Running With Friends: St. Patty's Day Dash

Last weekend a group of my friends and I got together for the St. Patty's Day Dash in Seattle. This is the third year we've run this race and it's more fun each year. People dress up, there's a ton of awesome give aways, and a really exciting atmosphere. Although, it's only a 5K, the whole event takes up the majority of the day. Races like these end up being so much fun, its one of my favorite ways to spend the day.

This year, a friend of mine, who is new to running and had not run a race, joined us. It got me thinking about what some of my some rules of running with friends. I've met several runners who refuse to run with anyone because they do not want to have to slowdown, or force
someone else to slowdown. As I was thinking about how to run with friends and have it be enjoyable for everyone there was really only one "rule" that should be followed:

Communicate running expectations
Its usually pretty clear when you meet up to run, what each person's pace is. What my friends and I do is the faster person slows down, while the slower person pushes it. It's also really nice for the speedy runner to check in a couple times to make sure the pace is alright.

Races are a different situation all together.   We always make it very clear it's every man (or woman) for himself. Do your best and I'm gonna do my best. We'll meet at the finish line. This takes the pressure of everyone.

Running with friends is awesome. There's nothing to distract from good conversation and all that endorphin release, makes for some good, wholesome quality time!

Be Feirce New Year's Challenge

The Holidays are already here!! While I love the festive colors and parties as much as the next gal, I've already over indulged in the kid's Halloween candy and have begun to shrug off my workouts. Ugh. I like to have a plan of attack to combat the horror this time of year does to my body!

I'm a certified personal trainer through Action Certification and have been developing a strength building/calorie blasting program that combines exciting workouts with nutrition.

These original workouts combine strength training with cardio movements, which target all areas of the body. This means calories get torched!

I'd like to invite you to take on this challenge!

• Begins Sunday January 3
• Ends Saturday January 30
• Burn calories
• Build muscle
• Gain nutritional knowledge and meal prep skills 
• Get original daily workouts 
• Meal ideas for Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, and Snacks
• Facebook accountability 
• "From walker to Runner" training plan
• Unlimited access to ME (your personal trainer)!! 
• Chance to win fun prices 

Early Bird Special  price is $30! So get in on this challenge today!! Get your friends to join you for added accountability and FUN!

Pay with Paypal here.

You will receive an email after you're signed up welcoming you to this awesome NEW challenge.  At the beginning of the New Year, you'll get an email with all the attachments you'll need to succeed.  Each week you'll receive an email with new recipes, workouts, tips, tricks and motivation!

This is a  great way to get your body back into shape after the crazy holidays. Have a plan of action to get 2016 off to a healthy start!

Obsession or Motivation? Fitbit Challenges…

My husband got me the Fitbit Surge for my birthday last summer and I totally love it. I’ve been so motivated to move even on my rest days. It helps to get track of how much activity I’m ACTUALLY doing. It’s also a pretty easy and accurate way to monitor calories burned. So overall it’s awesome. 

Lately, my friends have started inviting me to the challenges on the Fitbit app. I’m EXTREMELY competitive. Like insanely. We’ve been doing the workweek challenge for the last few weeks and it’s been take to an insane level. Last week I ran 8 miles every day…a bit extreme. I’ve started running in the morning on the treadmill while the kids are getting ready for school and then again in the evening when my husband gets home. I love it.

 I feel so good. And have gained speed and endurance. 

The only problem has been attempting to find time for strength/ circuit training…if only there was a Fitbit Challenge for that.  

3 Things YOU Can Do Right NOW To Begin Your Fitness Journey

Often times the most difficult part of getting fit and dropping those extra pounds is to take the first step. Its so hard to figure out how to get started. When unhealthy eating and inactivity has been a way of life, it may seem nearly impossible to make a change. Dropping those extra pounds and getting into shape can seem like a nearly impossible task.

 I know, when I began my fitness journey, I didn't know where to start. There were a LOT of days that I said I was going to do something about my unhealthy habits "tomorrow". Tomorrow would come and I wouldn't know where to start. So I'd put it off for another day. I'd wish there was something clear and concise telling me what exactly what to do to get going. 

Here are three things you can do right now to get started on your fitness journey. 

1. Clean out your fridge and pantry. 
Throw out all the processed food, white flour carbs, and high calorie drinks. Get it out of the house. The most difficult thing to do is to avoid those delicious treats when they're sitting in the pantry bagging to be eaten. 

Instead fill the fridge and pantry with nutrient rich, healthy foods. Like fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Grab some dark chocolate, for when you're dying for something sweet. 

2. Plan a menu and meal prep
Write down a plan for every meal, including snacks for the week. At the same time write out a shopping list so shopping is easy and convenient. Having a shopping list will make avoiding temptation at the grocery store much easier. 

Be sure to plan out snacks as well. There should be three of four snacks a day containing 100-200 calories and not much more. 

Take the time to prep for meals. Cut up vegetables, portion out snacks, and get meals organized so its easy to cook when things get crazy.

3. Set a schedule 
Decide when there's time each week for meal prep and grocery shopping. Set aside enough time to get it all done and not stress out. It's easy to get caught up in the craziness of the week and overlook the importance of preparing food for the week. 

The second schedule that needs to be made is for workouts. Be sure there is enough time to warm up for ten minutes, exercise for 20-30 minutes, and then cool down for at least five minutes. Also, be sure you've scheduled time for a shower or get changed. 

The goal is to eliminate excuses and deterrents to exercising and eating right. 

These three steps will get you moving and motivated on your journey to a more healthy you.  

The Ultimate Nemesis: the "Fat Day" & How To Defeat It

All girls have experienced this: the day you look in the mirror, after putting on your new favorite shirt, and realize you look fat. Which is weird because yesterday or last week when the shirt was purchased, it looked hot. But today, its only accentuating your muffin top, which was much smaller yesterday.

How can is it possible to go to bed feeling like working out and eating healthy is making a difference and then waking up fat? Its the "Fat Day". Every girls nemesis. And everyone has them.

There are a couple ways to handle the tragedy of "Fat Day":

1. You can handle "Fat Day" the way your instincts tell you to. Eat. Eat anything and everything. And sit. Skip working out and veg all day. On "Fat Day",  it feels as if all the proper eating and exercise is a waste of time. So why not indulge in the good stuff? Why put in the effort when it seems to be failing, right? Option number one to handle "Fat Day" means every day will be "Fat Day", although it seems like a good idea at the time.


2. You can take the bull by the horns, or the muffin by its top, and take control. I've pulled together a few things to help eliminate the pain of "Fat Day" and help the fat days to be few and far between. Here is a tool chest as effective as Batman's weapon belt to defeat the villain-"Fat Day":

• Drink Water: drink at least 64oz of water. Try to do this everyday anyway but when "Fat Day" hits, a lot of times part of the problem is bloating and water retention. Drinking water is a good way to relieve both of these problems. 
• Cut out salt. Salt causes water retention and bloating. 
• Eat your greens!! There are so many benefits to eating leafy greens. Spinach, for example, is and anti-inflammatory, its high in antioxidants, and helps the brain and nervous system function. Its easy to see why a green smoothie is a better choice on "Fat Day" then a milkshake! So much of fitness is a mental game. When we consume healthy foods, we are more likely to consume more healthy foods.  
• Do some cardio or a HIIT (high intensity interval training) workout. Get really sweaty and tired. Not only will this help with your mindset, and burn calories, if you don't it right, you'll be so tired you won't care if your pants feel too tight. 
• Cut sugar, starches, and white carbs. There's a lot of studies about how these effect the brain and its not good. Sugar can rewire the brain's pathways, according to bembu.com. Diets full of processed and sugar-heavy foods can increase the risk of depression by 58%...not good if "Fat Day" is happening. 

The next time "Fat Day" assaults you, take action. Don't allow the evil of "Fat Day" to dictate your actions. Kill that evildoer!

Can't Out Run The Fork...5 "simple" ways to cut calories

I see these hilarious running shirts that say things like "I Run Because I Really Like Food" or "Will Run For Cake", although their really funny, and kinda true, its very misleading. The majority of cardio workouts burn between 3-11 calories per minute, depending on the level of intensity. Meaning, the average 30 minute workout usually burns less than 300 calories, while the average piece of cake is over 300 calories.

Often, we get in the mindset that "I worked out today, therefore, I can eat whatever I want" NOT TRUE! Consumed calories add up much faster than burning calories.

I put together a list of 5 things you can do to reduce those pesky calories that so easily creep into our lives.

1. Track Your Food
I use myfitnesspal.com because it's user friendly and has the nutritional value about every food ever made. Be sure to put in accurate amounts of your food, or you'll be wasting your time. If technology isn't your thing, a paper journal can be just as useful. Be sure to consume 1200 calories at a minimum. Any less than that and your body will think there is no food and will go into starvation mode, holding on to fat store.

 2. Drink Water
 Have a goal of drinking 64oz of water a day. There's tons of benefits to drinking water, but it also keeps you busy thinking about drinking water, making it difficult to think about eating!

3. Don't Drink Your Calories
For obvious reasons. But also because if you have a goal of 1200 calories a day, your body is going to need all those calories to be nutrient dense to be sure you're properly fulled.

4. Eat Salad First
The most obvious reason, you'll be more full and have less room of the more calorie dense food. However, when eating salad, be sure to be very aware of the amount of dressing.

It's very easy for those calories to pile on! Yogurt based dressings are usually a good bet but even better, make your own!

5. Cut out white flour...NOT CARBS
This might be surprising, but carbohydrates and NOT bad for you. In fact, the body needs carbs in order to burn fat. Therefore, those diets that cut out ALL carbs are extremely unhealthy. That said, there's a big difference in the type of carbs that are consumed. For example, doughnut does not have the same nutritional value as an apple...shocking. I know. Whole grains, with low fat and high fiber are very beneficial to a person's overall health.

The moral of the story is, eat complex carbs such as whole wheat grains, vegetables, and fruits. Your body will thank you... and so will the mirror.

Use these trips as a way to cut down on those extra calories and stay motivated to build muscle and burn fat all day.

How I lost 70lbs...5 times.

I was never a "small" person but not super huge either. That all changed after I had my first baby. She was beautiful and healthy and I was HUGE and fat. I gained over 70 pounds. A lot of the weight fell off naturally, but about 20 pounds stuck around. A few months later I was pregnant with my second daughter. She was born beautiful and perfect and I was bigger than I'd even been.

I decided I needed to do something. I started with Weight Watchers. It was a great kick start for me. It really helped me understand what was in food and the way it effected my body. Soon I plateaued and needed to mix things up. I started using myfitnesspal.com. And was back to my college weight within 6 months...then I was pregnant again. And gained 70 pounds...again. This time, however, I knew what I was going to do to get it off. I was back to pre baby weight before I was pregnant again. And then one more time. 

In the time that I've gained and lost all this weight, I've had 5 beautiful babies, ran three half-marathons, countless smaller races, won second place (in my age group) twice, and earned my personal trainer certification.

If I can lose the same 70 pounds 5 times, anyone can gain muscle, lose fat, and feel great.