Blending old habits with new...

Thanks so much for inspiring me to do better, ladies! Your protein powder posts inspired me. This week I bought one of those snazzy hand held blenders (that Audrey recommended I get) and I've been making smoothies for all of my family, and protein shakes for my hubby and me.  My sweetie especially likes the chocolate protien power with some banana and a dab of peanut butter in it.  Audrey, you'll be proud, I even bought spinach to throw in the smoothies - I'll do that tomorrow morning for breakfast.  So far, so good...hopefully these healthy treats will continue to please my family. 

I've also worn out every pair of sneakers that I own, (that's a good thing, right?) So after tears and anger, I broke down and bought me some new running shoes.  I can't wait for it to stop raining so I can use them and not ruin them on my first jaunt in them.  Wish me luck!

so much to do...

How do you start? Where do you start? I have a million things to do today and I am sitting at my computer not knowing where to start first and what to ignore since I can't get to it all. My mind has such a hard time knowing how to organize things. I can clean but organize? That's a different story! At this rate I won't get any of it done and the stress will continue mounting. UGH!!!

How do you do it????

Gum

Not very appetizing, I know, but I feel kind of like a recovering smoker - I gotta have my gum! It's a crutch in the battle with the munchies, but it really, really helps. The only downside is that my 2-yr-old keeps swiping it, and I have to hide it so she doesn't keep popping it in her mouth like, well, popcorn.

P.S. Still working the taxes today. What am I doing writing about gum? Oh, well, The Queeen of Distractedness is what I call my teenage daughter. The apple did not fall far from the tree on that one. Marci, that really was a fabulous post! Sorry I was a crankpot last night, but I'm slightly, only slightly better today. I could really use some athletic goals. Maybe when we catch up financially with this tax return (why I'm working so hard on it!), I can get my gym membership back, and get back on track.

Flax Facts

Just so you all know I have enjoyed my Quinoa Crunch. I did get a vanilla flavored Greek Yogurt and used yummy fresh raspberries. This was my delicious breakfast yesterday after I returned home from my spin class.

Now for some of you nay sayers here is a little food for thought. First, try something new :-) Second, it may seem like a lot of calories but think of the calories that you should be getting from your whole grains and it's right in line and very healthy option instead of a "white" carbohydrate.

Now, Cammy and Chelsea made some very interesting comments about how to eat Flax. I had heard some of those before so I decided to look up some details for you. Next time I will grind my flax to put in my crunch!!! Thanks for the heads up!

FLAX is a great way to get omega-3 fatty acids without having to eat salmon every day or take another vitamin. I've added some information that I found during my search. I hope these tidbits help you on your path to healthy eating.

Don't let the tiny, unimposing size of the flax seed fool you. Packed inside every teeny seed is a mountain of nutritional benefit. For instance, flax seeds are excellent sources of calcium and fiber. They also contain lignans, plant compounds scientifically found to stave off cancer. What's more, they contain heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Unfortunately, there's a catch--if prepared improperly, flax seeds offer virtually no nutritional advantage to your system.

Mix ground flax seeds in yogurt, or sprinkle into the batter or dough for various baked goods, such as muffins, bread and more.

Eating flax seeds whole offers no nutritional benefit. Whole flax seeds are very difficult to digest and will pass through your system whole. Flax seeds in whole form can aggravate digestive problems, such as irritable bowel syndrome and diverticulitis.

While it's possible to purchase flax seed oil, it's prone to becoming rancid and usually doesn't last long, even in the refrigerator. That's why it's a bit more nutritionally advantageous to draw out the flax seed oil from the whole seeds yourself.

I don't recommend buying a bunch of pre-ground flax seed because it will go bad faster than the whole seeds. So here is how you can grind your own seeds.

Grinding Flax Seeds

1Take 2 to 3 tbsp. (one serving) of flax seed and place in a food grinder

2 Grind the flax seeds until they are fully broken up into small shards

3 Eat immediately alone or mix with the food of your choice

4To prepare more than one serving of flax seeds, repeat Steps 1 and 2 above, then store the ground flax seeds in an air-tight, opaque food storage container.

5 Place the container in the refrigerator, or in an area where it won't be exposed to any amount of heat above room temperature.

Inside Marci's head

I've been thinking a lot lately about how we can set ourselves up for success in whatever exercise goals we have chosen to accomplish. There are some things I have discovered about myself that hold me back, and other things that guarantee I'll get closer to my goals.

Here's one of my goals:

I signed up for a Marathon. It's really far away...268 days away to be exact. Running a marathon was something I said I would never do. It never seemed necessary, in fact it seemed kinda stupid. I didn't understand the motivation for me until now, and I think that motivation is different for everyone.

My husband has been out of town for the past FOREVER. I actually can't remember how long it's been. Maybe 10 weeks? I've lost count. He gets nervous when I tell people that he is gone...but I've got a big dog to protect me. I'm sharing this because having him gone has made it very tricky to accomplish some of my goals, especially when it comes to exercise. When he first left, I struggled with many things, but in relation to exercise and my running goals, I was at a loss of how I was going to get all my runs in with out him home to help watch the kids. I don't have a gym membership...too expensive, but I do have an elliptical in my house, and a wonderful double jogger to run with during the day when I only have 2 kids home. I sat down and wrote out a plan to success, since my training needed to begin right away for my first goal this year... a half marathon in March. Most of my training has taken place while he has been gone, so I thought I might share what has worked for me to help me achieve my goals, and what hasn't.

First, find a work out partner. If you know someone is counting on you to meet them for a work out, you will go... no matter what. I have a friend who goes by the name "Mercedes" who shows up at my house every night during the week for a work out session in my basement. (I called her to be sure it was ok with her if I shared her success on the blog. She's very humble about her accomplishments and I told her I wouldn't use her name). In the 4 weeks that we have been doing this she has lost 15 lbs. Isn't that just amazing!!!! She knows I am expecting her, and I know she's coming over, and it guarantees success, for both of us. Plus we get great benefits from having someone to talk to and cheer for. I also have another friend that I run with on the weekends. It makes 12 mile runs so much fun and do-able. Last weekend I had to run 11 alone...it was much harder. Get a workout partner, or 4!!!! The more the merrier.

Next, write out your workouts for the week. I do this every Sunday. For some reason, if it's written down, you'll do it. My kids are the same way, and if I make a visual schedule for them, they will do whatever is on it...even the toilet cleaning. By writing out my week, I know every workout has a purpose, and I can schedule rest days in too so I don't get burned out.

Sign up for a race or a team of some sort. If you like volley ball, or soccer, sign up for a team. My mom just started running a couple days a week. She's in her...oh, I almost told you how old she is. She'd disown me if I did that. She called me this morning for a little pep talk because she started to doubt herself. We talked about how she might benefit from having a race goal. In this conversation I discovered that she has always wanted to do a race, so we committed to meet for a 5k and run it together. She hung up the phone with a renewed desire and a new motivation.

I usually run in the mornings, so another thing I do is put my workout clothes on right when I wake up. It helps me remember what my focus is that morning, plus I am always eager to get a shower in and get ready for the day, so I quickly get my run in so I can move on.

These are things that work really well for me, and pretty soon working out becomes a habit. About every 4 weeks I take an easy week, where I scale back and take a break. I feel like this helps me get more out of my future work outs.

Now, let me tell you what my biggest downfall is...FEAR!.

Fear doesn't help us get any closer to our goals.

I have a lot of fear when it comes to working out. In fact sometimes when I am pushing through a workout, I just want to stop. I'm afraid of pushing too hard...of getting too tired. This is when I have to remind myself that I need to make every minute count, that time is valuable, and that I have goal that I can achieve. Sometimes I even yell out loud at my legs to get moving, or cheer for myself...it helps me focus on the task at hand instead of the fear creeping into my legs and mind. Having a workout partner really helps for conquering fear too...it's priceless to have a cheerleader. It's one reason I'm so grateful for this blog, we have the best cheerleaders whenever we need them.

Thanks for letting me get my thoughts out. There are times when I just plain don't want to work out... but often those work outs end up being my best. Keep up the good work ladies. You are all so amazing and an inspiration to me. Thanks for always being there for me to "talk" to. Now get out and workout!!!!!

Also, if anyone who lives close to me ever wants to join in for a work out, we meet every night at 8:00. Plus, you'll get to meet this mysterious "Mercedes" and have so much fun working out!!!

We Have A Winner!

Congratulations Marci! You're doing an excellent job training and eating healthy!!! We're all so proud of you and you're example!! Keep up the good work!

Keep working on this next two week challenge then keep your eyes open for a March change-up. We're going to shake things up a little and get more focused...

Protein Powder

Mostly this is a post to invite others with more experience to help me get a clue. 'Cause there is just too much to do today, and I can't surf the 'net for 2 or 3 hours trying to figure things out. I've been thinking lately about getting more protein in my diet, and I especially like a low-cal, natural fruit smoothie (made with lowfat milk & frozen berries). Why not add some protein to it? The only problem is that as I have cruised the aisles of my local grocery store, there is a confusing variety of protein powders, and all of them see to be geared towards being stand-alone shakes, i.e. lots of added fillers and sweeteners. Could I just get the protein without all that extra junk and calories?

So I went surfing on Amazon today - and this is what I found:

Also, I found a website that listed all the nutritional/ingredient info in great detail:
http://www.vitacost.com/Garden-of-Life-RAW-Protein
Seems like a winner to me - 80 calories and 18g protein per 1 scoop serving and all kinds of allergy-free features (gluten free, dairy free, soy free, etc.), if you need to watch that sort of thing (Marci?)

Any opinions or advice before I order it?