Jillian Michaels and I Have a Love-Hate Relationship

It's so funny to me how many people have encountered Jillian's wrath. I attempted (this is the keyword) Jillian's 30 day shred, Level 1 this week. I am still recovering. I give you a run through of how my workout went:

- Get home from dinner (had nachos, this bodes well)
- Found DVD under papers on the dresser
- Got my hand weights (little sand balls)
-Put DVD in the player, but the remote wouldn't work
- Changed batteries, remote definitely broken (had Carl not been home I would have quit at this point & ate my Girl Scout cookies we talked about last week)
- Went and found identical remote to other DVD player, alas this worked
- Selected Level 1 confidently (after all I have done cardio recently)
- Forgot to put tennis shoes on, found matching socks, now definitely ready to start
- Warm up with weird windmill stretches, I'm feeling very athletic now
- I do jumping jacks which are always a flattering way to workout
- Now Jillian explains that one of her skinny workout buddies (the blonde one) is the person to follow if you want an easy beginners workout, I promptly decide this is obviously not who I am following, I mean, I workout out on the elliptical
- She explains that the workout is 20 minutes with a 2 minute warmup, alright, 2 minutes down
- The workout is in three 6 minute circuits of cardio, strength, and abs, great I can do anything for 20 minutes
- Then she tells me to do push-ups, she does two and gets up to walk around the room, I think I'm done, then I see hard girl still going, I make it to one more before I start doing "girl push-up" with the easy girl, it's all down hill from there
- Then I yell at Jillian for cheating and not doing her own workout
- She punishes me by making me do more push-ups and literally kicking my self in the butt
- I mentally throw her into a den of lions
- Now we go to abs, I thank God, not Jillian, that I can lay down, never have I ever looked forward to crunches
- My husband now kindly lets me know that I have only done 6 minutes, I have also tossed him into the lion's den with Jillian
- We get up to squat for two minutes, I now begin to suspect that I am being filmed for later humiliation, why else would I do windmills, kick myself in the butt, and squat?
- I pause halfway through the third circuit's cardio and just watch the video
- I finish the 20 minutes off by half-heartedly bicycling.
- I drink the Pacific Ocean and collapse into bed

To sum up the results, I couldn't go downstairs or walk for two days. My stupid mornings on the elliptical apparently are nothing compared to this crazy woman who made me look ridiculous for an entire 20 minutes straight. If I get 20 followers on my blog before my next post I promise to post an after-picture from my next Jillian workout! So share with your friends! Have a cookie for me!

Jillian Michaels' Website

The Reason We Don't Keep Our New Years Resolutions

Girl Scout Cookies.

The problem is they make a flavor for everyone. I love Samoas. You're probably a Thin Mint person. This is the problem I have: how do you eat healthy when we socialize over meals? This seems to be the way we make connections. Where do you go to get a healthy meal out? Cheaply? So it seems we need a shift in our social routines. From now on, I will drink gross tea when I meet friends for coffee, I will order salads if I absolutely have to eat out. I won't eat out. I won't order Girl Scout Cookies. Here are some suggestions of what you can do with your friends instead of meeting some where to eat:

- Invite them to your place
- Invite yourself to their place
- Invite them to grocery shop with you
- Play cards
- Play games
- Knit (it can be a group activity)

Workouts Work?

I have a new job. I have a weekly routine. I am apparently a grown up. I think these recent changes in my life have enabled my recent 5:30am workouts. As you can tell this blog was created with the best of intentions, but my schedule did not seem to lend itself for anything routine and regular. I now have a 9-5 job, that has helped my find rhyme and reason in my life. This week I have worked out 4 times, all before 8am. It is Saturday and I worked out this morning. If you know me at all, you know that hell has frozen over. I attribute two things to my success, Netflix and my YMCA being ten minutes from my home and from my work. I am no able to surpass my intense hatred for all things aerobic because I can watch Scrubs, 30 Rock, insert your favorite sitcom, and not pay attention to what I'm doing for 45 minutes. I have enjoyed my mornings for the past week, and I have enjoyed the results even more. As much as I hate to disclose this, I think for accountability should tell you that I started the week at 147.8(tenths matter) and yesterday I was 145.2! My current goal is a normal BMI, which for my short stature is 132.2(again, tenths matter).

To give this a more interesting and comical twist below I have included all the reasons I hate working out:
- My face stays red for an hour after I work out
- I sweat
- I'm hot
- My feet get tired after 3 minutes
- I don't like watching skinny women run on the treadmill in front of me
- I don't like other people working out behind me
- I get wedgies and don't know how to handle that while on the elliptical
- I don't really like showering in an "away bathroom" (some people already know about my "away bathroom" anxieties, now everyone does)
- I have to wear flip flops while showering (again, "away bathroom" stuff)
- I have to get up at 5:30
- Its dark at 5:30
- Its cold
- I have to drink water
- Workout clothes are expensive
- My legs feel weird when I get off the elliptical
- I HATE WORKING OUT


On a positive note, I would love some encouragement and accountability to continue with this lifestyle change so any positive comments are so much appreciated! Until next time!

To buy or not to buy, the organic question

I have recently been exploring more healthy options while on my path to a lighter me. It started with just the organic milk (which typically has an expiration date twice as late as non-organic) and has slowly progressed to whatever has an organic version conveniently next to the non-organic choice. This article on Oprah.com has a list that ranks the amount of pesticides in different produce. Another rule of thumb that has been passed on to me, is if you eat the skin or the skin is thin, you should probably consider organic. What I am still trying to find is the best healthy sugar substitute. This article at Time.com makes me consider a strategy that an Africa-bound friend of mine employed, black coffee. I just don't think I could do it. Perhaps I'll just go the organic route and use too much raw sugar, and just be confident that the calories are at least pesticide-free.

But to go along with the organic question, I have been searching for less Southern cuisine and for more healthier dinner options and tasty-guiltless snacks. With these goals in mind I have turned to Weight Watcher cookbooks (specifically the 5-ingredient ones that are next to the magazines in the checkout line), MarthaStewart.com which has an awesome option that lets you save, label, and categorize recipes you like. This has helped me select several healthy recipes and then my picky husband can scroll down the list and pick out something that he will actually eat. As I'm sure you know, with the years that Martha has behind her empire there is a lot to choose from, and the label feature has made her website my favorite for a recipe source out of comparable websites. My other favorite source (which spurred this blog) is my iPhone app for EatingWell.com. I'm able to select my favorite recipes and has full pictures with categories for poultry, meat, seafood, or veggies, or divided into type of meal (appetizer, lunch, dinner, etc.), or into time divisions (15, 30, 45 minutes). Also each recipe comes with nutritional facts! and labels like: high fiber, heart healthy, low carbs, etc. Planning dinner away from home is so much easier at the spur of the moment. Tonight was: "Cucumber & Black-Eyed Pea Salad" so good!

I'm off to eat my awesome salad and have some Starbucks Via coffee with Kroger granulated definitely not organic sugar! Please be sure to share any of your healthy eating habits!

House Guests

Now that my husband and I have moved into our rental home for the next year (maybe more), my southern hospitality gene has kicked in. Now that we have the space to host people in our home, that means we should, right? My husband is South African, but not Southern, so he doesn't quite get it. Why are you pretending that you cook a gourmet meal breakfast, lunch, and dinner? Don't get me wrong, he loves that all of the laundry gets done, the house is vacuumed, and my clutter is finally dealt with, but why do we need guests to motivate this behavior? Again, my Southern DNA is responsible. Tips I have found to achieve this false interior: "If you have time to clean only one room, it should be the bathroom. The one place people have time to reflect on the cleanliness of your home." "Vanilla cuts the smell of dog" (from my mother an owner of two indoor/outdoor dogs) "Hide things in your oven and dryer, no one opens those""To cover the smell of cleaning, bake cookies/cake/pie". All of these things can create an image of a beautiful, welcoming, clean home.
I do not pretend to be to modern in my roles, I enjoying being complimented on the state of my home, the taste of a meal, or exclamations over a beautiful room. My husband knows that this makes me happy and will often over look expensive grocery bills to buy expensive spices, for meals I will likely only cook once, for these guests that will probably only stay once in the year we are in our home. God bless him. I recently found out that the International Farmers Market in Dekalb, Georgia (a neighborhood in Atlanta) sells spices by the cups for next to nothing (I mean less than $1!). I've recently gone on a health kick, so what better way to control what I'm eating, than cooking. Some of my favorite sources for healthy recipes are MarthaStewart.com and EatingWell.com. So far? I have lost 20 pounds! That's since July mind you, but still, twenty! My secret? The scale. If I see the reward (or consequence) of the previous day it helps. Now I haven't really denied myself anything. I, of course, will be eating Thanksgiving meals, but not eating after 7pm has really helped and when I want a dessert, I get one piece of chocolate (like one truffle). PS if you join Godiva's rewards/customer thing (for free) the give you a free piece of chocolate once a month in exchange for sending you emails. I am such a fan! When you want dessert (or really anything) check the serving size, you will be surprised, and only eat that much. Your Ben & Jerry's will last so much longer! Ok I know I'm bringing down the pilgrim spirit, but just remember, every year an American packs on one extra pound over the holidays they never lose...

Easy Favorite Recipes

Today, I should say late night/this morning, I thought I would share so of my favorite recipes that I know right off the top of my head. These are obviously my favorites, because I memorized them, and they are obviously easy, because I memorized them. I thought this could be useful with the holidays, parties, and the bake gifts looming. I'll start with the most popular:

Corn Dip - I have never had so many people ask for one recipe and then had those people tell me how many people asked them for the recipe and so one. I dare you to serve this and not get the same result (unless your friends are super healthy, in that case, who needs 'em?)

2 drained not rinsed cans of Mexi Corn or Corn with peppers (the picture has corn with red and green specs in it)
2 cups of Mayonnaise (like I said, loose your healthy friends or convert them with this)
2 cups of Monterrey Jack cheese (this is where people experiment with Pepper Jack, etc.)
1 cup of parmesan cheese

Mix ingredients all together. Place in a baking dish 8x8 or of comparable size (can be round). Bake in the oven on 325ish for 25ish minutes. We're going for the bubbly effect. The serve straight from the oven and serve with Fritos. I promise this one is such a crowd pleaser!


Extra Sugar Chocolate Chip Cookies - it exactly what it sounds like, Tollhouse with extra sugar & vanilla. Follow the recipe on the Tollhouse chocolate chip bag (because you would be crazy to get any other kind) and replace the 3/4 granulated sugar for 1 cup, same with the brown sugar, and replace the wimpy one teaspoon of vanilla for a tablespoon. Now you have the best chocolate chip cookie dough ever! Who needs cookies? If you do though, please make sure you put you milk in the freezer for 15 minutes before you drink it.

Pepper Jelly Pecan Dip - Another one with Mayo (my family is definitely Southern)

1 cup green onions or scallions (basically one of the bunches held together by rubber band)
1 cup of crushed, food processed, diced, chopped, whatever you method, pecans
1 cup of mayo
1 cup of cheddar cheese

Mix the above mixture together, add a little extra of your favorite ingredient, spread a layer on a plate, then spread a thinner layer of pepper jelly over the mixture and serve with Ritz crackers. If you wait to serve this, please refrigerate.

Quick Teaser - Later on in the month, I will post the sweet potatoes with brown sugar/pecan crust, green bean casserole recipe, chocolate silk pie recipe, banana bread recipe (great to make for guests so always something yummy around), and wedding cookies (great for the baked gifts for teachers, mailmen, etc.). I'll also see if I can get my sister-in-law's brining technique for turkey, it was amazing last year!

Insomnia

Considering it is almost three o'clock in the morning and I am keeping myself up (but against my own will, sort of) I thought we could look at solutions to a problem it seems most of us face, except my husband, at one time or another...

Why am I up? Probably a couple of things: Drank coffee (regular Breakfast Blend at 7pm), frustrated with customer service (another story) and I opened my eyes and got up.

How I could be asleep? Enough ways that I could be if I tried...

1. Try and make your bedroom about just that, sleeping (yeah I know that doesn't quite flow, but again it's 3am). This means no work (don't worry I'm in the living room so as not to wake my husband who can sleep), no TV, no computer, no last minute twitter on your cell phone. Ok so in one fell swoop I violated all of these... Starting to see my problem? Studies have shown (you know, the same one you reference in all did-you-know conversations) that the lights in TVs and computers actually stimulate our brains so that it is harder for us to go to sleep. So if you are reading this and thinking the same thing I am (that I am not going to move my TV out of my bedroom because there is nothing better than a Saturday in bed watching a great movie) then just designate a time to turn it off and read a book. Apparently, though any exciting book should be avoided at bedtime because that keeps us up (read those insurance policies that don't make any sense). Again, nothing but bedtime oriented activities in the bedroom. This way, your body begins to associate the space with sleep. Now these studies have actually appeared in several of my psych textbooks and the moral of their story is that the more similar the location and atmosphere of the activity the easier the activity is. * True story * Participants who studied underwater, performed better on tests underwater (where they learned the material). You drive better in a car you're familiar with on a route you're familiar with, you test better in the same seat, same classroom you learned in, you sleep better with the same routine, the same room, same pillow you always sleep with. So... how in the world does anyone sleep on a plane!?!?

2. No exercise before bed. If you go straight to the gym from work, that's a-okay, but any later and you are waking your body up, so either give yourself that boost in the morning or make sure you fit it in about 3-4 hours before its time to nod off.

3. No caffeine. No chocolate, no candy, no coffee, no tea, no sugar. Yeah I think that one is pretty ridiculous too. But if you aren't eating after 7 or earlier it shouldn't be a problem?

4. Another study: Take a warm bath before you get in the bed, studies have shown that the drop in temperature (warm to cool) is actually getting us ready for bed, because our bodies typically like to sleep cooler since they actually tend to heat up (we warm up our sheets, blankets, mattresses during the night to create a toasty little bed furnace).

5. Now, if you are going to sleep but waking up still tired you might want to check your Snore Score on the American Sleep Apnea Association website. Sleep disorders are very common, so if you think you might exhibit some of the symptoms please consult a doctor and get some sleep!

**** Please know that this is my opinion and has not been evaluated by anyone, much less that FDA or CDC or even my mom. These are just ramblings of a sleep-deprived blogger. If you have any concerns about your sleep or any other health related issues, please consult a doctor! (One with a diploma and license is typically best)****

As for me, I am off to bed. I will not pick up my cell phone to check Twitter one more time. I will not watch any TV and I will try and drown out my husband's snoring (Thank you for your thoughts and prayers)