:  One time the Hubs was unloading the dishwasher, and the Ninja blades were in there.  He didn't see them and cut his hand pretty bad.  For at least a week after that, he told everyone he was attacked by a Ninja.

Anyway, we're mixing.. for about a minute.  Let the batter rest for 2 minutes. If your batter is a little too thick, add a bit of water until you get the consistency you want.  You will probably also end up with more pancakes. :) 

Spray nonstick spray on and heat up your griddle or pan on medium heat (300 degrees on an electric griddle).  Pour the batter from the blender into rounds on the pan/griddle.  When the edges start to bubble a little, flip and continue to cook for another minute or two.

Add your choice of fruit, some light butter, and a drizzle of syrup (I use sugar-free cuz I be lame). Double or triple the recipe and freeze these bad boys.  Just make sure to thaw them out before you are ready to eat them.

Nutritional Info (per serving)

Calories:  326

Total Fat:  5.5g

Saturated Fat:  2g

Sodium:  290 mg (with no-salt cottage cheese)

Total Carbs:  34.5g

Dietary Fiber:  4g

Sugars:  6.5g

Protein:  32g

Percentage of Calories

Protein:  39%

Carbs:  42%

Fat:  14%

***Please note that nutritional info is estimated, and varies based on the ingredients you use.***

BANANA BREAD!!

I love bread.  I love bananas.  Banana bread is my boo.  I found a great recipe here and tweaked it a bit because I didn't have dates, and I wanted to use up a gigundo container of greek yogurt before it spoiled.  This bread is moist, dense, and downright delish.

So... moist... *drool*

Banana Bread
Serves:  1 (if you're greedy like me)
Prep time: 
Cooking time:  45-50 minutes

Ingredients:
3-4 ripe bananas, mashed (or 2 cups worth)
1 c oat flour
1 c whole wheat pastry flour (you could just pick one type of flour and use 2 cups;  I used what I had)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla or almond extract
1 egg
1 egg white
1/2 c plain nonfat greek yogurt
1/2 c unsweetened applesauce
1/2 c honey
(optional:  chopped nuts, raisins, dates, chocolate chips, ground flax meal, or whatever you like)

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour a loaf pan or square baking dish

In a medium sized bowl, beat the egg, egg white, applesauce, honey, and vanilla until very well mixed.  Add bananas and combine thoroughly.  Set the mixture aside.

In a separate, larger bowl, mix your dry ingredients (flour, baking powder and soda, and salt).  Add in the wet stuff and stir until just moistened (don't over mix).  If you are adding stuff like nuts or chocolate chips, fold that mess in now.  Don't forget, cuz you'll be mad. 

Bake for 45-50 minutes in loaf pan, or 35-45 minutes in a square, shallow dish.  Do the toothpick test-- if it comes out of the center clean, you're good to go!  Let it cool for 15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack (or whatever you've got).  Once completely cool, wrap that bad boy up tight and stash it in the fridge.  Enjoy!

I called it "banana cake" so my kids would eat it.. but they're funny like that :)