Linda Gets Fit

Round 2...ding ding!

2009-09-09T10:42:00.000-07:00

"One's own thought is one's world. What a person thinks is what he becomes"
~Maitri Upanishads

Hey everybody! I'm still here! I spent the last week and half helping Daughter move and get settled in. Between that and work, I've been "BUZY"...lol! Having a ball though and Lovin life!

I finished up the first round of Chalean Extreme Sunday. Exercise wise, I've been right on track, diet wise...err, not so good. With running around so much I found myself unprepared and did the grab and go convenience thingy no-no. Had a bad week and half there.... OOPS

BUT, on a positive note, I started round 2 of Chalean Extreme yesterday. Back to Burn circuit 1 yesterday morning bright and early. I was really able to bump up the weights compared to where I was the first go around. Susan is also going to be doing another round with me. This time, however, we will be throwing Turbo Jam in the mix...yeah baby!

I've got my mind set on wearing something sexy... and tiny... this New Years Eve, so I've got to kick it up a notch....(or two..haha) Got to tighten up the diet and get to it!

Hope you all are doing wonderful! Sorry I was absent for so long!

~Linda

It's my turn!

2009-08-26T12:27:00.000-07:00

Hey there!

Well, I'm having a great day today. Got up bright and early...and killed it with Burn Intervals. Wow, that's an intense workout and I love it! I was still sweating when I got out of the shower! Chest on "fiya" from yesterday's workout....ahhhh, does it get any better?

Waited about 45 minutes after my cardio workout before fueling up with my old faithful Green Monster protein shake

Ok...so, I FINALLY picked up some oat bran the other day and decided it was high time to give the ole "oats in a jar" a try. OMG-oodness! Party in my mouth! What took me so long to try oat bran you ask? I have no idea...I guess I have always loved oat meal so much that I didn't see the need to expand....but boy was I wrong..lol

Started with this....

1/3 cup into the pot...

Then I added 1 cup H2O, 1/2 banana..cut up, 1 TBL Jumbo flame raisins, dash of sea salt, 1 tsp vanilla, and sweetener of choice. I used Agave nectar.

Boil for 2 minutes stirring constantly, then take off heat and let sit for 2 minutes. Then stir in 1 TBL golden flax seeds ground with my majic bullet, and 1 TBL of wheat germ

and....can't forget... 1 tsp of Fresh Bee Pollen granules

Stir to combine well...

Next, take your "almost empty" jar of Raw Almond butter (ok, mine had a little more AB then normal...)

And put the other half of the banana in the bottom

Pour the cooked oat bran over top of the bananas, and top with fresh blueberries, raw walnuts, and a drizzle of agave nectar

Yummy! So clean, nurishing, delish, and filling. I had a scoop of protein powder mixed with 1 cup of almond milk to make this a complete complex carb/lean protein balanced meal.

Again, does it get any better?

Keep it clean!
~Linda

Torture Tuesday

2009-08-25T10:57:00.000-07:00

Hey there! Wow, didn't realize it's been this long since my last post....eek! I'm a slacker! I am still following my plan and eating clean, just been really busy with work.

I kinda tweeked my lower back this weekend, so the past two days, have been very careful in that area.

Today was the second day of week three of the lean phase. Yesterday I did lean circuit 1 and this morning did extreme abs and then did lean circuit 3. I'm probably working the rest of the week, so saved my cardio for those days. My arms are screaming at me today. Bis, tris, core and lower body Monday, and shoulders, chest, core and lower body today...so no worries about not letting each muscle group rest fully. Tomorrow, I'll be doing cardio for sure.

Eats have been right on! I grocery shopped yesterday and my fridge and pantry are both stocked and ready to rock a clean eat week for sure! Did some cooking yesterday, but need to do some more today.

Hope you all have been doing wonderful as well :D

I'm off to read all your blogs and get caught up!! Can't be getting this far behind again...ugg!

Keeping it clean!
~Linda

Week 2 lean monday

2009-08-17T16:46:00.000-07:00

Hey! Happy Monday!

Today I started week 2 of the lean phase. Bis and tris, lower body and core. It's been 7 hours since my workout and my arms are still shakey..whoa! I bought some lemons yesterday to add to my protein smoothie and I forgot to throw one in...darn...lol I have a nice lemon tree in my backyard, but no lemons on it yet...so I have to buy them.

Eats have been pretty good, had a few meals that were not perfect...but basically, have stuck to my plan. Today, I have been doing some cooking that I didn't get done yesterday. Boiled some eggs, baked sweet potatoes, Roasted veggies, grilled some chicken breasts, cut up some fresh pineapple. Still need to make a pot of baked brown rice with roasted tomoatoes out of the eat clean diet book. And get a pot of overnight pumpkin oats ready to roll tonight. Then I'll be all set with clean food till Sunday.

Today was also house cleaning day. So, I've been bussssssy!

Hope you all had a wonderful Monday :D

Keep it clean!
~Linda

Thankful Thursday

2009-08-13T12:02:00.000-07:00

Hello there! What a wonderful day today is! Sun is shinning, birds are singing, life is great! I am spending the day with my 10 month old Granddaughter Kylie. She is the apple of my eye, holds the key to my heart and is my love and treasure :D

She is taking a nappy poo, so thought I'd better get on here real quick and post a little update.

So let's see...where did I leave off? Oh yea, I was anxious to start up the Lean phase of the Chalean program. I LOVE IT! Started it on Monday. Did Lean circuit 1...working Bis, tris, lower body and core. Tuesday, I did the Extreme Ab workout and also Burn it off cardio. Yesterday, I did Lean circuit 2...working shoulders, back, lower body and core. Woa baby, am I having a bad case of doms! My shoulders and back are so sore from lifting, that they hurt to lift my arms to shampoo my hair in the shower this morning...yowzers! It's a sweet pain though right? YES!

Today, I did my own thing early this morning. Jumped on old Betsy (my dinosaur of a treadmill...lol) and did a 30 minute hight intensity interval training. There are many ways to do HIIT, but basically, you start off with a couple minute warm up and then slowly bring your intensity level up... to a peak, then back down, then back up, then back down....with intervals..alternating high and low throughout the workout. How you do it is up to your individual preference or fitness level. But it has to be super intense...giving it a 9 or 10 on the intensity scale. Then follow with a couple minute cool down and your done. Intense, but quick and to the point...perfect!

Showered, then had a quick bowl of oats with blueberries, bee pollen, and wheat germ and 4 hard boiled egg whites before little miss Kylie arrived.

Tomorrow, I'll do extreme intervals and abs. I can't believe that I am actually to the point of looking forward to my workouts. I miss working out on my rest day. This is a great thing!

You all have a great and powerful day!

Keep it clean!
~Linda

WEEKend not WEAKend!

2009-08-09T09:29:00.001-07:00

Are we all having a great WEEKend and not WEAKend? Well I'm happy to say that I am! :D For most of us, the weekend is usually a time when we are faced with much temptation and find it easy to fall off the wagon as far as our clean eating is concerned. I have a friend who always writes have a great WEEKend not WEAKend. I thought it was pretty catchy. I've been strong this weekend. Went to a party last night at our friend's house and all I had was iced tea...yeah!

Workouts have come right along this week. Today is my rest day and also ends the push phase of the Chalean plan. Tomorrow morning I start the lean phase and I'm totally hyped about it.

I weighed myself this morning and my weight has not changed but I have lost inches. I was able to easily fit into a pair of jeans that I have not been able to wear in over a year. And the top I wore has short sleeves that button and the last time I wore it, I was unable to button the sleeves and had to roll them under. Well yesterday, I was able to button them right up! Yipee! This is proof that we can not rely on the scale to show us our progress. I have been gaining precious, spectacular, fat burning muscle while at the same time burning up fat...so even though my actual body weight is unchanged, my body size is SMALLER and tighter, more compact.....music to my ears!! So use those tape measures and the way your clothing are fitting to judge your progress, not the scale!

Eats have been pretty good this past week, but I did have a few slip ups. My goal this week is to keep my diet completely tight and clean and have one cheat meal on Saturday or Sunday. Not one nibble until then!

Here are a few pics that I have taken this past couple days

Apple/Pear was delish!! Sweet, crunchy, juicy, with the consistency of a pear. Will for sure be buying more of these :D

Trader joes gormet flakes & chocolate with unsweetened Almond milk

Spinach/Tomato and Guac salad (I added some sliced grilled chicken breast after I took the picture) So delish...no fattening dressing needed :D

Best Aroma young Thai Coconut...Not to be confused with coconuts you see in the grocery store....the brown, hairy kind. A young thai coconut is the same, just not as mature, and the liquid is absolutely loaded with a ton of minerals and nutritional qualities. Coconut water has been used in tropical regions around the world for centuries. Perfect for re-hydrating the body. Maybe the future sports drink?

Just look at all that beautiful Coconut water inside. Nature's Juice! What an amazing super food it is!

The water in these young coconuts are some of the purest of all waters. It is cholesterol free, and has more electrolytes than any fruit, vegetable juice or sports drink around. It is also completely pure and sterile. Did you know that back in WWII, Coconut water saved thousands of soldier's lives? Any wounded soldier needing a blood transfusion recieved a coconut water IV. Wow, unbelievable! The coconut water is sterile and is naturally distilled and was placed directly into their body through an IV! In 3rd world countries, coconut water is used as a universal blood and is still saving lives today.

I took the ice cold young coconut water, pureed the meat from inside, added a little agave nectar and had the most delicious coconut smoothie..yummy!

So, how do you like your young coconuts? Do you love them as much as I do?

I'm off to do some clean food shopping and then do some major pre-cooking for the coming week. You all can call me Betty today...ha!

Keep it clean!
~Linda

The Honest Scrap Blog Award

2009-08-04T12:37:00.000-07:00

Holy Moly! Today, my dear blogging friend Michelle of Secrets of a Former Fat Girl gave me the honor and presented me with the Honest Scrap Blog Award!

Thank you so much Michelle. I am truly touched and honored to accept this awesome award...how great!

So, I know you're wondering what is this Honest Scrap Blog Award?

According to the web...

"This award is bestowed upon a fellow blogger whose blog content or design is, in the giver’s opinion, brilliant. This award is about bloggers who post from their heart, who oftentimes put their heart on display as they write from the depths of their soul."

Now that's deep!

There are three rules that need to be followed upon accepting this award.
1)Brag about it
2)Select 7 Blogs you find brilliant and link to them
3)List 10 honest things about yourself

Ok, so, I think it's pretty safe to say that I've earned my bragging rights by blogging about my award right here. So, I'll cross rule number one off the list...check!

On to rule nuber two

I read a ton of wonderful amazing blogs and I love them all...and like to consider them all brilliantly written in their own right. But, per rule number 3, I can only pick 7. So, these are the ones that just jumped to my mind.

Listed in no particular order...

1) Secrets of a Former Fat Girl written by non other than Michelle herself!

2)Mama's Weeds Written by Alison

3)Simply Clean™ Clean Eating, Nutrition, Fitness Written by Maria Peters

4)Melissa's Journey to the Figure Pro-Stage! Written by Melissa

5)THE CONFESSIONS OF A SAHM Written by Justine

6)Heather Eats Almond Butter Written by Heather

7)Peanut Butter Swirl Written by Kailey

Please check out these blogs and see just how great they are!!

Now for rule number three....listing 10 honest things about myself. Hmmm, I'll try not to bore you all too much with this one...ha!

1)I believe in love at first sight

2)I love pickled foods. Eggs, bologna, potatoes, kraut, veggies, ect....love them all. Well, not pickled pigs feet...eek!

3)My father died of cancer when he was only 51 years old. I was only 23. I was so mad at God over it, that I refused to pray or have anything to do with God for two years after.

4)I won 20 bucks at a singing contest when I was 8 years old.....singing Rudolf the red nosed reindeer

5)I am super clautrophobic

6)I earned my Nursing Degree at Hurley Medical Center School of Nursing in Flint Michigan

7)I have a burning desire to learn the piano

8)I am extremely tehnically challanged....never could figure out how to run the VCR..ha!

9)I am married to my most bestest friend in the whole wide world.

10) I am owned by Einstein the Eclectus Parrot. (When you have a bird, they own YOU not the other way around)

HIIT and Pumpkin Oats...

2009-08-02T08:51:00.000-07:00

Good Sunday Morning!

I hope you all are having one fantastic weekend. Mine has been really nice. Just relaxing at home with the hubby. Sometimes those are the best ones.

With the Chalean Extreme program, there are 5 workout days, and 2 rest days, with one of them being optional to do your own cardio of choice. Today is my rest day but Saturday, I got up and did some HIIT. 15 minutes on my recombant bike and 15 minutes on my TM. Got my hr up sky high durning the high interval portions and really worked up a sweat. Felt great! Waited about 1/2 hour or so then had a bowl of left over overnight crockpot pumpkin oats for meal numero uno.

I tell you, these tasted just as good and creamy as the first day...so now I know that they keep well stored in the fridge. This bowl of heaven, I topped with 3/4 cup of TJ's non fat Greek Yogurt for some protein, and drizzled with a little agave nectar and a sprinkle of cinnamon and a few jumbo raisins and walnuts.

The TJ's greek yogurt is loaded with a whopping 22 gms of protein per cup....love that!! With the heavy weight training I am doing, I need to make sure to get in my protein each and every meal, never eating carbs alone without protein tagging along for the ride. So, instead of drinking a protein shake with the oats... which is really hard to do cause the oats are so so filling, I opted to try the yogurt...not bad, but I think I prefer the oats best without the yogurt. Maybe CC? Hmm, might have to give that a try next.

Even Einstein...my little green feather pants...loved them. Of course his was without the yogurt since parrots can't have dairy.

Look at that oatmeal covered beak and happy face....lol Oh yea, he wanted me to tell you that he is in the process of molting his face feathers, so please excuse his shabby look..ha! He is usually in beautiful feather.

I put my Best Aroma Young coconut in the fridge last night so that it's water can get nice and cold. Might try to open that baby up today and enjoy a nice refresing...not to mention extremely healthy.... glass of coconut water and coconut meat. I don't know though, I saw on line a recipe on making a smoothie using the water and meat which sounded awesome. Decisions, decisions...hahaha! I wish I would have bought a bunch of them when I was at the Asian market Friday, can you believe I only paid a buck twenty nine? Cheap-ola!! LOL!

Ok, that's all the excitement I have for you kidos today. Keep the diet tight, get your exercise in, and make it a great day.

Frivolous Friday Re-cap!

2009-08-01T08:38:00.000-07:00

Hey there my fellow bloggy friends!

It's Saturday...whoo hoo...my favorite day of the week! I was going to work today, but decided not to last night. I'm so lucky in that I decide which days of the week I work. And I have until 11PM the night before to decide if I want to be "added" to the following day's schedule. It takes discipline big time cause it's easy to just keep putting it off till the "next day". I've learned my lesson a few times..lol

Yesterday, I woke up very early and worked out to PC3. Back and chest with a gozillian Sumo squats and standard squats. So, yesterday finished up the third week in the push circuit. I'm really starting to see a difference in my legs and booty. Got to be all those lunges and squats that Chalene has me doing. Is there a better way to get those sexy legs and behind then with doing lunges and squats? I don't think so! LOL!

After working out, SR and I headed downstairs to the kitchen to have our recovery meal. We don't eat together usually, since she literally lives right across the street from me...but Thursday night, I planned ahead and got my crockpot out and made Recipe: Crock Pot Pumpkin Oats « Broccoli Hut
for us to have Friday morning. OM-Goodness was it divine delish! So sweet and creamy....we loved every bite! We also had a plain Protein GM shake without the complex carb added to it to balance out the protein/carb ratio.

This was made using UVAM and topped with jumbo raisins and walnuts...this will be a do-over recipe again and again..you all have to try it!

After eating, SR ran home to get ready and I hit the shower and got ready and we headed off to do a little fun food shopping. First we went to an asian market called Mekong market. Picked up a couple of Kabocha squash for 49 cents a lb. Woweee, what a bargain!

Got one of these to try. Yes I only bought one..in case I don't like it..lol Apple/Pear..anyone every try one?

I also got this

After we left MeKong market, we decided to stop for lunch at Mimi's cafe...a small, cozy cafe decorated in a french cottage theme... with pretty linens, delicious fresh food at bargain prices...oh and great service. They have something called "just enough" menus....perfect portion sizes. Have any of you eaten at Mimi's before? How do you like it? Anyways, I had my "laxed" meal consisting of a pork sandwich on cabata bread, salad, iced tea, and a little "just enough" sized sliver of chocolate brownie with a tensie tiny scoop of vanilla ice cream. I love their just enough menu....you don't get those overwhelmingly huge portions that you have to deal with.

After lunch, we headed to Trader joes so that I could finally get a few items that I am either out of, or darn near...lol Blue chips (hubby is addicted), a container of Mediterranean Hummus (I'm addicted), 3 containers of non fat greek yogurt, organic sweet tomatoes, Raw crunchy unsalted almond butter, loaf of ezekiel sprouted bread (not pictured), agave nectar, cereal (for other family members and myself to try on laxed day), some Almond milk, and a bottle of their great EVOO

Foodie treasures of the day.. :D

Last night SR and her sweet hubby came over for movie night. We watched Powder Blue, drank a bottle of wine (I only had a 1/2 glass) and ate homeade olive oil popcorn....what more could a girl ask for? LOL! Nice enjoyable evening.

Ok, Laxed day is officially over..didn't do too bad at all....ate clean for all meals except lunch, oh and that 1/2 glass of wine..... so as of the minute my eyes popped open this morning...it's time to get back to the task at hand....Linda gets fit continues on!!

Keep it clean
~Linda

It's not about the food....my Special Ops Mission One

2009-07-31T15:49:00.000-07:00

For my first Special ops mission over at Operation Fat Blaster
I am supposed to document the "thing" that is standing in my way of reaching my weight loss/fitness goals.

Well, I have several "obstacles" to dodge every day along this journey that I am taking. Food cravings, passing by the fast food joint on my way home from work in the evenings, junk food that my 20 year old Son brings into the house, the huge bag of plain M&M's that my dear hubby PT Keeps stocked in the pantry, the Nurse's lounge at work...is always ladened with fattening, unhealthy foods, the list goes on and on.

But I think that the very hardest thing that I have to overcome and find a way to not let stand in my way is parties. Yes, parties. My hubby and I love to entertain and be entertained and have and are invited to lots of parties with our dear friends. What goes with parties?? Lots of FOOD! And lots of Drinks! It is so hard to stick to my eating plan when out with friends and surrounded with delicious party food and drink.

I actually got to the point where I would turn down invitations cause I just didn't trust myself and as well as my intentions were,still end up taking a bit of this and just a taste of that, and just a sip of this, and a spoonfull of that...what would that hurt right? Wrong!

I am re-thinking this whole process. This whole thing with food being the center of every party. It's not about the food! It really isn't. It's about PEOPLE! Loved ones and dear friends getting together to spend time with one another. Sharing joy, laughter, frienship, fun....not about food! So, that's my mission....not to shy away from parties and miss out on the fun and being with my dearest friends by taking the spotlight off food and on to the people.

Getting Extreme Thursday!

2009-07-30T09:30:00.000-07:00

Hey all! Hope you all are having a great week. Can't believe tomorrow is Friday already..where does the time go?

I've not missed a workout all week. Monday I did PC1, Tuesday did Burn it off Cardio, last night...I did PC2 with SR.

Today I am off work, woke up at 6:45 am and was getting extreme with Chalene by 7:00 am. 45 minutes of intense cardio alternating with wieights. It's a tough workout. I have so much more energy first thing in the morning compared to working out later in the day...it's unbelievable just how much.

I waited about 1/2 hour after my cardio before fueling up with meal number uno... green protein shake. I was out of bananas so I used a peach as my complex carb choice and it was ok, but definetly not as good as it is when using a banana. That cardio sure does get my appitite up. I'ts just about time to eat again and my belly is growling...haha.

I need to go to Trader Joes sometime today. I'm almost out of Almond butter, ezekiel cinnamon raisin sprouted bread, and agave nectar, and I am completely out of greek yogurt and non fat plain yogurt. I also want to pick up some Blue chips and a few other things...like bananas...LOL

Here are a few food pictures that I've taking over the past couple days.

Went shopping at World market the other day and picked up a couple bars of their Scrumptious Dark chocolate to have a smidgen on my laxed day. Now, I usually don't go the 99% route, but thought I'd give it a try out of curiosity. So, I bought one of each...the 82% that I normally get, and the 99%. What did I think about the 99%? I couldn't do it. Actually had to spit it out. Too bitter for me. But.....check this out....

Don't remember which blogger put this little idea into my head, but I put a few of the 99% Dark chocolate squares on top of my morning oats and Mmmm, Mmmm, Mmmmm, divine deish!! They melted into the oats and were perfect!

Thanks to my blogger buddy Alison over at Mama's Weeds
I had these little buggers as my snack...Medjool dates stuffed with crunchy Almond butter....can you say died and gone to heaven? Yes, they are THAT good..thanks Alison!

Made up a bowl of fresh homeade Guacamole...it was so good, I even used it as a dressing on my salads for a few days....Avacado, fresh chopped tomatoes, Fresh squeezed lemon juice, sea salt, diced red onion...left nice and chunky just the way I like it....so good!

For dinner the other night, I cooked up a pot of Pepper Steak...which is PT's favorite meal. I used a very lean Sirloin steak with all the fat trimmed off and sliced it into very thin strips.

First sautee some fresh chopped galic and ginger in a little EVOO and sea salt and fresh ground black pepper for a couple minutes being careful not to let the garlic get too brown... then put in the thinly sliced Sirloin steak and stir fry till no longer pink. Remove from pan and set aside.

Then saute some Sliced Green peppers and sweet onion for a few minutes in the same pan that the meat was cooked in...

Meanwhile...take a couple TBL of Corn starch and put in med sized bowl..stir in Low sodium low fat beef broth, water, and low sodium soy sauce until corn starch dissolved...set aside

After the Peppers and onions are sauteed, put meat back into pan and pour in the corn starch beef broth mixture and also dump in a couple cans of drained, sliced water chestnuts and cook over med heat till sauce thickens. Top with sliced green onions. I know that brown rice would be ideal, but I just love this meal over steamed jasmine rice....voila finished product....so yummy!!

Ok, time to re-fuel..gotta keep my metabolism reved up and roaring!

You all have a fabulous day!]

Keep it clean
~Linda

Happy Hummus!

2009-07-27T10:25:00.000-07:00

Hey there! Happy Hummus! That's what was written on this box that I recieved this morning!

What is inside you ask?

The awesome Abby from I Have Issues had a fabulous hummus giveaway and I was chosen as one of the radom winners...whoot whoot! Thanks so much Abby! I'll for sure be digging into these today! Three jars of Wild Garden's Hummus dip in Traditional, black olive, and Sweet 2 Pepper. All natural, no preservatives, no cholesterol..yea baby!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thank you all so much for all the wonderful Anniversary wishes for Patrick and I :D

I wanted to share a couple of beautiful shots I took on our way to our celebration dinner Saturday night. Arizona skies are amazing during sunsets!

So, I got up early and SR and I got extreme doing Push Circuit 1. Last week of the push phase then it's on to the Lean phase. Today I worked Bi's, Tri's, and did Standard squats, Heel squats, and single leg squats...yowzers!! And if that wasn't enough, push ups at the very end...when our muscles have already reached fatigue and failed. I'm pretty wimpy when it comes to pushups. I still can't do them on my toes, but when I first started Chalene's program, I couldn't even do not 1 pushup...even on my knees.....now I can do 6 with perfect form. Now SR, she can pump out 15 perfect toe pushups....the little show off...haha!

I made a yummy green protein shake after the workout that was delish... Whey isolate protein powder, banana, ice, usoam, and a few huge handfuls of spinach.

Getting ready in a few minutes to have meal number 2 which will be....oatmeal with blueberries, Bee pollen, and wheat germ and 4 hard boiled egg whites for some lean protein. Guzzling the water today too... :D

You all have a wonderful day and keep it clean!!
~Linda

Today is a great day

2009-07-25T12:34:00.000-07:00

Hey guys! I worked 24 hours in the past two days, so I've been MIA just a bit..lol

Today is mine and PT's 21st wedding anniversary. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful man in love with me :D He is my best friend, lover, and soul mate forever and always.

So, let's see..what's been happening the past few days. As you know, I had Wednesday off so I spent the day with my 10 month old GD. We had a great "just us two girls" day! I gave her a bit of a green monster (minus the protein powder), and sprouted bread spread with AB for the first time and she was digging that stuff big time! After my DD picked her up, and SR got home from work, we hit PC2 and burned it up!

Thursday, I ended up working my normal 12 hour shift. Eats were clean, but I didn't get my workout in. I had every intention of doing it after work, but I was soooo exhausted, that I decided to do it on Sunday instead of using that day as my rest day.

Friday, I was on call for work, so got up early in the wee morning and SR came over and we did PC3. Chest, back, and a butt load of Sumo squats holding mega weights. My inner thighs are thanking me for those today let me tell ya..haha! After working out and a quick shower to wash the stink off...lol, we headed down town to check out one of the local Farmers market. Picked up some good looking organic produce and browsed the tents looking at everyone's treasures. Picked up a Casaba melon..one that I've not tried before. It's still got a bit of ripening to do but check it out, it's a beaut! The girl said that it was a toss between tasting like a canteloupe, Honeydew and a cucumber. I'm anxious to dig into it.

After browsing the farmer's market, we stopped for lunch at a little place called Grandma's kitchen. I ordered a cup of veggie soup, a veggie melt and iced tea with lemon. I actually took a pic of my sandwich...haha. First time I've ever done that in public. People must have thought I was nuts....hahahaha! Didn't turn out all that great..lighting was all wrong, but here it is nonetheless :D (It tasted ok...nothing to write home about :/ )

As soon as we finished eating lunch, I was called into work so we had to get going. But it was a nice day all in all.

This morning, I got up early and got in Thursday's workout that I missed...did Burn interval cardio routine. Now, just enjoying the day with my sweetie. Thought I'd better check in before another day went by.

Here are couple pics of clean eats I've had the past two days...

Check out the size of those Organic Jumbo Raisins! They are so good!

Hope you all are having a great weekend!

Keep it clean!

~Linda

Raising the bar: Operation Fat Blaster!

2009-07-22T06:27:00.000-07:00

Hey hey my peeps! Happy humpday to you! Can't believe that this week is already half over. I was planning on working today, but wasn't needed, so got the day off. Always good to have an unplanned day off work right?

With the Chalean Extreme program...I have 5 scheduled workouts each week (3 weight training and 2 hight intensity cardio) and 2 rest days...with one of them being optional where I can thow in some extra cardio if I choose..which I usually do. But yesterday I woke with such severe doms that I decided just to let my body rest and recover some. They are still sore today, but much better. I soaked in the hot tub last night and boy that helped tremendously. I haven't had doms that bad in a long time...it's a good thing..really, no matter how painful....lol I upped almost all my weights in my last workout, so I expected it.

So, today is PC2...to be done late this afternoon or early evening. SR has early workdays on Wednesdays, so I wait for her so that we can workout together. I don't mind working out alone, but it is more fun with a partner. We really do push each other to realy "bring it"! No slacking aloud....ha!

Eats have been really clean this week. No further slip ups since over-doing it on Sunday. I have been eating every 2-3 hours throughout the day and each meal has included a lean protein and complex carb and I have been getting in veggies at least for two of my daily meals. Water has been right on...drinking a minimun of 100 oz each day.

Here are a few pics of some of my clean eats...in no particular order....for your viewing enjoyment...teehee ;)

3/4 cup of nonfat cottage cheese topped with fresh blueberries and strawberries and a drizzle of blue agave nectar

Tried a new water this week. Metromint...spearment. Minty fresh :D

Yea...I think these should last me a few days....lol

1 cup Non fat plain yogurt topped with strawberries and blueberries with a nice healthy spoonful of Trader joes unsalted raw crunchy Almond Butter

Chocolate Mint Cliff Builder Bar....20g's of protein baby!

Ok, so you may be wondering why I called this post "raising the bar"? Well...I decided to join up with Operation Fat blaster and kick my motivation up a notch! Join forces with us and Check out Michelle's Secrets of a Former Fat girl's blog Here to join! We're on a mission to blast the fat!

Keep it clean!
~Linda

Preparing for the clean week ahead

2009-07-20T08:08:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! How are you all doing? Is it Monday already? I had a very nice weekend, and I hope you all did too.

Yesterday was a rest day for me, no workout. I know my body needs these rest days and that they are just as important for my progress as the actual workout days, but I gotta say that yesterday, I kinda missed working out...HA! Never thought I'd ever hear THAT come out of my mouth :D

My dd and dgd came over and spent the day with us. We swam, bbq'd, watched a movie, swam some more, went to the farmer's market, grocery shopped, came home and fixed dinner. Got to say, that it wasn't the best day for me in the clean eating department. I had a couple extra things I shouldn't have. I am allowing myself one cheat meal each week, but I kinda went a little overboard. Can't be doing that or I'll start wheel spinning...and that will not happen. So, back to the task at hand.

Got some great items at the farmer's market yesterday and also at the grocery store. My fridge is stocked and ready to rock it out this week in the clean eating department!

I roasted up some chickpeas yesterday afternoon. These ones were spicy onion flavor..nice and crunchy and tasty little devils they are. My friend Neat turned me on to them. Ever try them? Here's the how to...

First gather your ingredients...
*Olive oil spray
*Extra virgin Olive Oil
*Can of Garbanzo beans
*Sea salt
*Onion powder
*Cayenne Pepper

Preheat oven to 450 degrees and prepare baking sheet by spraying lightly with Olive oil spray

Drain and rinse off Garbanzo beans then blot dry with paper towel. Put in large mixing bowl. Pour about 1 TBL or so of EVOO over beans then stir to coat well.

Spread on baking sheet then sprinkle with Onion powder, sea salt, and cayenne pepper

Place in pre-heated oven and roast for about 45 minutes...stirring halfway through roasting time. I like to roast mine a little longer because I like them nicely browned and crunchy.

Cool completely, then store in zip lock bag

Don't they look scrumptious? Reach for these instead of chips when you get the munchies :D

I've already got my workout in for today. Did PC1 this morning. Worked Bis and tris... with lots of weighted squats and lunges...done very ssslllooowwwly...I might add :D

Had this as my post workout fuel-up...Ice, Unsweetened almond milk, Whey protein powder (26 gms), 1/2 large banana, 2 handfulls spinach, 1 TBL ground golden flax seed....

Cheers!

Sensational Saturday!

2009-07-18T20:36:00.000-07:00

Hey there!

Hope you all are having a fantastic weekend. Filled with fun, laughter, love, and friendship!

I ended up having the weekend off, love that :D

My day started about 8 am...I slept in a little this morning. I had a cup of coffee out on the patio with PT. He got up at 5ish and was working in the yard doing some weed pulling ect. It was already well in the 90's by that time. We took a dip in the pool to cool off a bit. I love swimming early in the morning..so refreshing.

SR was coming over about 9:30 to do our cardio workout. Today is Burn it off. Since I'd already been up for over an hour, I knew I couldn't workout on an empty tank...if I'm gonna do that, I need to do it within 30 minutes of waking up.

I fixed PT some pancakes and sausage, but I had a fiji apple (my fav!) spread with Tj's raw unsalted crunchy AB and drank 25 oz of water..perfect preworkout fuel up :D

9:30 am...hit the gym for the one and only Burn it off..the words INTENSE and EXTREME come to mind to describe this workout. I dug deep and gave it my 100%. Sweatin bullets when we finished. I can tell my cardiovascular system is responding nicely to my workouts.

After working out, I waited about an hour to refuel....then had a Green protein shake. I really wanted to add a nana to the shake, but I'm out of nanners, so I used Blueberries and 1/2 peach. It was very good and gave me a nice level of energy.

That kept me full and satisfied for about 3 hours, and then it was time for my next meal. I had a bowl of oatmeal with Bee pollen, wheat germ, and ground flax seed and then had 4 hard boiled egg whites.

Late aftenoon, we decided to head out to the movies with a couple friends. I remembered Brandi's instructions on how to make your own healthy popcorn and decided to give it a try. It turned out fantastic. I used EVOO and sprinkled with sea salt and also a tiny bit of garlic powder. Click Here to check out Bran appetit and get the instructions.

No more fattening, butter loaded, salt laddened movie theater poppcorn ever again! Believe me when I say that this was just as good. And I knew exactly what was in it.. :D Thanks Brandi!

I also made up a bag of trail mix..using raw almonds, walnuts, dark chocolate covered espresso beans, sunflower seeds, pepitos, jumbo raisins...devine delish! Doesn't it look yummy??

My movie goods..plus a bottle of water not pictured ;)

Just kicking back the rest of the evening. Kept the rest of my meals very simple. Non fat yogurt with some berries for a light dinner.

Exercise rest day for me tomorrow. Planning on hitting up the farmer's market that I never got to do today and also some regular grocery shopping and a Trader Joe's pit stop..lol

Keep it clean!
~Linda

2009-07-17T20:57:00.000-07:00

Check out Clare's very first giveaway...for a chance to win...Nutters for Futters....Mmmm, Chocolate Almond Nut butter..oh my!

2009-07-17T20:42:00.000-07:00

Hey hey, another awesome giveaway for you all to check out. Check out Heather's In celebration of Friends giveaway.... Here

2009-07-17T16:43:00.000-07:00

Ohhhhhhh! Don't miss out on your chance to win this giveaway from Twirlit!! .....Twirlit Giveaway Wednesdays- Free Artisana Nut Butter Giveaway!

Fabulous Friday

2009-07-17T14:59:00.000-07:00

Hey guys, how are you all doing today? I'm doing great. Ended up having the day off work, so that's always makes for a better day. Hey, I love my job and everying, but works work...right?

Thanks for the support in my fat loss journey I greatly appreciate it... ;)

So, got up this morning and did Chalean Extreme Push circuit 3. Worked chest, back, and shoulders with a ton of sumo squats and lunges thrown in the mix. Ever do bowlers lunges? Wowzers.....what a great way to work your buns and outer hip area. I've been trying to "lift heavy or go home" and reach muscle failure between 6-8 reps. Some of the exercises I was feeling that maybe I could do one or two more reps after reaching 8....so I know to go up in weights and lift heavier the next time. Others, I could barely reach 6 reps..so I know to go lighter. It's a work in progress....lol

Had a green protein recovery shake after the workout, then a couple hours later, had this as my morning snack...

Non fat cottage cheese as my lean protein, topped off with a sliced nectarine and a handful of blueberries as my complex carb choice.... it hit the spot :D

Didn't take a pic of my next two meals, but I had a spinach salad with sliced grilled chicken and veggies and a couple organic brown rice cakes spread with a little AB for lunch, and then for my afternoon snack I had two slices of Ezekiel sprouted bread with sliced turkey and avacado and some steamed veggies. Not sure what dinner will be yet...got a few more hours to decide...lol

Oh, for those of you love Hummus as much as I do, be sure to check out Abby's Hummus giveaway for your chance to win some! Good luck!

Keep it clean!

~Linda

The Perfect Sweet Potato!

2009-07-15T14:20:00.000-07:00

Now I know we have all baked sweet potatoes before, probably many times. I had too. But when a friend of mind turned me on to this method for baking the perfect sweet potato....and I tried them, I was floored at how wonderful they were! These are by far the BEST sweet potatoes I have ever tasted...ever!

Even people who normally don't care for sweet potatoes, love these amazing little orange bundles of sweetness. They turn out moist, sweet, creamy, and need nothing on them at all for them to be delicious. Now, have I got your mouth watering, get some sweet potatoes or yams and give this method a try, you won't be sorry :)

Here are the simple directions...

~Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

~Scrub potatoes and dry them off but do not poke with holes or wrap foil around them

~Place potatoes directly on the middle oven rack... put a cookie sheet lined with foil on the rack directly below the rack that the potatoes are on to catch any drips and save on cleanup
~set timer for exactly 20 minutes.

~NOTE: Roasting the potatoes at this high heat for 20 minutes causes the potatoes to puff up and form a pocket around the potato causing them to actually steam cook...and caramelize

~after the 20 minutes has passed, decrease oven temp to 350 degrees and continue to roast for additional 60 minutes.

~Remove from oven

*Note: I find that for med to large potatoes this is the perfect time, if you have super large sized potatoes, you may want to increase time an extra 5-10 minutes

Look at that beauty....nature's candy!!

I always bake extra because they keep very well in the fridge wrapped in plastic...and remains nice and moist when re-heated in microwave oven.

Enjoy!!

Tuesday's Re-cap

2009-07-15T10:41:00.000-07:00

Good day!!

Hey....I forgot to tell you that Monday was the 4 week mark since starting the clean eating lifestyle and the Chalean Extreme workout program, and I lost a total of 6 1/2 inches off my body and also lost 4 lbs of scale weight! Now, I am not putting the spotlight on what Mr. scale says, cause you know that guy doesn't show the whole picture...but on what Mr. Tape measure says...now that dude Rocks it out!! HA!

Here is a re-cap on how my day went yesterday....

It was a great day. I got up and did Burn Intervals....a 45 minute intense interval cardio routine. Did it first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. Then I waited about half hour before fueling up with my first meal. My main objective...goal...is fat loss....so on cardio days, If it is first thing upon waking, I can do it this way to burn the most fat.

Meal one was green protein shake...Whey protein powder, 1/2 cucumber, Ground golden flax seeds, sweetened with agave nectar. Since I didn't add fruit for the complex carb to the shake, I had one toasted slice of ezekiel sprouted bread spread with AB and blackberry preserves.

For meal 2, I had 1/2 cup of non fat cottage cheese and 1 peach. Meal 3 was spianach salad with raw veggies and grilled chicken (no carb with this meal)

Meal 4 also known as Dinner...lol, was Sliced grilled chicken breast, Roasted sweet potato, and roasted cauliflower and broccoli.

Meal 5 was Greek yogurt and strawberries sweetened with agave nectar.

I also drank 100 oz of water throughout the day.

Hope you all had wonderful days as well ;)

Keep it clean
~Linda

Monday's Motions

2009-07-13T20:03:00.000-07:00

Hey there!

Well, today Me and Susan started the Push phase of the Chalean Extreme program. Got up and had 1 cup of coffee, grabbed a bottle of water, drank half of it and then hit it hard. Love, love, love the push phase. Completely different then the Burn phase in that you concentrate on only one muscle group at a time. Lifting heavy and lifting super duper SLOW! Object is to fail the muscle within 6-8 reps. Making sure to keep perfect form with each rep. With the push circuit 1...you work biceps and triceps and also gultes and hammies. I think I see some major doms in my near future..yea!

Finished the workout and another bottle of water then made a green protein smoothie to feed the muscles....ice, unsweetened original almond milk, 1 scoop of whey isolate protein powder, 2 huge handfuls of spinach, 1 frozen banana, 1 TBL each...Bee pollen, ground golden flax seeds, and wheat germ went into the blender. This is what came out. Pure green heaven! (date is wrong on my camera...doh!)

For lunch, I made a delicious sandwich. 2 toasted slices of Ezekiel bread spread with hummus then topped with sliced grilled chicken breast, slices of red and green pepper and avocado...

This afternoon, I roasted some cauliflower and broccoli following Trilby Drew's instructions. They turned out so yummy delish! First the cauliflower...before roasting...

After roasting...

Then the Broccoli...after roasting...

The two beauties together...just lovely!

I've got sweet potatoes roasting in the oven right now. I found the perfect way to roast sweet potatoes. I'll post the method I use and also pics of them tomorrow.

Hope you all had a great day today!

Keep it clean!
~Linda

2009-07-12T20:25:00.000-07:00

This is how I started my day today....delicious and healthy! No workout for me today though, it was my scheduled rest day....and boy, I needed it :)

Sunny Sunday~

2009-07-12T02:21:00.000-07:00

Hey there! It sure is a Sunny Sunday here in my neck of the woods.... yesterday, temps got up to over 115 degrees..whoa baby that's hot!

I hope you all are having a fantastic weekend!

My plan is going great. I worked 12 hours on Friday, but when I got home, I did the BC3 weight workout in. SR did the workout at her house in the morning, so I was on my own. I still pushed myself though. Eats were clean all day and I got in 100 oz of water.

Yesterday, Was a super busy day for me. My fridge went on the blink and stopped cooling. Busted our booties getting everything in coolers before food went bad. PT had it torn apart determined he was going to fix it without calling a repairman. Well, he thinks he found the problem and we have everything back together and waiting to see if it is working fine before putting the food back into the fridge. Luckily, we have an upright freezer that I put all the frozen food into, but it is a pain living out of coolers..blah!

Anyways, I got up first thing in the morning and did Burn it off cardio with SR...man that is a killer! Eats managed to be clean. Went to a used bookstore and got a few vegetarian and vegan cookbooks and also my very first raw cookbook to read (and try my hand at a few recipes).

Speaking of Raw cookbooks, you all have to check out this amazing Blog called "the fitnessista" Gina is having a raw cookbook giveaway...Living Raw Food by Sarma Melngailis that is out of this world! Check it out and get entered for your chance to win your SIGNED COPY! Here is the link to the post http://www.fitnessista.com/2009/07/gorgeous-giveaway.html

Keep it clean!
~Linda

Thuper Thursday

2009-07-09T09:29:00.000-07:00

Hey hey! How's it going?

Here is a recap from yesterday...

I worked a 12 hour grueling running my arse off shift yesterday. Got home at 8pm, popped a couple slices of delectible ezekiel sprouted raisin bread into the toaster then topped each slice with 1/2 TBL of TJ's crunchy raw almond butter (love that stuff!). Washed it down with a 25 oz bottle of water while sitting with my feel propped up...I was dead beat tired!

SR was here 1/2 hour later...and we headed upstairs and cranked out BC2...working mostly back, tris, and bis. Along with a gazillion squats and lunges..lol I tell you, I had to force myself to do the workout, I wanted so badly just to plop down on the sofa. But I did it and felt mighty empowered afterward.

After the workout, I downed 1 scoop of whey protein powder mixed with water and 1/4 banana thrown...straight to the muscle it went..ahh ;) Then I hit the shower, got into my comfies and played with Einstein and Mia (my tft) for about 1/2 hour. Then hit the hay. I swear, I was asleep before my head hit the pillow..lol And I got in 10 hours....that was 10 hours of pure unadulterated "Skinny Sleep"....heck yea!

My eats were super clean yesterday. Green shake first thing in the morning..consisting of..protein powder, ice, chocolate unsweetened almond milk, blueberries,and wheat germ. Then a couple hours later had a bowl of old fashioned oats with blackberries, raisins, and bee pollen. I also had 4 hard boiled egg whites with 1 yolk (the rest went in the trash).

Meal number 3 was a huge spinach salad with grilled chicken, tons of fresh veggies, a couple healthy slices of avacado and topped with 1 slice of toasted ezekiel bread cut into cubes...faux Croutons! Meal 4 was 1/2 cup non fat Cottage Cheese and a fresh peach. Meals 5 and 6 I described above..pre and post workout meals. Yummy eats!

I also drank about 100 oz of water the whole day.

So, was a good, but tireing day! Now I'm off to read all your posts from yesterday and see what mischief or not you got into.. :)

Keep it clean!
~Linda

Toodilly Tuesday

2009-07-07T17:35:00.001-07:00

Hello! Got the day off work today, so just made it a lazy dazy day.

I did get 20 minute HIIT done on my treadmill this morning. But other then that, didn't do much of nothing except watch MJ's memorial on TV and make my Parrot Einstein up a 6 week batch of his Bean/rice/veggie mash. He's my buddy. 2 year old Eclectus...such a love bug and a clown. Love him to pieces! Here is the handsome devil himself..oh lookie, he matches my background color...cool!

Eats today were squeaky clean. Had a green smoothie this morning after my workout. Ice, chocolate almond milk, whey protein powder, blueberries, couple handfulls of spinach, TBL of ground golden flax seeds and a TBL of wheat germ....turned out a not so green color, but tasted great. Had that green and purple mixed up color going on....yea, that would be brown...haha!

Mid morning meal consisted of 4 pickled hard boiled egg whites...ah, don't knock it till you try it :D, and a bowl of oats. I actually made the oats on the stovetop. I usually just nuke them but wanted to try something different. I also threw in a TBL of raisins while they were cooking. Then poured into my bowl, added a sliced banana, couple tsp of bee pollen and topped it off with a dollop of crunchy AB. It was lip smakin good!

Lunch was a salad. Baby spinach, diced grilled chicken, sliced cucs, red and green peppers, green onions a few raw walnuts and a couple slices of Avacado then sprinkled with EVOO balsamic dressing and I had a couple of organic brown rice cakes on the side.

Afternoon snack.....I had a couple string cheeses and a granny smith apple.

Just finished dinner.....Turkey black bean burger, baked sweet tater, and steamed broc....I'm stuffed.

For my snack tonight, I'll have some non fat cottage cheese and some sliced strawberries.

Didn't take one food picture today ;/.......it really was a lazy, dazy day ;D Hope you all had great days today too!

Ps.. I still haven't made the roasted veggies like I was going to today...ugg, forgot!

Keep it clean!
~Linda

Blueberry heaven

2009-07-06T18:38:00.000-07:00

Snapped a pic of my blueberry heaven breaky this morning. TJ's greek yogurt topped off with a load of fresh blueberries and just a drizzle of agave.

Monday madness!!

2009-07-06T11:18:00.000-07:00

Hey guys! Hope you all are having a great Monday. The hubs has today off, so today feels like a Sunday to me with him being home :D

You all have to check out Angie's blog....http://angiesappetite.wordpress.com/2009/07/04/happy-4th-of-july-trader-joes-giveaway/#commentsshe is having an awesome trader joe's giveaway...just follow the link ;) but hurry, it ends tonight!

So...today SR was here bright and early at 7 am and we hit the iron. We both pumped it out!! Feeling so great and way stronger then the first week. We've both come a long way since starting the program.

After the workout I made a delicious green protein shake. Then a couple hours later, had some TJ's greek yogurt with blueberries and agave for my morning snack. It was so cold and refreshing. I'm so hungry today. I'm finding that I am always so much hungrier on my weight lifting days. Do you find that?

Have a great Monday and keep it clean!
~Linda

End of a great weekend

2009-07-05T17:46:00.000-07:00

Hey there!

I can't believe that the weekend is over. PT has tomorrow off work, so it will continue for my household one more day. Always nice to have Mondays off yipee!

Well, I had a wonderful day yesterday and hope you all did as well. We spent the day in Tucson. The KIIM fest show was a lot of fun. PT's Brother from Nashville is the drummer for the headliner act they had that day. Whenever he is in Arizona, we always head out to see him. They put on a realy nice Fireworks display after the show. We were planning on staying over and driving home this morning, but we decided to just make the drive last night. We got home around 2 am. We live about 2 hours from Tucson. So not bad. I was bad and fell asleep on the way home, leaving PT all alone... ;( I really tried hard to stay awake! Really!

I took yesterday off as my rest day from working out. Had my Green protein smoothie for my breaky and then right before we left, I made a meal consisting of cottage cheese, a diced fresh peach and a dollop of TJ's raw crunchy unsalted AB. It was delish.....

Took a cooler with us and packed some apples, peaches and AB to have as snack while at the park during the day. I also drank lots of water. It was so hot and muggy yesterday. We did have dinner out....I had a large green salad with grilled chicken...no carb and iced tea. So all in all, my eats for the day were pretty clean.

Today was cardio day for me. I did Burn it off early this afternoon. I usually like to workout first thing in the morning, but was just too tired and wanted to have a nice quiet restful morning. This is what I had for breaky this morning...Non fat cottage cheese, banana with AB and a squirt of Agave..yummy with a capital Y!!

Me and SR went to the farmer's market today. I loaded up with a ton of fresh fruits and veggies. Got a bunch of Broccoli..gonna try to make Trilby drew's Roasted veggies tomorrow..can't wait to try them....check out her recipe for making roasted veggies...http://trilbydrew.blogspot.com/2009/07/miso-dressing-and-oven-roasted-veggies.htmlMmm, I know they are gonna be delish!

This week will be the last week of the burn series then I'll start the push series....whoo hoo, I'm excited!

Bright and early BC1 weight lifting tomorrow with SR!

Until next time,

Keep it clean!

~Linda

TGIF!

2009-07-03T15:19:00.000-07:00

Hey all! Most of you probably have a nice long holiday weekend off starting today. Hope you all have great ones. What fun do you have planned?

SR came over early this morning and we got our workout in. We did BC3. Whew, to me that one is the most difficult and challenging of the 3 in the Burn series. But I made it through without stopping. My shoulders were on "fiya"...lol Gonna be sore tomorrow.

After working out, I made my green protein shake, drank that then hopped in the shower to get ready for the day. Me and SR picked up our Moms to go to Trader joes and then out for lunch. Had to get another container of TJ's delicious Mediterranean Hummus. I am in love with that hummus! I also got a bag of blue chips to try. Never have tried them, so tonight's the night....lol. Oh and I got some nanners and a really beautiful Basil plant. This thing is huge and it was only $2.99...cheap! I am gonna make some marinara sauce Sunday and that fresh basil is gonna taste so good in it. Then we stopped to get some lunch. I got the spinach fruit plate with sliced grilled chicken. It was very fresh and good. Strawberries, pineapple, grapes, and walnuts....yum.

We are going to our neighbor's/Friend's house tonight for a BBQ swim party. We are very close to many of our neighbors and get together with them often. I am making a grilled corn salad with goat cheese. It is so delicious and healthy.

Tomorrow we are heading to Tucson for the KIM Country fest and fireworks show. Wont be back till Sunday afternoon.

I hope you all have a fantastic and safe weekend!

Keep it clean!
~Linda

Check this out!

2009-07-02T15:33:00.000-07:00

Hey all! I wanted to be sure to tell you about another awesome blog! Go check out THE CONFESSIONS OF A SAHM: Not Your Typical Baby Shower & 100th Post Giveaway!!!#links to enter in Justine's 100th post giveaway!

2009-07-02T15:09:00.000-07:00

Confession of the day: I have always had a weakness for M&Ms. If they are any in the house, I will search for them like they are calling my name. So I'll have my hubby PT hide them so I will not eat any...haha!

A day in the life

2009-07-02T12:49:00.000-07:00

Hey there!

Today is a great day isn't it? I had SR call me early this morning so that we could get in a super early workout. Got up, slipped into my workout attire, ran downstairs and drank 1/2 cup of coffee sweetened with just a touch of agave nectar, grabbed my water bottle and headed upstairs to push play to Burn intervals.

45 minutes of intense, heart rate blasting, interval cardio filled with endurance moves using light weights with tons of reps done in between the interval's. Wow, what a workout. We both were a red faced sweaty mess when we finished. But we finished! And boy did it feel great to get that blood pumping early in the morning. Didn't do the ab workout because we did that after Monday's burn circuit workout.

I waited about 35 minutes after the workout before fueling up with meal number 1. Can you guess what it was? Yup, another green smoothie. Delish! I'm actually starting to crave those bad boys. Ice, unsweetened almond milk, protein powder, banana, wheat germ, ground flax seeds, big ole handfuls of spinach and a tiny squirt of agave. Meal fit for a queen!

Meal number 2 was Non fat cottage cheese with fresh blueberries. I just love CC, just wish it didn't have so much sodium in it. Meal number 3 was yummy yummy in my tummy..Ezekiel sprouted wrap stuffed with marinated grilled chicken strips, diced cucumbers, slices of bell pepper, big handful of baby spinach, couple slices of juicy sweet mango, and a dollop of plain greek yogurt. Here are a couple pictures of it in all it's goodness.....

Meal 4 will be greek yogurt with vanilla protein powder and I'm still not sure what dinner has in store for me yet...have to think on it a bit more.

Last night I grilled up some delicious 99% fat free Turkey black bean burgers for dinner. They were so good and yummy. Popped them onto an ezekiel hamburger bun, top with juicy slices of fresh tomato, slice of sweet onion, a dollop of non fat greek yogurt and a little sugar free ketchup....Mmm,Mmm good! Even PT liked it and he is a big red meat eater.

I swear, I am having so much fun eating this way, and I can honestly say I am enjoying the journey and I'm embracing it as it comes.

Keep it clean!
~Linda

Feeling great!

2009-07-01T10:15:00.000-07:00

Hey guys!

It's July already! Whoa, hard to believe!

I have been doing great on my clean eating plan and with following the Chalean workout program. I haven't had a headache in a week and I am no longer getting heart burn indigestion like I used to get from eating crap. I'm waking up with a clear head, and a bounce in my step. I know that sounds dorky, but it's TRUE! :D

I am in LOVE with Chalene's Johnson's new workout program Chalean extreme! I am in the third week of the Burn phase and have only missed two workouts. I had a family crisis happen Friday night and that kinda blew if out of the water for the weekend and I missed my workouts. But I did manage to stick to my eating plan.

I'm still getting DOMS from all my workouts. That is my goal...to have at least one muscle group super sore...kinda judging my effort that way...lol I have been upping the amount of weight I'm lifting in most of the exercises. I can already tell I'm getting stronger. Come on muscles.....get to burning off this FAT! LOL!

My abs are SO sore from Monday's workout(and my posterior delts, pecs, and the ole gluts..haha) I did the Burn circuit 1 and then did the extreme ab workout right afterward and whoa, my abs are killing me from my ribcage all the way down. That is a powerful ab workout and it works the whole area obliques and all.

My eats are still right on track. I love this way of eating. That was my problem when ever I lost weight before...I wasn't doing a plan that I could stick to for a lifetime, and when I got the weight off, I'd slowly but surely go back to my old was and BAM, I would gain it back. Not this time. This is the last time for me, I can see myself eating this way forever I'm in love with the foods I have been lovingly feeding my body.

I've been seeing all these yummy looking green smoothies going on around here, so for the past two days, I have been trying my hand at making my protein smoothies a little more interesting and more healthy....and a lot more beautiful! Here is a picture of yesterday's post workout smoothie....it was the best ever! In my blender went..... 1 cup of ice, 1 cup of unsweetened original almond milk, 1 scoop of whey protein powder (26 gms protein), 1/2 of a large banana, 1 Tbs ground golden flax seeds, 1 Tbsp Wheat germ, a little squirt of agave nectar, and a couple big handfuls of baby spinach. So, so good and yummy! It even matched my placemats...ha!

I made very lean ground turkey Italian sausages the other night for dinner for the family. Didn't tell them that they were turkey..lol Grilled up some sweet onions and green peppers with evoo and a little ground sea salt and pepper and put it all in an Ezekiel pita....squirted a little mustard on top and Wow was that good. Family couldn't believe that it was turkey sausage and sprouted pita bread when I revealed my little secret to them. Even my Son, who is like the pickiest eater ever loved it!

I'm gonna be doing some cooking today, maybe try a new recipe.
You all have a fabulous day!

Until next time,
Keep it clean!
~Linda

My food treasures from Trader Joes

2009-06-25T19:33:00.000-07:00

I went to Tradder Joes today. I enjoy that store so much, I could spend hours scouring the isles, reading labels, looking at all the yummy good for you foods. I came home with a couple bags full of treasures. Here are some pics of my finds.....

Ezekiel Bread! If you all have not tried this bread, you've got to try it. It is so delicious. Made from 100% sprouted whole grains. No flour what-so-ever! Low low glycemic index! Yum! I got a loaf of the Ezekiel 4:9 and also a loaf of the 4:9 cinnamon raisin (which I haven't tried yet, but will tomorrow morning with my egg whites..can't wait!)

Ezekiel also has tortilla wraps....so I had to get a package!

Got a couple tubs of Trader Joe brand Greek Yogurt. Can't wait to try this brand and see how it compares to Fage brand. It was about 1/2 the price so I'm anxious to see how I like it.

Mmmm, Mediterranean Hummus. This stuff is "to die for" absolutely amazing! Spread this baby on the Ezekiel sprouted tortilla wrap, top with sliced grilled marinated chicken, sweet peppers, onions, tomatoes, baby spinach...roll up and voila...nutritious, and amazing tasting!

Jar of Trader Joes Raw, Crunchy, Unsalted Almond Butter. I've only tried the creamy so I thought I'd see how the crunchy tickles my tastebuds!

I've been reading about Puffin cereal goodness all around the foodie blogs, so when I saw that TJ's had them, I had to grab me a box of the cinnamon. High fiber, low fat, wheat free. I think this will make a great mix in for the greek yogurt or some non fat Cottage cheese, or with unsweetened vanilla Almond milk...you think?

I have only tried the Amber Agave nectar so far (and I love it), so thought I'd give the blue agave a try. Also grabbed a couple cans of organic garbanzo and black beans.

I picked up a bag of Unsweetened, unsulfured dried Lychees while there, um, not so sure about these guys, maybe they will grow on me? LOL!

Last item in my food treasure finds is Trader Joe brand 72% Dark chocolate bars. Yummy! I will only allow myself to have a few squares on my laxed days.

So, that is what was in my two goodie bags from today's shopping expedition. Hope you see something that tickles your fancy and you want to try.

Until next time...

Keep it clean,
~Linda

My Clean Eat Meals

2009-06-25T11:48:00.001-07:00

Hi there!

Wow, can't believe week two is half over already. I've been good. Eats are clean and I've not missed a workout since starting 6/15/09. I wanted to post a sample of my daily meals to give you an idea of what I have been eating.

I work out first thing in the morning on an empty stomach very soon after rising and after downing 16 oz of water

If it is a cardio day, I wait from 1/2 to 1 hour after working out before taking in my first meal of the day. If it is a weight lifting day, I have meal 1 as soon as I finish the workout.

So here is a sample of what I have eaten for week 1

**NOTE**
Before meal 1, 3, and 5..... I take a shot of Organic ACV (Apple Cider Vinegar) and freshly squeezed LJ (Lemon Juice) with about 1/2 tsp of the zest. The ACV must include the "Mother" and be unpasturized and unfiltered, or it's garbage. Also, use juice and zest from fresh organic lemons only....no bottled lemon juice. I'll post some of the benefits of taking acv and lj shots in a different blog. I have my own lemon tree in my backyard, so no pesticides or sprays are ever used. Oh yea, and make sure to rinse your mouth out really well after downing these shots, to protect your teeth enamel.

Meal 1: Protein shake.... 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk, 1/2 cup water, 1 cup ice, 1 scoop of whey protein powder, 1 TBl ground golden flax seeds, 1/2 cup of fruit of choice. This counts as a complete meal with 1 serving of protein and 1 serving of complex carbs in the form of the fruit. After drinking the shake, I start drinking my water. I aim to get in between 100 oz to 1 gallon of pure fresh water each day.

Meal 2: Oatmeal...1/4 cup of cooked steel cut oats and 1/4 cup of cooked old fashioned oats both cooked with water then combined and then topped with 1 tsp of fresh Bee Pollen granules, 1 TBL wheat germ, and 1/2 cup of blueberries. Eggs... 4 egg whites. I usually just have hard boiled egg whites (throwing the yolks away) cause it's so much easier. But sometimes, I'll make an egg white omelet using the yolk from one of the eggs and add in sweet onions and green and red bell peppers. Again, this is a complete balanced meal containing complex carbs from the oats and fruit and lean protein from the egg whites.

Meal 3: 4 oz Grilled marinated skinless boneless chicken breast, 1/2 cup steamed brown rice with tomatoes, and a baby spinach, red onion, red and green bell peppers with homeade dressing of balsamic vinegar, 2 TBL extra virgin olive oil and sweetened with a touch of agave nectar.

Meal 4: Sweet potato/cottage cheese bowl.... Take 1/2 cup Non fat cottage cheese and put in bowl making a well in the middle. Take 1/2 of a cold baked sweet potato and place in center of cottage cheese. Top with about 1 TBL of unsweetened raisins and drizzle a little agave nectar over top. This is amazing!! Yummola!! Completely clean balanced meal here.....sweet potato and raisins are complex carbs and cottage cheese is a lean protein.

Here is this yummilicious meal....

Meal 5: 4 oz Ground Turkey burger ( ground white turkey breast, 1/8 cup smooshed black beans, grated onion and green bell pepper, sea salt and fresh ground black pepper) on 1 Ezekiel bun topped with slice of tomato, red onion and cucumber pickles, 1 cup of steamed culiflower and broccoli and a tsp of raw sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds.

I usually have a cup of hot herbal tea after meal 5 to relax me and it also helps fight those after dinner sweet cravings that I usually get about this time of the day.

Meal 6: 1/2 cup of Non fat plain yogurt or greek yogurt topped with 1/2 cup fresh berries

Until next time...

Keep it clean!

~Linda

No rest for the weary!

2009-06-20T07:13:00.000-07:00

Ok, I didn't end up working today, so I'll get my last workout in for the week in just a few minutes. Today, it's Burn it off...a 30+ minute cardio workout. Still intense and very challenging, but much easier then Burn intervals. Some of that may be due to it being about 15 minutes shorter....that just could have a tad bit to do with it...lol Then after Burn it off there is a stretching and yoga type workout called Recharge that is to be done after Burn it off.

I'm off to PP (push play)!

Keep it clean!
~Linda

TGIF!

2009-06-19T16:11:00.000-07:00

Hey there! How are you all doing? I'm doing great. Been a great first week on my journey to get fit!

Wow, this week just flew by...where does time go so fast to? Here is a little update on how this week is going. I know I said I'd be back Monday..sorry bout that...oops!

SR loves these workouts. I think she is surprised at just how intense a home DVD workout series can be. She is excited to see her results after the 90 days!

Eating has been super clean all week. I'm eating 5-6 meals per day, each consisting of a complex carb and a lean protein. I am making sure to include a fresh veggie with 2 of my meals each day and also a couple fruits as part of my carb counts. Also making sure to include some healthy fats in my diet every day. I am really enjoying my meals. I've give a little list on what my meals have consisted of this first week in another blog.

Monday Day 1 of 90! We started the 4 week long Burn Phase in the Chalean Extreme program. In each Weight lifting session in the burn series, you do combination moves...working both the upper and lower body at the same time. Wow, talk about extreme! You need to lift heavy so that you can fail the muscle by the time you get to the 10-12th rep.

Monday my friend SR was here bright and early and we did burn circuit one (BC1)....the first workout in Chalene's burn series. Working on lunges, squats, for the lower body and at the same time, working posterior delts, and chest for the upper body. I was really feeling the burn by the time I went to bed that evening. So was SR.

Tuesday, is a scheduled rest day from exercise for Chalean's program, but I went ahead and did a 20 minute HIIT cardio session on my recumbent bike first thing in the morning on an empty stomach...waited one hour after working out then ate clean meal 1. I love working out first thing in the morning. It just sets my mood on high for the day. It really is a mood enhancer big time.

Wednesday SR and I did our workout later in the afternoon cause she has to work super early on Wednesdays and since I wasn't working that day, I waited for her so that we could do it together. It really is so much fun having a workout partner. We high five each other after each completed set and really push each other to do our best and dig down for just a little more.
Anyways, Wednesday was Burn circuit 2 (BC2) the second weight training session in the burn series. Very tough one for sure. But we got through it and felt great afterward. This circuit works the lower body and also the biceps, triceps, and back for the upper body. Wow, this one was tougher then BC1 in my opinion.

I always have a whey protein shake as soon as I finish weight training. This day I had a yummy one. I took 1 scoop (24gms Protein) banana nut bread protein powder, 1 cup ice, 1 cup water, 1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk, 1/2 banana, a handful of blueberries, 1 TBL of ground golden flax seed......delish! It's like I can just feel my muscles thanking me and absorbing all that protein. Plus it is so cool and refreshing on these hot days.

So, Thursday was the first two cardio sessions we will do this week. The workout is called Burn intervals. It is filled with 45 minutes of intense intervals to really get and keep your heart rate nice and high..burning a ton of calories during and after the workout. It's all I could do to finish it. Funny thing happened that day. Well, not actually funny...but it wasn't funny at the time, I felt like a dingbat..lol, but it is now that I think about it. Ok, I live in Arizona, and it is getting to be very warm now that we are well into June. I live in a two story house and my home gym is on the second floor and it can get a little warm upstairs during the afternoon when the sun is on the back side of the house. Anyways, when we walked into the room, it felt a little on the warm side so I went to the thermostat to turn up the air a bit so that the room would cool down a bit. Away we went....working our pattooties off. Sweating bullets and actually having to push pause to re-group and cool down just a tad before continuing. I was so hot and sweaty that I became dizzy a bit and felt a little nauseated. So, we finished BARELY..lol, and did the ab interval that follows that cardio session. So, later that day, my hubby PT got home from work and went upstairs to shower and change. Well, when he finished he came downstairs and first thing he asked me was if I was needing to borrow his glasses! LOL! He said that I had the heat just blasting upstairs! I about died! No wonder we were just dying....we thought it was cause we were working so hard..hahahahaha! I felt so silly. Don't ask me how that happened. But each day since, I have been going back and doing a double check after I lower the air conditioner before our workouts...sheesh! I felf like a total ditz!

Today..Friday was the last in the weight training Burn series. Called Burn circuit 3 or BC3. My favorite in the burn series. Working quads, hammies, calves, and shoulders. We both are so ready for a rest day. All my muscles are sore and tired. Looking forward to a total rest day.

If I don't end up working tomorrow, we'll do the second cardio session called Burn it off and then do a stretching Yoga type workout afterward called Recharge. If I do work, I'll call tomorrow my rest day and do the workout on Sunday morning. So, we'll see which it ends up being.

So, that is pretty much what will be repeated for the workouts the first 4 weeks. Then comes 4 weeks in the push phase.

Keep it clean!

~Linda

Tomorrow is a new day

2009-06-14T20:24:00.001-07:00

Hey all. Well, It's been a great weekend. Today, my friend SR and I went out and did some fun shopping. She is the one that is starting Chalean Extreme tomorrow. We have a date in my home gym with some iron tomorrow morning at 7am sharp...lol It's gonna be so cool to have a workout partner doing the same plan as I am doing. So cool!

First we went to a really neat health food store called The Good Apple. This place sells everything you could imagine. I could spend hours in that place. I bought some things that I was either out of or running low on. Short grain brown rice, Steel cut oats, Flax seed, Fresh Bee pollen, Wheat germ, Unsweetened Almond milk, Coconut water, Coconut oil, Ezekiel bread (will be the first I've tried this...can't wait!), and Raw almonds.

I saw that they had Chia seeds....I've been hearing about these little miracle seeds. I need to do some research on the different health benefits of chia seeds compared to flax seeds. The price difference is pretty big. Chia seeds are quite a bit more costly. So, need to find out if that cost difference will be worth it. They also have all different grinders with the different nuts to make your own fresh nut butters. I didn't have time today to grind some up, they were getting ready to close, but will go back this week and make up some almond butter.

Then we went to a couple different fitness supply stores for SR to get her some different sizes of free weights. She found a good deal for some adjustable weighted ones. I have what I need for now...I will be needing 25 lb and 30 lbs (for lower body work) withing the coming month I predict. Your strength increases fast doing Chalene's program.

Went to the farmers market to stock up on fresh fruits, veggies, and lots of different greens. Have fresh chicken to grill, ground white turkey breast for turkey burgers, and lots of hard boiled egg to have as my main lean protein choices this week. Brown rice, sweet potatoes, brown rice cakes, fresh fruits and veggies will serve as my complex carb choices. I need to make up a couple batches of Protein fruit bars to have as my afternoon snack. A Protein shake will make up another of my 5-6 meals I'll be eating each day. So, I'm all set with clean eats...just have to do some cooking and baking tomorrow then I'll be completely set for the coming week.

One of my goals this week is to get no less then 7 hours of uninterupted sleep each night. I've been really reading up on the effects that lack of sleep has on weight loss....it's a biggy....so that's gonna be priority.

I'll be back tomorrow to write about how SR likes the chalean workouts......I know she is gonna love them!

Keep it clean!

~Linda

Finding my path to fitness

2009-06-12T17:39:00.000-07:00

Hey there!

Finding my way to fitness....that's what i'm doing. I'ts been my goal for way too long. I think it's about time I get there. Yea, long overdue.

I was never overweight as a child or teenager...or as a young adult for that matter. After I had my second child, and life got cozy, things slowed down and little by little, year by year, the weight crept on.

For the past 10 years, I've tried every weight loss program (well, not EVERY weight loss program, but a lot of them!), every weight loss gadget, exercise doo-dad out there. Yea, I lost weight with some of them. But none of them was something I could do long term, and make it my life long regime. I Just haven't been able to find my "click". Haven't been able to find something that I could embrace as my new lifestyle.

Until now.

I picked up Tosca Reno's eat-clean diet book, read it, and instantly loved it. This is the type of eating that I can live with. Not a fad, not something that's radical or not healthy enough to do long term. Not something that was going to be impossible for me to want to do long term. But something that made total sense to me. Just pure, healthy clean eating. Yes!

Now, to find the perfect workout program.

I ordered the P90X program by Tony Horton....got it home, looked it over, pre-viewed a couple of the DVD's, and decided that it wasn't what I was looking for at this time. Not yet anyways.

I went on the Beach body website and scoured through the many programs they had available. I started seeing people talking about Chalene Johnson's new program called Chalean Extreme and what an amazing program it was and what fabulous results people were getting. So, of course I ordered it.

I started it June 1st and have been doing it for 12 days and I love it. It is the perfect combination of weight training and cardio. I can already tell I'm getting stronger just from what I've done so far. My good friend and neighbor Susan ordered the program when she saw how excited I was over it. So, I will start over with day 1 this coming Monday June 15th so that we will be on the same workout schedules and can do our workouts together. It's way more fun with a workout buddy don't you think?

Oh, and I've been eating clean for those 12 days too...except for a cheat day and a screw up day and half. Can't be doing that. But I love the way my body feels when I feed it clean foods. I love the energy level I am having. Makes me want to keep it up. Afterall, this is a lifetime change I'm making.

I'm trying not to think of this as a weight loss journey but a journey to health....weight loss will be an added side effect benefit. I read that somewhere..forget where...but I thought yea, that sounds good.

Ok, untill next time. I'm gonna get PT (my hubby) to watch a movie with me. But I'll be back to post some of my clean eats.

Keep it clean!

~Linda