Thankfully Fit November Challenge

We are not striving for perfection just to be better! Better bodies, better minds, better souls, better examples, enabling us to become better Mothers.

I am always looking for new goals to set and challenges to participate in to keep me motivated. So when our Baby Boot Camp owner came up with this Challenge I signed up!

This challenge will span the whole Month of November. I will post at the end of each week my accomplishments and failures. I encourage you to participate along with me and send me photos and stories of how you are progressing.

Looking back on the first week I did better than I thought I would. The total numbers needed to complete this challenge look daunting at first, but when broken down into weeks I realize they are not unattainable.

Rules of the Challenge:

– Log 1000 fitness minutes
– Walk or run 30 miles
– Do a 30 sec-1minute plank-a-day for 20 days
– Eat 120 servings of fruits and veggies
– Eat 35 meatless meals
– Drink 200 (8 ounce) glasses of water
– 10 days without eating added sugar
– Complete 10 random acts of kindness
– Go 20 days without stepping on the scale

My week 1 results (November 1 to November 9)

– 360 fitness minutes:
4-60 minute boot camp classes and 2-walks to the park and back.
Although I am not counting walking my dogs as fitness minutes , because the walks are very slow, I will be counting them for miles because I have made them longer. 🙂 A girl has to do what a Girl has to do.

– 10 Miles.
Some of you that know me may be shocked that my actual milage is so low, considering I try to run around 4 miles twice a week. I was a bad girl this week and did not do my runs, but I did add milage to my dog walks and chose to walk Sophia to the park instead of taking the car. Dog walks are 1 to 1.5 miles a day; a walk to the park is 3 miles there and back; and we average between 3/4 of a mile to 1 1/4 a mile per boot camp class.

– 5 days of planking.
I have really done poorly on the plank thing. It is hard to remember to keep up with these. I was joking with my husband that multiple planks in one day should just make up for the days I missed. I know that is cheating though and wouldn’t ever do that….unless I thought I could get away with it. I kid, I kid….or do I? Thank heavens there are 19 more days to this.

– 27 Serving of Fruits and Veggies.
This one I have found is really hard to keep up with 4 serving a day. I usually have two serving every dinner and try to get an additional one for a snack if I don’t get it at lunch. Keeping g track of this has made me realize I don’t eat enough period through out the day. Time to step it up and become a veg head. Not a vegan or vegetarian for that matter because this mamma need her bacon! I need some tips as to how to make sure I get my numbers up.

– 9 meatless meals.
This one is easy peasy. I don’t normally have meat for breakfast. I usually eat fruit, protein bars and or a smoothie for breakfast. But I am going to add a few meatless dinners in the mix. Suggestions again are welcome.

– 45 glasses of plain o,e H2O.
I drink a lot but not that much of plain ole water. I really thought I drank more water than I did.

– 0 days of no added sugars.
This one is going to be the hardest. There is sugar added to everything now a days. I hope honey and or agave don’t count as added sugar, otherwise I am going to be doomed with this one. Drinking my coffee black is NOT and option, neither is forgoing it! I need my go juice!

– 6 Acts of Kindness.
(1) donated a large bag of cat food to the local humane society. (2) donated Sophia’s Halloween candy to a candy drive for the troops. I didn’t make her give it all away though. I let her keep a few things. (3) took food to a local food bank. (4) Sophia gave money to some vets raising funds for other vets outside of the grocery store. (5 and 6) organized a baby gear/clothing drive for Mothers helping Mothers and a food drive for Mayors Feeding the Hungry.

– 9 days no scale.
This one is the simplest one for me. I rarely step on a scale partly because I don’t want to feel fat. I measure myself by how my cloths fit otherwise I would get discouraged.

My kitchen skills will rein supreme! Eventually…Maybe…one day

Today is the day I attempt to bake from scratch all on my own for the very first time in my life. I figured at almost 35 it was about time. I am getting tired of watching my husband rock it while I feel inferior on the side.

Those of you that know me know I am a pretty decent cook put ask me to bake something and I get confused and flustered. I have even failed at the box mixes. I am not the most patient person on the world and cooking with precise measurements baffle me. If you were to ask me a recipe for the tasty dish I just cooked for you I wouldn’t even know where to begin with giving you measurements. I cook by smell and taste. That and the oven and I argue a lot! I can’t seem to get the correct temperature or timing down.

I have decided that (1) it is no longer ok to sit on the side lines and ask someone else to do my dirty work; (2) I am tired of seeing all these tasty looking Pinterest pins and wondering how I can talk my husband into making it for me; (3) there is the pride thing, I can’t let my husband be more knowledgeable than me in the kitchen and right now he is winning that race; and finally (4) i can’t be Super Mom if I can’t bake.

So today I am attempting Banana and Pumpkin bread. I figure I will take baby steps and attempt something easyish first and then move onto the brownies and cakes i see posted on Pinterest that make me drool. Hubby you better watch out because I am coming for you! My kitchen skills will rein supreme!

Wish me luck!

Here are the recipes i am trying:

Food Networks’s Banana Bread
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/banana-bread-recipe/index.html

Alton Browns Pumpkin Bread
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/pumpkin-bread-recipe/

Good bye you nasty shin splints!

While training for my 5 5ks in 5 week challenge I had started to get some really nasty shin splints. I really didn’t need another reason to hate running…good thing I am stubborn or I might have quite there. Due to my stubborn nature I stated researching compression socks and sleeves. I started by doing some research online but that only gives you technical jargon that didn’t make a lot of sense to a non-medical person like me. I needed to talk to someone That has used one or few. I needed to ask some of my running friends which ones they liked and did not like.

As luck would have it, while visiting home a friend of mine talked me into running with her running group. The Phat Girlz, an all female running group with Running Wild, was just the right audience I needed to get some good advice on the subject. On this particular morning there was a compression wear rep with 110% that showed up on minutes later. Is this luck or was he just going to tell me all kinds of jargon and try to convince me that his product was best? I was shocked to find out that not only was he going to tell us all about the Double-Life shin sleeve but he was also going to let us try them out. He was actually going to let us take them out on the road and get them all sweaty and gross (brave man)!

A few of us slid on the sleeves and took them to the streets. We ran through a really hilly neighborhood. I was pretty certain that these sleeves were not going to be able to compete with the hilly terrain of East Hill while pushing a running stroller. Boy was I wrong! My shins felt great, not once did I wince in pain from my shins…now my shoulders and legs were a different story. Unfortunately the sleeves couldn’t help push my stroller or run for me up and down the hills. The best part was when we got back to Running Wild. The Rep inserted ice packs into the sleeves. All I can say is “holy Awesome relief!” My calves actually started to feel better too. I was sold! I didn’t buy any that day but i made sure to find a way to fit these amazing sleeves in my budget. Now that I am gearing up my training for the Disney Half Marathon I am defiantly buying a pair A.S.A.P! The only question left is what color do I get pink or red?

Related articles

• How to Prevent Shin Splints: Guest Post (officercandidatesschool.com)

My Eyes Are BURNING! My sweaty woes and trials.

As some of you well know, I have been trying to get fit and “learn” to love running. In my quest for fitness, I am sweating my buns off and my hair keeps falling in my face in this hot, hot, hot, South Florida sun. This is a painful thing! Imagine gobs of icky sweat gushing and getting your hair all wet and causing it to fall in your eyes and mouth …OUCH and YUCK!!! I needed to find a way to keep the sweat, and hair off my face. My first option was to try a hat. Needless to say, this was not an option in the months of February through October (did I mention how hot it is in South Florida?). Then I tried head bands, but unfortunately they would slip right out of my hair. I began losing count of how many I lost that way. Then there was the option of the sweat band….NOT! Let’s face it sweat bands are ugly! So I was stuck as to how to solve my dilemma. Then I went to a running expo at Disney and saw these things called Sweaty Bands. They were cute and I love being cute while I run, but they were a bit on the pricey side. I talked to a sales person and asked if they really did stay on, her answer was that these were the only kind she has found to stay put. I was still very skeptical but I figured I would buy one and see if it really did work, if nothing else at least it was cute.

Well, I have to say that after using them not only during my runs but also during my Baby Boot Camp classes, I was impressed and hooked on these Sweaty Bands. I was amazed at how they stayed put for hours and didn’t hurt. They were also great at keeping the majority of sweaty off my face. As an added benefit they were cute and I looked good while working out or just running errands. When you look good you feel good and are more confident which allows you to focus on working out harder.

Two of the women in my running and boot camp classes saw me where my Sweaty Band and told me about the issues they were having. They started asking all kinds of questions about them. Instead of just telling them about how awesome Sweaty Bands truly are, I let them try the samples Sweaty Bands had sent me for themselves. Below is what they thought after using Sweaty Bands

Kari, Market Development Rep. says:
“As someone who has gone through countless headbands, hats and clips to keep back unruly hair, I would consider myself quite an expert on this subject. Many times, headbands fall short because they never stay put, and during a run other headbands slip to the back of my head. Then I either have to put the headband back on multiple times or just take it off. If I take the band off I’m wrestling with my hair bouncing around and fling in my face, for the rest of the run. Clips are great at holding my hair back but they don’t keep the sweat out of my face and flyaways are still an issue. Hats are work best to keep my hair back but with the hot and humid Florida weather, hats get quite warm.


So needless to say I was a little doubtful about Sweaty Bands working for me. I tried out the thick band. It actually helped keep my shorter hair around my face back and didn’t make my hair look like a lion’s mane, which often happens with other headbands. The material that hugs your head really stays put. During an hour workout I didn’t have to adjust it once. It was also great at keeping the sweat out of my face. They are a bit pricey, but with the benefits I gain from them I feel it is worth the price. As an added bonus, it held up really well in the washing machine. I will defiantly continue to wear my Sweaty Band!”

Paula, Baby Boot Camp Franchise owner says:
“I have tried many headbands; these are by far the best! They are cute and stylish. I loved that I did not have to constantly readjust the position of the band. I have worn this headband running, working out and while practicing yoga, it always stays in place. It keeps the flyaways under control and is comfortable on the back of your head. The high quality fabric that is very comfortable on the skin. I would definitely recommend this to others.”

 

 

 

Goofy or just plain crazy?

I have finished my self-inflicted 5 5ks in 5 week challenge and now I am looking for another challenge. My husband is in the process of training for a marathon and also wanted to try a harder challenge afterwards. Now I am not crazy enough about running yet to do a full marathon but I have been thinking about a half marathon. My girlfriend took part in the Princess half and it really did look like fun. So I was on the search for a fun half. My husband also agreed he wanted a harder challenge after the Marine Marathon. So we were on the look for other races to up our game.

After looking around my husband mentioned that he has always wanted to take part in the Goofy Race and a Half Challenge at Disney World. This challenge takes place in January during the Disney World Marathon Weekend. During this weekend they have children races, a 5k, a half marathon, a full marathon and the goofy challenge (half marathon on Saturday and the full marathon on Sunday). After researching the Disney Marathon weekend online this looks like it will be perfect for our family. It is like it couldn’t get any better. Why is it so perfect? Well…(1) We both get to up our challenges, (2) it is a fun race atmosphere, (3) family friendly, (4) we get to get both of our challenges in the same weekend, (5) We can celebrate all of our birthdays while there since they are all so close (6) and the best part My in-laws have agreed to come down and help with Sophia. Maybe my husband and I will even get a chance to get a date night in while there.

So here I am starting my half training. I am looking into training programs and equipment/supplements I will need. Any advice and/or comments are welcome. If you have used a program, equipment, or supplements that you have liked please hit me up. Encouraging words are also welcome, I feel like I will need plenty.
I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.