Running progress

Today was a good day! Went out running with my friend Rosalinda and ran 3 miles in 45 minutes. I am running at a very comfortable pace, as my goal is distance and endurance but I realized that I improved my time drastically. Years ago, I used to run every single day and never allowed my body to rest so I would feel even more tired the following day. I have done some reading on running techniques and have learned that training every other day works best. I think that if I continue at this pace I will be able to double my distance to 6 miles by next month.

If you are a beginner runner, there is this website called Couch to 5k, which offers this training guide to get anyone from zero to 5k in 9 weeks.
Here is the link in case anyone is interested!
http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml

Many who have followed have loved it and kept on going.

Good night, time to rest :)

Today's run

So today I had a hard time going out to run because I ate a little too close to my running time. I finally went out but it was already dark and I don't like to run at night time alone. I took a flash light, but luckily the full moon helped me see where I was going the whole time.

Today I improved my time a little, I ran 2.24 miles in 38 minutes. It is still a very low pace, but I am hoping to be running a little faster sooner. I have never been a fast runner though, I have short legs and I rather run long distance versus time. I am aiming to run 3 miles every other day starting Saturday. Hoping to be at 5 miles by the day of the run October 23rd.

Tip: I used to get light headed after running over 3 miles, did some research and learned that my sugar was getting low. I tried eating 1/2 a wheat toast with nutella or peanut butter and jelly right before running and it worked! What this does, it helps your body use that sugar while you run so your blood sugar doesn't go down! And ofcourse stay hydrated before heading out to run. I stop drinking water 1 hour prior my running time.

Back from a break!

I took a break from this blog due to a busy schedule and some traveling, but I am determined and back with more enthusiasm. I have gained 4 lbs in the past month as I have not been working out and I also think it has to do with the weaning off breastfeeding my 15 month old baby. Nursing helps us burn up to 500 calories a day and I owe a big part of my weightloss to breastfeeding for this long, but I thought it was time to wean him off this past month and I did. Now I need to watch my nutrients intake even more than before and I think that is why I gained the 4 to 6 lbs in 4 weeks.

Coincidently, a friend invited me to join a relay half marathon in October 23, my part is 4 miles. I began training yesterday for this run, I ran 2.2 miles on my first training day. I did it in 40 minutes which I think it was horrible lol, but at least I ran it lol. This week I will train every other day for 2.5 miles and add .5 mile next week until the day of the run. Wish me Luck!

I love to run, I am just not a fast runner

stay positive and strong

I hope that everyone has been doing as good as I have, even though I have been really busy with our son and a few photoshoots here and there; and working on the branding of my photography business...I have some how managed to continue eating healthy. I am not going to lie, I have not been working out much lately but I have remained positive and strong with my eating habits. I have not cheated (only one meal on the weekends) and I have not gained any weight, instead I keep noticing my body changing and looking a little leaner. I will be posting more often this week. Stay strong because in reality that is the key to any lifestyle change! 

Patience is a virtue

It is very satisfying to begin seeing results, many people get discouraged after a few days of a new diet and excersise plan and consequently not obtaining the desired results. I am a strong believer that patience is a virtue, especially when it comes to healthy habits and life style changes. The first 4 weeks are the hardest but being patient can help us pass those four weeks and make new habits a permanent change in our life. I have been travelling a lot in the past weeks and this makes it more difficult for me to make healthy choices and keep track of my calorie intake, but I have learned that just because I go out to eat, it does not mean that I must have a sugary drink, a fattening appetizer, a main course and a dessert...and not to mention the bread and butter before dinner with a salad and a high caloric dressing...

Instead, I have taken advantage of the fact that I'm not cooking and that I can request anything from the menus. I have remained firmed and faithful to my veggies, and lean proteins. No bread, no sugars...excercising while on the road can be difficult, but eating healthy has kept me from gaining weight. In fact, today I slipped into a size 6 white shorts that I hadn't wore in over 2 years; that made me feel very happy! So keep up the good work and do not get discouraged, remember to indulged yourself one meal a week of anything that you crave for and behind your healthy eating the following day.

Weekends While Dieting

Weekends can be difficult for dieters as we are exposed to all kinds of foods and drinks while attending social events, but we need to stay strong and understand that just because it is the weekend we can not go crazy eating junk food and ruin our CLEAN EATING habits we are trying to create. This weekend, we went to a concert and it was a few hours away from home; so we decided to stay at a hotel for the weekend, this meant that we were going to be eating out for two days.

 I decided to enjoy the weekend by making smart choices.

For breakfast we went to and old favorite "Crackerbarrel" where most of the food is fried, but I chose Eggbeaters, and turkey patties instead of fried eggs and regular pork sausage or bacon. Instead of ordering my own pancakes I ate 1 of my hubbies whole wheat peacan pancakes with sugar free syrup.

For lunch, I ate from Jason's Deli and ordered a buffet salad bar and ate a large plate of vetegables along with hummus and couscous and boiled eggs.The salad was so filling that it made me feel very satisfied for a few hours.

Snacks: I brought along some oranges to snack in between meals.

Dinner: This was my CHEAT meal. I ordered a delicious Jambalaya at BJ's Brewery and a glass of red wine. I ate most of my plate, the only thing I left was some rice since it was such a large portion I decided to eat the shrimp, chicken, and sausage with a little rice. I enjoyed my glass of Chianti Classico Gabbiano and headed out to our concert.

So here is proof that we can still go out and have fun while dieting, we just need to make healthy choices as most restaurants now days offer Splenda products, Egg substitutes, and a variety of veggies with lean proteins. The choice is yours!

p90x Plyometrics

Today's workout consisted of the P90X Plyometrics (Aerobics).

 I was able to finish the whole workout without struggle and got a good sweat.  I find it so motivating to be able to do an exercise, especially when one of the persons doing the exercise on the DVD is missing one of his legs. I was shocked to learn that this guy is able to do all the exercises and is in his best shape ever. What does that say about us? that we are weak and lazy? This puts life into perspective and made me understand that we can accomplish anything in life that we put out mind set to do. Yes, we have the will and we have the power to tell our bodies what to do or not to do. After seeing that guy do the entire video without complaining one bit, it made me see that some of us can be brats about life and a bit ungrateful about our bodies and health. This has made me see things so differently and has motivated me to workout even harder than before. Laziness or weakness is not part of my vocabulary!

here are a few images of this brave guy doing the plyometrics. He is the one on the far left wearing the gray shorts.

What more motivation can we need?

Cottage Cheese "Super Food"

Lately, I have been consuming large quantities of Cottage Cheese! lol yes, I know. Well, I always use it during my diets, but recently I felt different about it. I have been using it as a snack on top of sugar free jello, and 2 tbsp of granola. But the thing is that it fills me up for so long that I practically have to force myself to eat lunch or dinner. I did some research and learned that the reason why it fills me up so much, is because it contains a protein in the form of casein, which turns into a JELLO like substance while digesting it, and it is digested very slowly unlike other forms of protein (tuna, turkey, chicken..etc). The other good news, is that it contains ZERO FAT, and low carbs; so we can eat it without guilt and it is really high on protein. One cup contains 26 grams of protein and less then 150 calories; to me that is pretty good stuff!

When craving something sweet I add splenda and some fruit  to it, when craving something salty I add a little bit of salt, herbs and wheat crackers. I really think this is a SUPER FOOD, as everything about it is good for us.

I also learned that there are tons of recipes that we can use this cheese to replace fattening cheese.

Cottage cheese is not only good for weight loss but also for our skin, and bones.

Today's workout

So if you are like me that has not time to get out of the house because you do not want to interrupt your baby's nap, or your baby is still too young to leave him/her at a daycare, or you have not children but the weather is not cooperating with you and you feel like doing a quick workout at home; you can purchase a home workout DVD and still burn some calories vs laying down on your couch and eating yourself out of anxiety. I try to change them up everyday and use a different workout routine; as I mentioned on another pos,t it is good to change things around  because it gives our metabolism a boost. Today's workout consisted of following Jennifer Nicole Lee's Fabulous FIT mom this DVD, is very easy to follow and all you need is a pair a dumbbells and a mat.  My goal is to get at least 20 to 30 Minute daily workouts to continue toning up and shredding fat!

Favorite recipes

Here are few of my favorite recipes while eating clean. I try to change it up everyday because it can get boring and boring = discouragement. So my meals usually look pretty and taste good :-) Believe it or not they do taste good!

I have been starting my day with Egg beaters and Flax seed wheat waffle (1) with coffee.
this meal is filling and healthy. very low fat and enough carbs to begin your day.

Or Oatmeal 1/2 cup uncooked (1 cup cooked) with some fruit and 1 scoop of protein

And without a doubt I always have my cup of coffee, a lot of diets say NOT to drink regular coffee because they make you more hungry and because it lowers your sugar levels; but I can't let go of my coffee.

Snacks are usually either sugar free Jello with Cottage cheese and some fruit or Yogurt Plain/greek with some fruit and a little granola

one of my favorite lunch or dinner meals are the Lettuce Wraps, not only do they taste good but they are filling and they are easy to prepare. All you have to do is grill your chicken and put it in the lettuce and add carrots, tomatoes, fat free cheese or what ever you want.

Salmon is something I enjoy eating on the weekend when we go out to eat because I really do not like to cook it at home because of the smell it leaves behind after your are done. So I order this when I go out to dinner with the hubby.

                                              high fiber, high protein, low fat and low carbs.

Turkey wraps are also good for on the go lunch.

                                               and I love me some tuna wraps mixed with FAT FREE MAYO

When I diet I look for easy to prepare meals because cooking with a toddler can be difficult. Who said eating healthy has to be boring? when adding dressings or sauces look at the fat or sugar content as some can be deceiving.

Monday Update

It's already been about 2 weeks since I began my own challenge of losing and toning up. I measured myself before I began eating clean.

Before Diet:
Waist: 31
Hips:38.5
Chest:35
Thighs:22


Today's:
Waist: 30
Hips:38
Chest:35
Thighs:22


Weight: 143lbs.. The only thing that I noticed changing was losing 1 inch on my waist.. Patience and perseverance are a virtue! it's only been 2 weeks of clean eating.

What's on your ipod?

Have you ever felt like going dancing after listening to your favorite muI personally think that music plays an important role on our workouts and motivation. At  times I have been without energy or desire to go workout and after getting in my car and listening to some good music, I feel like going straight home to change and get on my workout routine.  Therefore, I have different playlist on my ipod that go from Pink, Blackeyed peas, Rihanna, and Madonna; if your ipod or MP3 player is outdated, get online and updated with your favorite tunes and you will be rocking your head off during your workouts, I think that it gives us an adrenaline rush ending up in an efficient workout.

I intentionally made my workout playlist longer than 45 minutes to ensure that I don't get distracted by my music and so that it keeps my hype going

Cheating day or meal?

Many people sacrifice themselves at the gym all week, I say sacrifice because many do not like going to the gym and they are trying to create new habits to obtain weight loss. But I have heard of many saying that today is my "CHEAT DAY" but should we really be having an entire cheat day? I mean think about it, if we decided to eat "bad" all day long, we can certainly eat enough calories to gain the amount of weight that we lose during an entire week of workouts and dieting. Imagine if every 3 hours we eat fried, processed, fattening food? Some restaurants have meals that add up to like 5000 calories (twice as many calories we should be consuming per day), some desserts can have up to 2000 calories. So in my opinion, there should not be such thing as an entire cheat day. I think that if our goal is to lose weight, we should consider eating healthy all day, everyday, and just have a cheat meal.

Overtraining?

Most people when trying to lose weight end up overtraining their bodies and this results in poor performance. We know that we are overtraining our bodies when we see performance decline. Feeling sore is a sign that we are working out the right muscles at the right intensity, but we need to let those muscle rest for 48 hours before we retain them, so when sore we should be training other parts of our bodies. Signs of overtraining are: fatigue, soreness, and higher resting heart rate. So if your workout intensity is decreasing and you are not able to finish your regular workouts, take a day off!

I normally take Saturday as my day off, because fridays we are usually on the go and up early in the morning. Sleeping is part of muscle recovery so the days that I wake up earlier or stay up later I do not train.

Eat clean!

A lot of people refer to their diets nowadays as "eating clean" but I am not sure if everyone understands this term. Eating clean obviously doesn't mean that we wash our food before we cook it or eat it, because we obviously nobody eats "dirty" food (nobody I know. So what do we mean by eating clean?

Eating clean is referred to as consuming meals that are low on glycemic load (GL) meaning that they affect our glycemic levels causing us to feel hungry and unsatisfied shortly after we eat. These foods are not only good to lose weight, but to keep weight off permanently. A few years ago someone recommended the book The Glycemic Index Diet by Rick Gallop.

It is a great book to learn about clean eating, it is easy to read, follow, and understand. It highlights in red the foods to ovoid, yellow the ones that we can eat but rarely, and the foods that we can eat all the time in green. So if you are still new to clean eating, get yourself a copy on Amazon used for less then $5. If you don't want to get your own book yet, there are a lot of websites like this one that list the foods that we can eat while eating clean.

Understanding that changing our habits will take from our will power, and that the first 3 days of eating clean we might feel headaches, difficulty focusing, and maybe a bit irritable. Please know that it is all normal as our bodies are learning to function on clean eating. After the first week, you will feel energized and better than ever! So stay strong, and do not give up when you get those sugar cravings, that will go away only if you don't cheat.

Sample clean foods:
Egg whites
Cottage cheese (fat free)
Skim milk
Whey protein powder
All bran
Old fashioned oatmeal
Whole wheat bread
Grapefruit
Oranges
Grapes
Pears
Almonds
Olive oil
Lima beans
Peas
Blackeyed peas
Lentils
Teas without sugar
Brown rice
Nonfat and sugarfree yogurt

The book gives you a whole list of things that can be replaced by good foods. Remember that the most important part of sculpting our bodies relies on our diets!

Happy 4th of July!

Spice Things Up!

I have read several articles on research about spices that help us burn more fat, many state that things like chili peppers, Ginger, cinnamon, basil, and garlic have thermogenic properties.

Some even say that that spicy food doesn't allow for fat cells to form. So if you enjoy spicy food, add a variety of spices to your meals to burn additional fat calories. The thermogenic effect is what makes us feel hotter when we eat hot spicy food. So give it a try and boost your metabolism with a little bit of flavor.

I personally love spicy food, so i added Jalapenos and red pepper flakes to my meals.

In addition, some have other benefits like fighting the flu (garlic) and cinnamon is know for regulating insulin levels and helping out with digestive issues.

Listen to your body

There are tons of diets out there that we can follow, but not all can be followed by everyone and we can not be on a diet eternally (I'm sure we all know this) . For this reason, we need to learn to listen to our body and meet up its needs carefully. A single diet can not work for the entire population, as we all have different genetics that lead us to having different body types, fat percentages, fitness levels, etc; So, we need to understand for how long we can follow a certain "diet" or meal plan.

On a previous post, I posted my favorite diet anf I had been wanting to clarify that it should not be followed for long periods of times. It is a high protein and low carb diet I wrote for myself with the intention of shredding fat fast, and that should only be done for 4 weeks or so because our strength will decrease and as well as our performance during workouts ( you will notice it on you 3rd day), so you will lift lighter, run less distance, etc. But your body will change rapidly by dropping it's fat percentage faster. After 4 weeks or so, we should add more CLEAN carbs, and this way of eating can be maintained for the rest of ourlives without sacrificing our strength (do not confuse this with Atkins diet) because my "diet is based on low carb and low fat meals, unlike the atkins which is extremely high on fat and extremely low on protein.

Keep in mind that with a low carb/high protein diet your body will respond to it depending on your body's needs. for instance, if you need to lose a lot of weight: your energy level will not drop easily, as your body will begin using your own fat as energy.

If you are fit or have little fat to lose: you will find yourself with a dramatic drop on your energy levels. So listen to your body, and eat healthy carbs (grains, veggies) so that your muscles get the energy that they need but without accumulating fat. Remember that if we over do it with carbs, they will turn into fat because that is the way our body stores energy for later use. This is also the reason why childbearing mothers accumulate more fat on certain areas, because our bodies know that we need energy to nourish our babies. Isn't it amazing how God created everything down to perfection? all we need to do is pay attention and meet it's needs!

Variety works best

Many people fall into daily routines including fitness and eating habits, some routines are good to keep us in line, but workout routines will drive is to NO RESULTS and frustration after spending so much time trying to shape our bodies. The best thing to do, is to change your workouts every 3 weeks maximum or sooner, and weightloss will be achieved faster without falling into "plateu" or no results. If you are a runner, do weight training with jumping jacks or kick boxing or take a spinning class. Variety will help in slimming down for as slong as we are eating clean. So if you find yourself stuck on the same number for weeks, try a new aerobic class, a dance class, or a lot of repetitions of an exercise that you never do; otherwise, you might get discouraged by not obtaining the results expected after so much effort.

So get a notepad and make yourself a schedule of different excersices for different weeks. Nobody likes routines, not even our muscular cells. That is why those DVDs like P90x,Insanity, and crossfit gyms work so well; there is nothing magical about the programs, they are just designed by professionals that understand the importance on exercise variety, so that our bodies are in fat burning mode at all times. Mixing pulling and pushing exercises also work well. So remember that variety is Key!

Will Power

Will power makes a huge difference When we are determined to lose weight, and we have to; otherwise, we will never obtain our weight loss goals. For instance, today my husband decided to go home and grill some burgers (knowingly that I am dieting). Well, the good thing is that they were very lean ground meat patties, but the problem relied on the additional ingredients which added up to like 2000 calories and extremely high on fat. He had planned on 2 patties for each, bacon, brie cheese, mayo, mustard, and a fried egg (he ate it all)! does it sound good? of course it does, and I am sure that it was! but I made the choice of eating differently, not only because I am trying to eat clean, but also because I am only 5'4 and he is 6 feet tall. On another day, I would've taken the whole hamburger in a heartbeat, but not now. I am staying strong and will remain strong until I reach my goal. It is only my 4th day of dieting, If I break it now I will only go back to square one.

This was my dinner:
1 pattie, lettuce, tomatoes, and 4 eggwhites:
no bun
no cheese
no mayo
no bacon

So will power is imperative, stay strong no matter what others eat in front or next to you!

Burn more fat

Many years ago, I used to do weight training first and then my cardio afterwards, until I learned that combining both is the best and fastest way to lose weight and gain muscle mass. My workout routines usually involve cardio in-between sets of weight lifting, doing this helps me maintain my heartrate high during the entire time (goal to burn fat) unlike when we only do weight training, so you start seeing results faster. One way to do this, is by doing jumping jacks or squads in between sets. Give it a try and see the difference!

P.S. These are my pre diet measurements:
Waist: 31
Hips:38.5
Chest:35
Thighs:22

Today's diet:
Egg beaters
Toast
Coffee

Fruit
Yogurt
Water

Chicken breast
Salad

Grapefruit

Post workout
Shake w pineapple

Dinner
Pork steak
Green beans

Hope that you did good and stayed strong!

Today's workout: 45 min of 30 day shred combined with spinning bike

Post workout shakes

Just got a message, where a friend is asking me why do I take post workout shakes?

She was under the impression that protein shakes are for those who intent to gain weight, and since I am on a diet to lose weight she was wondering the reason behind it.

Well, she is not totally wrong. I take a protein shake (low on carbs and fat) post workout because the muscle are tired and hungry after you workout. So if you replenish them with a shake, you will avoid muscle mass loss. So the post workout shake, will help us maintain the muscle mass (if that is what you want) by raising our insulin levels. To lose weight we need to maintain our insulin levels low if possible all the time, but after a workout we feed our muscles if we want to maintain them or grow them.

I personally, like to look very toned and a bit muscular. But if your intention is too look thin and slim, then skipping the post workout meal will do that for you. As your muscle will use fat as energy and you will also lose your muscle mass and some of the strength. You will notice the difference on your strength when you try lifting the same amount of weights on the next few days. Some people like to skip the post workout snack and they wait 2 hours. These type of people usually look slimmer but less toned then the post workout taker. This is considering that the post workout shake or meal is also accompanied by a healthy and clean diet all day long, not just after a workout and that we do not over do it with the amount of calories a day. Because in reality, losing weight has not secret; if we eat more calories a day than what we burn we will gain weight, even if it's only protein. If we burn more then what we eat, we will lose weight even if it's only carbs. The difference will be on our energy levels, our well being feeling, and our health.



Also, keep in mind that there are protein shakes to gain weight, meal replacements, and post or pre workout shakes. The difference is on the amount of calories, fat, carbs...etc. So if you are looking to lose weight and need a post workout or snacking shake, I suggest that you look into a low carb/low fat shake that has no more then 150 calories per scoop.

so, bottom line the choice is yours.

On another note, someone asked why I looked lighter then what I really weight on my old pics (143lbs) and it all goes back to the way I ate, I ate lean protein and clean whole carbs, so I maintained most of my muscle mass, making me look toned up and muscular but I still weight a lot on the scale.

The Old Me

Today I decided to go over some pictures of my "Fit" days...back when all I had to do was work full-time, study fill-time, and go to the gym also full-time. I say it like this, because now that I have a child and a husband things have changed and so have my priorities, but it doesn't mean that I have to let go of myself and stop working out. I mean a workout only takes 1 hour of my time, I have decided that when my baby naps I will workout and update my blog and so far it has worked for me. 

I wanted to share some of my old pictures, looking at these have given me motivation to stay strong and work harder towards my goal. I know that I did it before and I can do it again! healthy habits will be the main ingredient in the results that I will obtain.

2006, 2007, & 2008..were good training days..

The weekend he proposed

My 30th birthday