I heart spaghetti squash

I fell in love with spaghetti squash the first time I had it. It's really simple to make, lasts for 10 days in your fridge once cooked, and substitutes any pasta or noodle fantastically :) Case in point is the "Pad Thai" that I made the other night. This is a really quick weeknight meal. Especially if you precook the squash and chicken. I always take the time to cook some protein up in the beginning of the week and use it for quick dinners so I'm not tempted to eat out. I also always have some frozen veggie steamers on hand. Frozen foods may get a bad rap, but frozen vegetables in particular are actually fresher than the veggies you get at the grocery store. Also because of the treatment required before freezing, they have lower traces of pesticides!

The other night when I got home from the gym I was really craving some thai food. So I looked through my pantry and fridge and made up this concoction. This pad thai inspired dish really hit the stop and satisfied my craving the healthy way. It had all the flavors that I enjoy about pad thai even though I didn't have all the ingredients I would normally use on hand. For the full recipe please visit the Flavor section of my page :)

Get in my belly!!!

the early bird gets the worm

June marks the beginning of a lot of things for me including summer happy hour, pool, beach, weddings, birthdays, and busy season for me at work. With all of that it becomes easier and easier to not have time for the gym. I either work late during the day or the summer heat gets to me on the weekends. Really it's just laziness and excused :p Last week was definitely and indicator of this. Although I managed to hit the gym a few times during the week, it was very minimal in comparison to my usual workout routine. But I didn't let that derail me because every day is a new day. Just because last week wasn't a good gym week for me doesn't mean this week can't be great. So I sat down and looked through my schedule to see when I could fit in gym time ... and I decided I'd being working out in the morning again. Working out in the morning is a little rough for me because it requires a lot more planning than just throwing gym clothes into a bag, but I just need to suck it up since that's the only reasonable time for me right now. So here is my Week 5 (although technically 6) workout. 

Today's early morning sweat session

Week 5

Exercise Plan

Since I don't usually have as much time to workout in the morning as I do in the evening, I decided to do less cardio, but focus on fat burning or HIIT cardio sessions. My goal is that if I have extra time in the day I'll hit the gym for an additional afternoon cardio session. And if I don't, then at least I got 30 minutes of cardio in that day.

Check out the new layout for my fitness page!

M: Rest
T: Back and 25 minutes StairMaster
W: Chest, Abs, and 30 minutes StairMaster
Th: Legs
F: Arms, Abs, and 30 minutes HIIT workout
S: Shoulders and Spin
S: Legs

Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new

More and more people are incorporating weight training into their normal routine, which is great. However most of them are also making some common mistakes. Here are some I see often and how to avoid them.

Skipping Warm-Up

You wouldn't start your run out with a full out sprint right? You'd normally take a little jog and loosen up beforehand... well the same goes with weight training. Before you pick up those dumbbells do some small movements with your own body weight or lighter weight. If you don't have too much time at the gym, try incorporating the warm up into the routine itself. Here is what I do...

• Legs: 5-10 minutes on a bike or walking
• Arms: curls and tri extensions with some light weight
• Chest: pushups

Sacrificing Form

Proper form is the most important factor in injury prevention. Make sure to watch videos on proper form or ask a trainer at your gym (they are more than happy to help for free). Bodybuilding.com has great instructional videos. Try mastering the proper form with your own body weight before adding more weight on. But some overall key tips:

• Stand up straight
• Look forward
• Stabilize your core
• Don't lock out.. keep a slight bend in your joints

More is not always better

We all have the tendency to do more reps, more weight, more sets ... but doing this too quickly could lead to really hurting yourself. After you have mastered your form slowly add more weight. Most of the time you want to aim for about 85% effort when weight training.

Monday Muffins

This weekend I decided to put some old bananas to good use. I usually make banana bread with my extra ripe bananas, but this time I wanted to make something a bit healthier with less sugar. Plus I wanted a quick snack that I could grab on the go.... enter these banana oatmeal raisin muffins. These muffins are a great mix of the goodness of banana bread and oatmeal raisin cookies. I have to be honest that these aren't cakelike but considering there is no flour in them, they aren't that dense and are super moist. If you want to bump up the protein in these, throw in a scoop of vanilla protein powder (unfortunately, I only have chocolate protein on hand). Check out this recipe and a few more under my flavors section.

What do you eat as a quick snack?

Nutrition: 1 muffin, 128 cals, 22g carbs, 3g fat, 4g protein

Week 4 is rough after a long weekend

It's always hard to go back to the gym after a holiday weekend but that is when you need it most... especially if your weekend involved lots of eating and drinking like mine. Just remember that it's okay to indulge a little during a vacation, but you shouldn't overdo it! Since most of us don't work out while we are out of town, it's important to watch what you eat. If you are going to cheat try to limit yourself to one cheat meal. Don't make the whole weekend a cheat or you'll end up feeling really gross when you finally get home.

Best part of MDW

It's been one month since I started lifting again and I must say that I am loving it. It feels great to build up weight again and see my muscles developing. How are you guys doing? Comment to let me know! I love all the feedback I get from FB and gchat, but it would be great to share with everyone else who reads. Also make sure to subscribe to my blog by hitting the follow button on the right!

Week 4

Exercise Plan

You'll notice that I do the same workout for about two weeks then I switch it up a bit. This is because I don't want my body to get too used to the same movements. I always try to keep it fresh! Visit my fitness page for this week's details.

M: Beach!
T: Off .. MDW recovery
W: Legs and Abs
Th: Back and Biceps, 45 - 60 min cardio
F: Chest and Tris, 45 - 60 min cardio
Sa: Legs
Su: Shoulders and abs, 45- 60 min cardio

Diet Plan

The hardest thing about summer is those happy hours just because it's nice outside. I know I just want to be outside and find a excuse. Instead of just going for a drink, try doing some outside activities with friends. Or if you really want to hit the rooftop for happy hour, alternate water between your drinks and try to limit yourself to two. There are a lot of empty calories in those cocktails and wouldn't you rather have some yummy food?

Remember to find me on myfitnesspal.com so see what I eat daily :)

Daily Caloric Intake: 1240, 3 meals and 2 snack a day
Protein: 93g
Fat: 34g
Carbs: 140g

Focus on the journey not the destination

Achieving and maintaining your goals is a constant journey. I've mentioned before that fitness is a lifestyle change and that is definitely true. However what's important is to listen to your body! Nine weeks ago I hit my goal weight and today I am no longer that weight. It happens... to be honest I wanted to focus on running and not worry about what I was eating. The downside of this is that I started falling back into some bad habits including my crazy sweet tooth. The upside is that I really didn't gain that much weight and overall am still close to where I want to be. I truly believe that it's good to give yourself a break every once in a while because doing the same thing every day can drive you crazy. My take away from the break is that eating all those sweets and carbs just made me feel gross, bloated, and unmotivated. I missed hitting the weights and how I felt with my clean diet. Now my motivation has come back and I'm ready to go! After all the weight loss I've already accomplished 6 lbs is nothing! Hope you guys join me on my journey :)


As a side note ... remember to subscribe or follow me. The buttons are right on this page :)

Hump day TACOS!

Tacos are one of my favorite foods and I love hosting a good Taco Night ... but these aren't always the best for your waist line .. so I've made some substitutes. Today for lunch I had my faux steak tacos at only 86 cals a taco. I call them faux because I made a few substitutes:

• Romain lettuce saves on the carbs tortillas have
• Greek yogurt instead of sour cream saves on the fat and adds extra protein
• Lean steak instead of ground beef cuts down on fat (plus you know what part of the cow it came from)
•  TJ's greek yogurt guac, but normal guac is still just fine :)
•  Chili lime hot sauce instead of taco seasoning saves on sodium

Just because you are watching what you eat doesn't mean your diet consists of chicken and steamed broccoli. It's important to be creative with your  food and still enjoy it! The nutritional value and recipe can be found on my Flavor page :)

Tacos make hump day better!

Bikini season starts this weekend! ... Week 3

Memorial day weekend is just around the corner .... so what does that mean? BIKINIS! This week it's time to step it up a bit to make sure everything starts looking good. You'll notice I added in some extra legs and abs in because lets be honest .. that's all anyone looks at when you're in a bathing suit (at least for us ladies). I also decided not to rest on Sunday and start my week off early!

As you progress make sure to keep adding more weight to your routine. The key is to keep on building that strength. My rule of thumb is that you sure start feeling it (that burn) around the 6-8 rep. If you feel it before you have too much weight on and if you don't feel it at all you need more weight. Good luck this week! Please post comments/questions!

Week 3

Exercise Plan

Visit my fitness page for this week's details.

Su: Legs and Abs
M: Chest and Tris, 45 - 60 min cardio
T: Back and Biceps, 45 - 60 min cardio
W: Legs again!
Th: Shoulders and abs, 45- 60 min cardio
F: 60-90 min cardio
Sa - M: enjoying the holiday :)

Diet Plan

As the summer is approaching, I'm going to reduce my carb intake a bit to get that flat stomach again. I love carbs too much to cut them from every meal .. and well you need them to do cardio and fuel you through the day. So my rule of thumb for the next few weeks is going to be no carbs after 6pm. Let's see how well I do at this :)

Daily Caloric Intake: 1100 (net), 3 meals and 1 snack a day
Protein: 82g
Fat: 30g
Carbs: 123g

Muscle memory ... Week 2

After my first week back in the gym, I realized how much I really missed lifting weights and the satisfaction I get from it. This week have been a bit crazy because I finally moved into my new place. It's been hard to fit in all my workouts so I modified my plan a bit. If you have time for all four days of strength training this week keep the same plan as Week 1, but make sure you increase your weight. Try bumping it up in 2.5 lb increments. If it feels to heavy only do your last set with the increased weight.

Week 2

Exercise Plan

Visit my fitness page for the details on my strength training.

M: Rest
T: Chest/Tris/Back, 60 min spin class
W: Leg day
T: Shoulders/Biceps/Abs, 45-60 min cardio
F: 45-60 min Cardio
Sa: Rest
Su: low activity (yoga, hiking, or rest)

Diet

This week I switched up my typically grocery shopping. I opted to start purchasing organic dairy, cage free eggs, grass fed meats, and organic fruits and veggies (if I eat the skin). Although this definitely increased my grocery bill, I'm curious to see if it changes how much water I retain and how I feel.

Daily Caloric Intake: 1150, 3 meals and 1 snack a day
Protein: 86g
Fat: 32g
Carbs: 129g

Feeling comfortable in the weight room

Let's be honest... going into the weight room of any gym can be scary. Especially when everyone in there is some meathead looking guy or you are the only girl. I used to always worry that I would look completely ridiculous while working out and that people would laugh at me. But I overcame that by doing the tips below. Hopefully they help you out!

1. Have a plan: The key to navigating the weight room without feeling lost is to have a plan before you get there. Which muscles will you be working on? Do you need a bench? It helps to take a walk around the weight room and familiarize yourself with the equipment. You don't want to be that person who wanders around aimlessly, does a set of something on a machine that is completely purposeless and then quickly runs back to those trusty cardio machines. So PLAN :) ... this should be easy because I'm giving you my plan each week. So just follow it.
2. Be familiar with the proper form. I always feel comfortable when I know what a move is supposed to look like. I really suggest looking at videos online. Bodybuilding.com has a ton of them for every move that you can possibly imagine.
3. Wear something that you feel confident in. Confidence is really important in the weight room. If you look confident, no one will bug you and what you wear really plays into this. Make sure your outfit is covering enough that you aren't going to feel self conscious in it and it fits well enough that you don't have to make frequent adjustments to it. But other than that wear whatever you like. I personally like to see the muscles I'm working out so I usually wear a tank. And on leg days I always wear looser fitting bottoms or shorts. 
4. Find a workout buddy. Walking into a weight room won't seem nearly as intimidating if you've got a friend with you because you'll have someone to talk to and rely on. A buddy helps hold you accountable because if you know your friend is meeting you at the gym it's much harder for you to find an excuse to cancel. Plus, your buddy can help spot any form issues or teach you new exercises.
5. Plan B: Tune everyone out. This is what I do because most of the time I don't have a buddy with me. So put those head phones on and jam out to something that makes you feel bad ass. This helps you focus on your work out and play less attention to everyone else. You'll notice that the majority of people in the weight room do this because well ... most people don't really care what you are doing in there and are focused on themselves. 

Making Happy Hour Healthy

Okay so let's be honest ... drinking is not the healthiest thing you can do, but after a long week sometimes you just need a drink. Luckily, there are ways to socialize and still stay relatively healthy. As you hit happy hour tonight and the bars later this weekend here are a few things to keep in mind... like alternative water between drinks, ordering lower calorie drinks, and ordering smart food choices.

Ordering Drinks

Reevaluate your favorite drinks. One of mine are margaritas! I always make sure to ask the bartender if they can just make it with lime juice and a splash of OJ instead of sour mix. Although it's not as sweet as the usual rita's you may be used to, you save a ton of calories. This version is only about 100 cals. Other low calorie drinks are vodka soda and light beer. Try a flavored vodka and add some fruit to make it not as plain.

Don't be afraid to ask. Not sure what's in the drink you are ordering? Ask the bartender. They are more than  happy to let you know and sub out ingredients to  make is skinny.

 

Ordering Food

Order munchies you can share.  My favorite go to appetizer at the bar is a hummus plate because it's filling, lower in calories, and chickpeas are a complex carb. What more could you want! Also ask if the bar will add some simple veggies to the platter like cucumber, tomatoes, and peppers. Another smart option is seafood items that are not fried... think shrimp cocktail, oysters, or fish tacos. But make sure to get any sauces on the side. This will save you more calories than you think. If you are craving something like a burger, consider sliders since they are portioned better. But if you much order that burger, opt for a side salad instead of french fries. 

It hurts to lift my arms ... Week 1

On April 28, I ran the inaugural Nike Women's Half Marathon in DC. I previously ran the Nike Half in San Fransisco but was really excited to have this race close to home. This was the first half marathon I had run in over a year because of an injury. So I decided to take time off from weight training. The focus really paid off and I got a PR! But now that the race is over it was time for me to get back to the gym.

Race to ring in my birthday!

When starting weight training, make sure to ease yourself into anything new to prevent injury. Starting this blog is timed perfectly for those of you thinking about starting up your own weight training routine as I'll chronicle the next twelve weeks of getting back into shape. I usually like to make a weekly plan for my workouts so that it's one less thing to think about ... but then again I like to plan everything! This post details this week's fitness and diet goals. It was a sore first week back, but hey that's a sign of a good workout right? Looking forward to the next 11 weeks :)

Not bad from just starting again...

 Week 1

 Exercise Plan

This week's plan focuses on slowing easing back into cardio and weights.  I targeting the fat burning heart rate for cardio and kept my weights at about 80% effort. Visit my fitness page for the details on my strength training.

M: Chest/Tris, 20 min stairmaster
T: Back/Biceps, 20 min stationary bike (12 mph)
W: Legs day (my favorite)
T: Rest
F: Shoulders/Abs, 45-60 min cardio
Sa: 45-60 min Cardio
Su: low activity (yoga, hiking, or rest)

Diet

For details on what I eat every day friend me on MyFitnessPal.com. I share my diary with my friends so they can see what I eat .. even when I cheat a bit :) You'll notice I eat eggs A LOT. They can get a little boring sometimes so I try to make them as fun as possible. Check out my recipe for my huevos rancheros inspired eggs. Also check out my new tip about whole wheat.

Daily Caloric Intake: 1260, 3 meals and 2 snacks a day
Protein: 95g
Fat: 35g
Carbs: 142g

Spicing up eggs

How many calories should I eat?

Thanks for the tremendous support thus far everyone. Please be sure to follow me! Some of the questions I got yesterday revolved around how I figured out the number of calories to eat. As we know caloric intake depends on many things: our gender, height, current weight, and physical activity. There are tons of ways of calculating your caloric intake but what I used was the Harris-Benedict equation, which happens to be the most popular. This involved a three step process.

What this means to you!

Before you dive into calculating your calories, let me just remind you that the Harris-Benedict equation or any equation that estimates your calorie needs is just that, an estimate. These are based on averages and will give you a good starting point, but you need to see how your body reacts and adjust accordingly. To loose 1-2 pound per week, it's usually recommended to subtract 500-1000 calories from your total caloric needs. You need to have a 3500-calorie weekly deficit to loose 1 pound of fat. But for some this may be too aggressive at first and cause you too loose sight of your long term goals. If you are currently weight training, doing HIIT cardio and eat a healthy diet, you may just want to start with a 250 calorie cut. Remember that this is a marathon not a sprint :)

Calculating your calories

Step 1: Calculate your lean body mass

To calculate your lean body mass, all you need to do is take your current weight minus your body fat. If you don't know your current body fat percentage, you can use this calculator. This will give you an approximate number. Also if you belong to a gym, the majority of them will measure you for free!
Lean Body Mass = weight - (BF%*weight)

Step 2: Calculate your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)

Just plug in your weight, height, and age below. The output will be the estimated caloric intake you need in order to maintain body weight. If you don't feel like working out this formula, you can get a pretty decent calculator here for women and a great one here for men.
For women:
English 
BMR = 655 + (4.35 x weight in pounds) + (4.7 x height in inches) - (4.7 x age in years)
Metric
BMR = 655 + (9.6 x weight in kilos) + (1.8 x height in cm) - (4.7 x age in years)
For men:
English
BMR = 66 + (6.23 x weight in pounds) + (12.7 x height in inches) - (6.8 x age in year)
Metric
BMR = 66 + (13.7 x weight in kilos) + (5 x height in cm) - (6.8 x age in years)

Step 3: Applying the Harris-Benedict Principle

This estimates how many calories you burn during your daily activities. To determine your daily caloric needs, multiply you BMR by your activity factor.

• Sedentary: Minimal movement, little to no excessive. Activity Factor = 1.2
• Light activity: Office work, plus light exercise 1-3 days/week. Activity Factor = 1.375
• Moderate activity: Light physical/manual labor during the day, plus moderate exercise 3-5 days/week. Activity Factor = 1.55
• Very Active: Light physical/manual labor during the day, plus hard exercise 5-6 days/week. Activity Factor = 1.725
• Extra Active: Active military, full time athlete, hard physical/manual labor job. Activity Factor = 1.9

Caloric Intake = BMR*Activity Factor

EXAMPLE

I'm sure all those equations have your head spinning ... so here is a quick example example where I just give you the output of the formulas. Let's take a 30 year old, 5'5" woman, who weighs 155 lbs, has 30% BF, and works in an office.

Lean body mass = 108.5lb
BMR =  1493.75
Activity Factor = 1.375
Caloric Needs =  2053.9

To loose weight you would subtract 500-1000 calories from this number, depending on the amount of weight you need to loose etc. So this woman would start my diet basics with 1500 calories.

Why now?

About two years ago, I was your average 25 year old. I went out to eat with my girlfriends (often), hit up happy hour several times a week, but still managed to go to the gym (occasionally) and run a few races a year (including several half marathons). Although I was never obese, I kept gaining weight. The weekend after my 25th birthday in Miami I stepped on my scale and it read 152 lbs... I was SHOCKED.

So I did what any crazy person would do and signed up for an Olympic Length triathlon. Although I wasn't a very good swimmer and didn't know how to ride a bike, I figured this would be the best way to start my new fitness lifestyle. During two-a-days, my body no longer craved the junk I used to eat... all it wanted was clean fuel. I slowly began to eat only lean proteins, healthy fats, and complex carbs. I didn't limit the amount of food I ate and was actually eating more than I had ever consumed in a day. No matter how much I ate, I was still loosing weight ... and then I had my AH HA moment. My diet was a bigger culprit than I thought.

My first Tri! (well almost, the swim was cancelled due to weather)

I started reading blogs and body building sites to see what I needed to do. I also started incorporating weight training into my normal workout routine and tracked my food on myfitnesspal.com. I tired to keep if fresh and slowly saw progress, but like everyone I hit a plateau. No matter what I did, I could not lose those stubborn 6 lbs. So I sought guidance from a certified trainer and nutritionist. He made some small tweaks to my diet that resulted in big changes. I kept at it and within 3 months I reached my goal. Now keep in mind that I slowly got here over 1.5 years.

To sum up this long story, it was my instagram picture below that got my friends, family, and strangers asking how I did it. After writing multiple emails and giving my friends advice, one of them gave me a bit of advice and convinced me to start a blog ... SO HERE IT IS! I'll be posting my different workout, recipes, and general guidance. Please be advised that I am not a personal trainer or nutritionist; this is also not a quick fix but a lifestyle; and I simply want to share my lifestyle with others in hopes that it will inspire and guide them to be healthier.

Dec 2013: Goal baby!!