A New Routine

We're almost completely back into our Planet Fitness groove. I've actually missed going to the gym, minus the people that don't wipe off their machines that is!

We've decided, since Brock starts Fire Academy TOMORROW!, to go to the gym twice during the week (Tuesday and Thursday) and then on Saturday and Sunday, so overall, four days a week. I'll be working out on my own or with Brock on the Wednesday morning, running/video followed by Kettlebells. That way he and I won't be completely exhausted during the week.

Last week I got quite poorly due to lack of sleep, so I really need to start heading to bed earlier and pacing myself. One big change is that Brock now has weekends off for the next eight months, so that will really help.

We return to Planet Fitness

I had really good intentions when we left Planet Fitness back in April. We swore we didn't need it anymore since the weather was great. How wrong we were!

We've both been so busy in the evenings, especially since I started my new job, which has slightly longer hours. We just haven't had time to run together, well at least I haven't either. I managed some early morning runs and some elliptical workouts and videos when I could, but I've just been so washed out with the new job I haven't made time for myself.

I'm finally getting used to the new hours... so we've decided to sign back up with Planet Fitness. They are reasonable in price and I did see good results during my time there. I suppose we didn't think things through before quitting. Unlike Brock, I don't have the luxury of a gym at my job, or the ability to go and run during the day. I have been waking up at 4.30 to work out, simply because I'd be too tired to do it in the evening. I will be getting up at the same time when we re-join Planet Fitness anyway. But at least now with Fire Academy starting we'll be on a very similar schedule, so no excuses!

Paris Vacation Tips

I'm a firm believer that there are two kinds of people: those who have been to Paris, and those who haven't. It's really hard to explain, but if you're one of the people who has been ,you know what I'm talking about. It truly is a place that must be visited before you die.

If you are thinking about travelling to France in the near future, I have a few tips that you may want to consider so that you don't appear to be as clueless, and waste as must time as I did when I was there.

Most importantly, pack shoes. Lots of them. You'll want to have 1 pair of nice dress shoes, 1 pair of good walking shoes, and another pair of very comfortable shoes. Trust me on this one. You will walk more in your stay in Paris than you have in the last month combined, easily. The streets and sidewalks are very hard, and the floors in the museums and old buildings are not exactly soft themselves. Buy everyone in your travelling party a pair of Dr. Scholl's inserts before you leave, they're not sold anywhere in Paris. I learned this the hard way, as my trip was almost ruined because I could barely walk near the end.

Use the Metro. Contrary to popular opinion, it's not a wasteland of thieves and gangsters. Instead, it is a highly efficient and quick way to get from one end of the city to another. You'll also get great entertainment, because buskers routinely get on the cars and play tunes or do little mini-shows. Just don't make eye contact with them. The Metro is best when you need to get to a destination further out in the town, such as Montmarte or the Catacombs. For all other trips inside the Arrondisments, you will want to walk. You'll get so much more out of the trip by going down side streets and back alleys. The best part of the city I saw was getting lost in the Montmarte/Pigalle section, and ending up in the places you won't see in the brochures. If you truly do get lost, a Metro station is always a block away, and you can find your way back eventually.

Skip the high priced restaurants. Never, ever go into any restaurant with a person who stands outside and herds people in. You will be greatly disappointed. Instead, attempt to eat at every crepe stand or corner falaffel and gyro shop you can find. I never found a bad stand, and I miss crepes every single day here in America. Jasmine is a fan of plain powdered sugar and lemon crepes. I will take the classic Nutella crepe every single time. Yum. Don't bother with the waffles they serve at the crepe shops though. It's just a waffle, nothing special.

In the same thoughts of food: take advantage of your hotel's breakfast, if they provide one. Food is very expensive here, along with everything else. If you stay in a hotel with a breakfast, you can load up on croissants and other things and skip a lunch to save some cash. We stayed at the Crown Plaza on Republique Square, and they severed anything you could ever think of for a breakfast spread. It was very impressive. I usually had 2 full plates of various items and stuck away a few bread items for later. It really is efficient, and extremely tasty also.

Latin Quarter is overrated. The only reason to visit, in my opinion, is the nightlife. Pop in a few bars and enjoy the live music, but avoid the alleyways with all the restaurants and packed out tourists. You'll do a lot of standing around, avoiding pushy restaurant herders, and guarding your personal belongings from the inevitable pickpockets that make a living from the area. There are so many other things to do that you won't miss it.

The same goes for the Catacombs. They're overrated. It's fun to go underground and walk around for a bit, but after seeing your 6 millionth skull and continuing to walk for a bunch of dark and dank miles with limestone dripping all over you, it will get old. Go for the novelty sake, if your travelling party is into it, but beware that when you exit the Catacombs you will be in a very different part of the city then where you entered. They do not tell you this when you go down, and it is a shock to try to find your way around when you come up. Take a minute to study the map after you re-emerge. Also, finding the entrance can be tricky. It's right in the middle of the roundabout near the Denfert Metro stop. We literally spent 90 minutes walking around the neighborhood looking for it.

Boat rides on the Seine are not overrated. I highly recommend them. They typically cost 9-12 euros (12-15 dollars) and last about 2 hours. You will see a different side of Paris, and get to enjoy all their beautiful bridges. We took the one at Pont Neuf bridge. When you get off the boat, go for a walk on the river's edge. It's easily one of the best and most romantic walks in the world. Do NOT do this at night. It gets very dark, and people live under those bridges in tents, doing presumably nasty things.

Museums are great, but you have to really love art to get the most out of them. Musee D'Orsay is massive and well-stocked, but if you're not a fan of modern art and sculptures it's probably best to just skip it. I wasn't too impressed by anything in there, honestly. The Louvre is also great, but it should be an all-day affair if you plan on getting in. I only had a couple hours to spare and I rushed through it. The line outside alone will be at least a 30 minute wait. I believe we stood in line for an hour. Admission is free on the first Sunday of every month, so if your trip falls on one of those days, take advantage of it because it is rather pricey to gain admittance regularly.

Bring a camera. We took over 1000 pictures, and I still think we should have gotten more. Everything within eyesight is historical, and just plain beautiful. You'll want a memento of everything.

Lastly, appreciate the French people and culture. They are not at all the rude, hateful, and unclean people that ignorants like to make them out to be. They are very fashionable, very accommodating, and extremely happy. I have never seen so many smiling and helpful cashiers and employees in my lifetime. I heard more "pardonne" and "s'il vous plaits" in 4 days of Paris than I have heard their translation in America in the last 3 months. Shopkeepers were extremely patient with me when I was trying to speak French, and when I was a bumbling idiot who couldn't make sense of what they were saying they gladly switched to English to help me out. In my whole trip I only met one rude Frenchman, and it was a businessman in the subway. Of course, if I was running late for work and some foreigner was standing in front of an open door on an already packed subway car trying to make up his mind to get on it or not, I would probably push them out of the way as well.

Enjoy your trip. You will remember it forever.

Healthy homemade pizza

Hello everybody!

Have you been experiencing a major craving for pizza, but you don't want to consume the thousands of calories and massive grams of fat that would be delivered to your door in less than 30 minutes, not to mention the 30-40 dollars including tip that you stand to lose?

Never fear, I have a great recipe that will make a very tasty pizza, and cost half the price of a delivery pizza. All the ingredients can be found at your local grocery store, and it takes less than 30 minutes from preparation to tabletop.

Ingredients:
Naan bread - I can get a package of two at Harris Teeter for $2.79. Always choose whole wheat. The garlic or tandoori flavors will make the pizza more flavorable, but it would be just fine it you get the plain whole wheat naan bread. Generally 1 bread = 1 person, so be sure to grab enough at the store to cover your family.

Hummus - this is a completely customizable base spread. I choose the sun dried Hummus from my local store, but the original recipe I started with called for a ricotta cheese and pesto mix. The ricotta is too creamy for me, and the pesto can be a bit overpowering if you put too much on. In my opinion, the hummus integrates perfectly with the other ingredients. I have also made it with no spread, only a brushing of olive oil and it came out very nicely.

Asparagus - Get a bunch of very fresh and medium thickness asparagus from your local grocer. Snap off the broad ends and set aside. This is also customizable. You can choose a lot of greens such as spinach, kale, I would even consider thinly sliced parsnip straws for this ingredient.

Ham - really good lunch meat does just fine for me. It is low-calorie, and protein-rich. In the past I have gone fancy and picked up prosciutto or other Italian meats, and it does make the pizza outstanding. Of course, it also makes it much, much more expensive. Sometimes I even have to feed my pepperoni fix and add them here instead of the ham. It's really up to personal preference.

Mozzarella cheese - Sargento makes some great and cheap finely chopped mozzarella that can be found at any store. I have used all kinds of cheeses such as fontina, provolone, Swiss, etc., but once again, it is personal preference and value-based. For me, the cheaper mozzarella is just perfect.

So now you have the basic ingredients. You can always add more, change it how you see fit. Some sun dried tomatoes, maybe some mushrooms would be excellent additions. Make sure you don't make it too thick on top or the naan bread base will not support the toppings.

-Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
-Place the naan bread smooth size down on a cookie sheet and brush with then hummus or whatever you choose to be your base sauce. Be sure not to make it too thick, you don't want to overpower the pizza or make it a gloopy mess. A light covering works just fine. If you're a big fan of cheese, you can choose to add a light covering of mozzarella to this base. I don't, and it works fine.
-Place the snapped asparagus into the base sauce, like you are making a mold. Continue to stack the asparagus across the pizza like you're making a checkerboard. Do this for all pizzas until you run out of asparagus and all pizzas are covered.
-Put the pizzas in the oven for approximately 10 minutes, or until you start to smell the asparagus roasting and you can see some browning on the naan bread.
-Pull it out of the oven and cover in the meat of your choice and then the mozzarella cheese until well covered. You can also add any herbs such as oregano, basil, thyme at this point.
-Put pizzas back into the oven for about 2-3 minutes until cheese is fully melted, then pull back
out and cut into any pattern you see fit and ENJOY!

Easy Take to Work Healthy Lunches: Part 1

It's hard to eat well when you're working full time. Most people go out to lunch, spending too much money and consuming too many calories and processed foods.You can easily buy food in advance, make your lunches at home, save money and feel better about yourself. Here's one of my regular lunches:

• Organic Applegate Herb Roasted Turkey Breast (or any of the other flavors they have).
• Trader Joe's Multi-grain sandwich round thins.
• Roasted Garlic Hummus (or any flavor you like).
• Raw Baby Spinach.
• French Green Lentils - pre-cooked from Trader Joe's.

Make two sandwiches with the hummus as a spread. Use one slice of turkey per sandwich and place some spinach on top to finish the sandwiches. Get a small tupperware and put about 3/4 cup of lentils in it.

A nice nutritious lunch for one! All of these items have a very good price at Trader Joe's - you'll find other chain stores will double the price of the Organic Turkey Breast.

For the rest of the day I'll take two other snacks, one mid morning and one mid afternoon. This usually consists of a raw almond and raw walnut mixture, around 3/4 cup, and a greek yogurt like Fage Total Greek Yogurt 2% or 0%.

Got my ass kicked today

Not literally, in case that was the only reason you tuned in, sorry for your disappointment.

I woke up early and hit the gym at about 5am. I do this from time to time, but normally I'm an afternoon lifter. Needed to get it out of the way early today because I'm moving and setting up utilities all day long, and we all know how time consuming that is.

So anyways, gym was pretty empty, and it looked like I was going to have a good session. Breezed through the first 6-7 stations, which are all Cybex machines like the picture on the right. Arms were starting to feel tight, and that's a good sign that the workout is being effective. A couple of meat heads came in and started using the bench press and squat stations for an eternity, so I decided to switch it up and do free weights for the rest of the morning, hit my pull-ups and abs, and call it a day.

Well, it suffices to say that I haven't touched free weights in quite some time. I think they are tedious, and boring, and don't do much for me than other weight stations do, so I typically avoid them for everything but curls. Today I got about 20 minutes into it and quickly noticed that I had rivulets of sweat flowing down my face and back, as if I never lifted before. About 5 minutes after that my shirt was completely soaked through, and the bench had standing water on it. Didn't feel exceptionally weak, but could definitely tell I was getting a max workout.

Finally, I finished all that up and spent about 5 minutes wiping everything down ,and then headed over to the pull up and dip bars. Normally, I can do 10 pull ups in a row and about 15 dips in a row in a set. I got up on this thing this morning and struggled to do 3 dips. WTF!!

My arms were completely dead. Triceps were so exhausted I could barely even hold my weight up on them, much less dip and pull myself back up. so I stopped for a minute to rest and thought pull ups may be a bit better, because they involved different muscles. Grabbed on to the bar and excruciatingly did 5 of them before I almost fell off the bar. By this time I'm water logged from sweat, physically exhausted, and thinking my body temperature was at least 106 degrees. For some reason I told myself "do 1 more set of 5 pull ups and then GTFO". If you don't know what GTFO means, ask your mom and dad. Or just google it.

Anyhow, I grabbed on to this bar, which seemed at least 4 feet higher than it was 2 minutes ago, and struggled to do 3 pull ups before gravity took over and pulled me to the ground, hard. Like, almost straight onto my ass and then the back of my head hard. i took that as a cue and promptly left them gym with my dignity intact.

Opened the door to the parking lot and lo and behold a frigging hurricane had popped up while I was in there. On top of that, I had parked about 100 feet farther away than normal for reasons unknown, so on top of my shirt being soaked through every piece of my clothing gets to be uniform. What a way to start the day. Hoping thing improve, but not looking likely.

Until next time!

Quickly gaining upper body muscle

I'm currently in the hiring process for both the local police and fire departments here, and their fitness requirements include a certain amount of timed pull ups and push ups. Since I have never been able to even do 1 pull up, I knew this was an area that I needed to start working on immediately, so I would be ready for the test in a couple months.

Now for a little back history: all throughout my life I have been weak in the upper body. Even when I was playing football and lifting weights constantly, my bench press max was never even close to my body weight. I could never figure out how to get stronger and keep progressing into higher weights. Since I started lifting again in the last 2 years, my bench press has risen, but still , nowhere near equaling my body weight. My biceps and triceps have grown, and become firmer, but the weight does not increase.

So anyways, at Wal-Mart I found a common pull-up bar for 19.99. It's one of those things that hangs on a door jamb, which you probably saw in some infomercial hosted by a wrestler or some other equivalent meat head. When I got home I put it in the doorway and promptly did 2 pull ups. I felt really weak while doing them, and didn't think my grip would hold. Thinking I needed to stay with it, I made a resolution to do at least 10 pull-ups a day, and also to do 100 push ups a day as well.

I saw results within the first week. Almost immediately, my bench press went up 10 pounds. I was able to do more on the incline press, and my curls were increased as well. The results didn't stop the next week: everything kept increasing. I'm simply amazed at the fact that all I needed to do to get stronger were simple pull ups and push ups. It never crossed my mind that these simple exercises would play such a pivotal role in muscle growth. I had always saw them as tedious calisthenics, which were slightly above useless, barring military punishment.

Now I am benching my body weight, and doing 10 pull ups in a row. I've upped my limits to 50 pull ups and 200 push ups a day and I'm getting so much stronger that I continuously amaze myself. I highly recommend fitting 100 daily push ups into your routine. When I first started out, I was doing sets of 20, at any time I had spare. It's really easy to do, and doesn't take any time at all. You will see results, and very quickly.

The Joys of Downsizing

Doesn't it just make you feel awesome to throw out half of your possessions? We're moving within the next month, so today I was tasked with cleaning out the closets and choosing what clothes I would be keeping and which I would be sending to goodwill.

I was ruthless. If it wasn't worn in the last 3 months, and I didn't anticipate wearing in the next month, it was going somewhere, but not to out next residence. The final tally: 8 over sized trash bags full of clothes, 2 large boxes full of DVDs, VCR cassettes and other useless junk that just took up space. The apartment is airier now, and I feel like it's a brand new place. It's just incredible how much of a change it makes.

The Goodwill pile:

I almost cried when I tossed three brand-new pairs of 48x30 jeans in this pile. At first because I can now wear 38 size jeans, and am so glad I'll never be that size again, and then again because they were freakin' brand new (never worn because they were a bit tight). That was 100-150 dollars wasted. Oh well. I found some clothes in the closet that I couldn't even remember buying or owning. Sayonara, fat clothes.

The trash pile:

If you think that's impressive: consider the fact that I haven't even touched my kitchen or the outside storage yet. I also have at least 5-6 large pieces of furniture to add to this collection. Guess moving won't be so bad this time around, after all.

Another Boring Rest Day

Ugh. Another rest day. Another very crucial day for my body to heal from all the pain and turmoil I've been putting it through. I get it, it's an important part of losing weight and gaining muscle.

So why do I feel like such a lazy bum? I really want to go running or play basketball. I am highly motivated to put my body in motion today. This is usually the case on my scheduled rest day, whereas on the days I have to work out I can be lethargic and unmotivated.

I suppose I can at least find something productive to do with my time off today. The closets and bathroom are begging for a spring cleaning because we are moving soon. I'll probably tackle that and then go through my clothes and donate all the stuff I don't wear anymore.

Resisting sitting on my ass and playing Call of Duty until Jasmine gets home will be a lesson in will power. I've not been able to resist it in the past.

Hell you know what, maybe I'll just go for a quick 2 mile run anyhow. I'm not that sore.

Looking for a Lower fat/Higher protein diet?

There's a very simple replacement for your evening dinner that will instantly eliminate countless grams of fat and boost your protein intake, which will also be very tasty and filling. I came upon it after having an epiphany caused by roasted Brussels sprouts.

What is this mystery diet you say? Well, the first and most important step is to eliminate potatoes from your diet, full stop. Mashed, fried, baked, roasted, all of them. Gone. Don't even stop at the potato section of the supermarket. In my house, the only potato we will eat is roasted sweet potatoes, and that is a rare occasion. Sweet potatoes are extremely high in antioxidants, it dwarfs the nutritional value of regular potatoes. One downside to sweet potatoes: extremely high glucemic value. Diabetics: this is a big no-no for you.

Ok, so you've eliminated the potatoes. Most of you are westerners, and we all know Americans, Irish, and the rest of us LOVE our potatoes. It's a travesty to even contemplate knocking them off our plates at dinnertime. So what do we replace them with?

The answer can be found in any common grocery store: brown grains. Barley, brown rice, and quinoa are some of the best grains you will find on the face of the planet. They all have extremely low glucemic values and they are packed with protein. Avoid white grains at all costs. They are nutritional garbage, and their glucemic value is through the roof. The best grains I have located are sold at Trader Joes for 3 bucks a packet. It is a blend of barley, rice, and spelt, and when cooked with chicken stock it tastes buttery and moist. Cook one cup of the grains with 3 cups of water mixed with one or two cubes of chicken stock, based on your taste preference. This goes extremely well with the next item on the new menu.

Eliminate all red meats. I know this will be hard. I love steaks too, being from the Midwest. It has to be done though. Cooking one chicken breast for dinner in place of a roast or steak will save you at least 20 grams of fat, 300 calories, and massive amounts of cholesterol. On top of the health benefits, chicken cooks faster, marinates faster, and goes with more sauces and side dishes than beef or pork.

Last step to close out the dinner is the best part, which is too often overlooked. Roasted vegetables are incredible. I have a variety of greens that I like to roast, but the best ones are Brussels sprouts and asparagus. I know, I know, if you're like I used to be, you're probably gagging at the thought of Brussels sprouts in any form. Trust me though, all you have to do is shake them in some olive oil and salt and roast them at 350 for about 35 minutes and they will come out very sweet and crunchy. The salt mixes with the sweetness of the veggie and creates an extremely tasty side dish. It completely changed my view of vegetables.

So if you're keeping score, the final rundown of this diet is one chicken breast, cooked in any form you like (I prefer grilled), half a cup of quinoa or barley/rice, and about 4 ounces of roasted vegetables. If you eat this meal for dinner only 3 times a week you will see notable changes in your health, stamina, and strength. Good luck exploring the multiple combinations of the ingredients, and fun ways to cook the chicken or other poultry. Most importantly, enjoy!

Run, Fat Boy, Run

Yes, I realize this is the name of a terrible movie. No, this is not a post about that movie. I apologize if you're a huge Simon Pegg fan, I'm just stating facts.

Last weekend was the Shamrock 8K, Half Marathon and Marathon festival. I had originally wanted to run the Half Marathon, because I was building my mileage up and thought I would ready to tackle a race after running the 8k in previous years. As the time kept creeping closer, I found a ton of reasons to chicken out such as not running enough over the winter to train, a mild case of plantar fascitis that creeps up now and again, being tired from work, and many more. So when the time came to sign up, I chose to run only the 8k and put the Half Marathon off until later this fall, because I'm sure that I'll have enough time in training between now and then to take a shot at it. (I know, it's ambitious thinking)

I was aiming for a finishing time of 45 minutes. This would make me average around 9 minutes a mile, which would be the fastest time I have ever run one mile, much less 5 in a row. Looking back, it was pretty outlandish to expect that, but I knew I would be running faster with the crowd of people around me, and that adrenaline in the front half of the race would push me to a great start. I was pretty much correct on this, as I jumped out to a big boost right off the starting gun. I was passing people right and left, running through gaps like an NFL running back and feeling like a racing superstar. About a half-mile in I started to get winded and the stitch in my side told me I was being a moron. At this point I slowed my pace down a couple steps and started to pace myself with the group to get my breathing right. I figured I was going to start killing my pace but when I got to the first mile marker and looked down at my watch to see I was running an 8 minute mile! This was incredible news, and made me think I could even afford to slow a little in the back half and still hit my goal.

Continuing on, I approached the 2 mile marker and still noticed I was averaging a 9 minute mile. Right on pace! Awesome news right? Well this is the part of the race where we essentially did a 180 and started running northbound on the boardwalk. Right into a 20 mph 40 degree wind. Needless to say, I did not account for the wind at my back in the original goal considerations.

It only took 2 blocks for me to hit a wall. I instantly felt about 20 lbs heavier and my feet began dragging. I was starting to get passed by 7 year old children who looked like they were jogging slow and just playing around, chasing each other. I just kept looking forward to markers in the distant horizon that I would be hitting to get this race over for once and for all. Very slowly the 15th street pier came into focus. It seemed like it took forever to finally get to it and then I could see the Neptune statue. Eventually the statue got bigger and bigger and I found my self on 27th street, turning to go back up Atlantic and circle around for the short backstretch to the finish line.

All the spectators were crowded along the boardwalk as I started the 6 block sprint to the finish. I had the wind to my back again so I was hoping to bring my time back up and finish at a respectable level. I hate running with people watching because things jiggle and bounce around, as you can tell is happening in the picture to the left, because I haven't burned off all my fat from my lazy days, but today I couldn't let that be a factor. I had looked at my watch when I turned into the backstretch and saw that I was just passing my original 45 minutes, so that was out but I was hoping to still get under 50 minutes so I could hit a 10 minute average, which is still the best 5 mile pace I've ever done. Eventually I hit the finish line to a crowd of cheers and hollering and stopped my watch for a new PR 49 minutes, 53 seconds. It's a pretty good feeling not only to know that you accomplished the run, but you set new records while doing so. Especially considering my last time when I ran the 8K was 65 minutes.I smashed that record.

I didn't stick around for the rest of the festivities, which included free beer from the sponsor (at 9am, right after running for an hour, ugh), Irish stew (see the beer part, ugh), and a couple other useless items. I just went to my car, drove home, and immediately crashed in my bed for a long nap because I had to work later that night. Overall, I'd have to say it was an awesome day.

All of these pictures of a fatty running on the boardwalk were taken near the finish line, where I was trying to push myself, so they aren't the most flattering pictures ever taken. I wish they'd take official pictures at the beginning of the race too. Oh well.

Things that piss me off in organized races:

• people who get in the first corral with 6 minute pacers and elite runners, and then walk, making the entire 15 thousand people entered have to pass them. Get a clue, people.
• spectators that shout out random encouraging words to me as I pass. I know, it's supposed to be a good thing, and I appreciate the effort, but please save it for the woman behind me who is holding her sides and huffing.
• idiots who throw their water cups on the ground at my feet when I pass the water station, thus soaking my feet. Happened 3 times in this race, and I was running as far to the side away from the tables as possible.
• people who run carrying large flags or other trailing/dragging props. I get it, it's a joke and fun for you. Some people are trying to run for real, and don't need your photo op tripping them or blinding them. Thanks.
• parking garages that bump up their prices for large events at the Oceanfront and charge you for a full 4 hours when you were there for 3, but somehow went over the limit because of the funny way the ticket read out. Complaing to parking authority is a lesson in futility, forget it. Just pay and move on. Organized crime right there.

Those are just the big ones.

Simon Pegg fans: I haven't even seen Run, Fat Boy, Run. So stop your bellyaching.

Why proper nutrition and sleep are so important!

I haven't treated myself very well in the past. I'm one of those people who loves to work and I put in 110% effort. I'm also my own worst critic and sometimes a little bit too much of a perfectionist! Ultimately this results in letting yourself go when you're constantly thinking of others and their overall perception of you.

How can this be appetizing now?

I'm glad I took a step back a couple of years ago and realized what I had done to myself. A former track star in my teens up to college, what had I done to my fitness levels? Why was I always so tired? As soon as we started our daily walks around Mount Trashmore I instantly began to feel better. We began implementing healthier foods into our diets slowly but surely, it was actually a great experience because we're definitely both foodies!

Those steps were fantastic and had great results, but they just weren't quite enough for me. There were other areas that I could work on to boost my energy levels. In addition to improving my diet I also started taking a great multi-vitamin daily. I realized I wasn't eating enough fish, because I hate it, so... MUCH, as a result I started taking fish oil. Then there's the fact that I'm stuck inside ALL DAY and don't get to see much daylight due to work, solution? Vitamin D with Calcium to help absorb it.

Then there was there sleep issue. I was going to sleep around midnight and sometimes getting up at 6am. During the weekends I slept even less, I decided it was time to take action and although I am making progress in this department I still believe I have a long way to go here.

All of these have really helped me get back to my old self and I've also started to walk about 3 miles at lunch time. We're still working out on a regular basis and recently I've started to do a lot more weights which I really think has helped boost some of my recent weightloss.

It's certainly a journey of discovering yourself and the needs that your body has to find what the right solution is for you. It's time consuming but I know in the end it will all be worth it. I already see and feel the results!

Why I love trail running

There's nothing quite like running between the trees and the tranquil waters of First Landing state park in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Views from First Landing

We make it a priority to get there at least once a week for hiking or running. Last summer we would run at least 8 miles every weekend there for our long run, in addition to our normal daily runs.

The only bad thing about trail running is that it spoils you completely, I hate running around neighborhoods now and dread the thought of cement or tarmac under my feet!

Regardless, we have our first race together coming up next weekend, The Yuengling Shamrock! Completely on hard cement and tarmac! I'm sure I'll survive though!

I love being in Virginia Beach in the Spring. The weather here is beautiful and the skies are always blue. The summer tends to get a little too hot for my personal liking but I'll take it for the green surroundings and beautiful waterways!

With summer just around the corner our Planet Fitness visits will become less and less and only for lifting purposes. It's way too nice to be stuck indoors. So get out there and enjoy life and everything that's around you!

Workplace Kitchen Frustrations

Before you leave the house this morning ask yourself the following questions:

• Is it really necessary to bring a sodium packed processed meal to work?
• Why do I need a frozen meal that's going to take 10 minutes to cook in the microwave?
• Do I really need to grab fast-food? 
• Why don't I have any healthy alternatives like leftovers or whole grain sandwiches I can bring from home?
• How can I save money?

Think about this. You work with a woman who moans daily about how EXPENSIVE everything is, yet she either brings a packaged frozen meal to work daily or goes out for fast-food.

Not only is she damaging her health , she's also failing to realize that buying everything pre-packaged isn't CHEAPER, it's just more CONVENIENT.

A nice assortment of vegetables weekly would actually save her A LOT of money on groceries. Packaging leftovers from the night before is no hard task and they take about 1:30 seconds to heat up PLUS you know exactly what went into that meal. Making a packed lunch for your children using wholegrain breads and including healthy snack alternatives isn't hard either.

To top it off you have people like this wondering why everything is so expensive, well duh I wonder why? If you're complaining about something so loudly and vocally and you're determined to do nothing to resolve it, keep your mind open to suggestions for improvement and words of common sense, you most certainly need it.

Trying Out New Things

We decided to purchase some coconut milk at the store yesterday. It tastes a bit funny but I think I'll just use it as I do with almond milk - with cereal.

The milk is very nutritious but high in fat content - good fats though. Brock also purchased some coconut water earlier today which I can't wait to try out when I get home. The water is supposed to be a good sports recovery drink and is high in potassium (I hate bananas) and magnesium.

In addition, to help battle the winter blues I've been taking a vitamin D supplement (2000) once a day. I do notice a little difference so far and may up my intake thrice (that was for you Conan!) a week.

The goal is to improve my overall health with nutrition and supplementing what I'm missing out on as much as possible.

Healthy Eats: Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Red Onions

This is one of my favorite side dishes lately and I can't get enough of it! Healthy and easy to prepare, you can pair this up with just about anything and have a nice meal ready in about 40 minutes.

What you need:

• 2 large sweet potatoes
• 1 large red onion
• 2-3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• Cracked salt and pepper for seasoning.

What to do:

1.  Preheat your oven to 350°F.Grab a deep roasting tray and line, reflective side down, with baking foil. 
2.  While the oven is heating up peel your potatoes, cut them in half horizontally, then vertically and then cut those quarters in  half. You should have a nice batch of chunks!
3. Take your red onion and cut it into nice thick chunks.
4. Place the potatoes and onion in the roasting tray and drizzle with the olive oil. Crack salt and pepper to your liking over the top.
5. The oven should be ready now so put everything in there for 35-40 minutes. 

Serves 2 large portions or 4 small.

You can mix things up a bit and add garlic or any other flavor enhancers but honestly it's good enough as is!

People Observations at the Gym

When we're at the gym I mostly keep my head down and just workout. However, there's always one or two people that make an effort to be seen for attention and make a little too much noise.

1. Young 20 something girl with recent boob job. This girl obviously had some work done. She's proud of that work and constantly sticks out her chest as a result. After 5 reps of working out she sits on the bench and stares at herself in the mirror fixing her hair. She repeats this process at least 6 more times during her "workout".


2. Middle aged woman who likes to make extra noise! She doesn't care if you are fixing weights for your workout on that machine. She moves in and steals it from right in front of you.As you wait for the machine to free up she begins to huff and puff extra loudly and is eventually semi-screaming as she rows back and forth.

3. Young meatheads. These guys are there to lift primarily. Or so they'd like us to think! Sneaking peaks at the female gym members is their forte, often times making some of the women feel their staring and turn to look. Save it for the bar guys, most women are at the gym feeling hot, sweaty and gross and don't appreciate you checking them out!

4. The no resistance, no program cardio user. These people think they are getting a workout from a cardio machine at zero resistance and 3.5 mph. It's surprising how many of these people there are at our gym, I'm pretty sure no one showed them how to use any of the programs or increase the inclines.

5. The weight dropper. Planet Fitness has a great Lunk Alarm for this purpose, but there's some guys that just don't get it and continually drop their weights. Bend your knees and go down slowly with your weights to the floor. It's not that hard if you can pick it up in the first place right?


6. The overweight person that isn't even trying. Unfortunately a lot of the people we see that are overweight barely do anything at the gym. Walking for 15 minutes at 3 mph with zero incline isn't going to help you get anywhere. Solution? Save some money, put on a coat and sneakers and go outside and walk around your neighborhood. You're obviously not ready to use the gym to the fullest.

7. The person who doesn't know what a drawstring is. Sure it happens but please pull your pants back up! One time a guy went for a bout 5 minutes before a trainer was nice enough to pull his pants up for him - yes his butt was exposed and he wasn't wearing underwear. How can you not notice that? I don't even...

More stereotypes will be added as I discover them!

Well it's been a while...

Rest assured, we're still continuing our journey back to fitness! Although this winter has been extra cold we've continued to pursue our goals.

Unfortunately we're only able to run outside once or twice a week because it gets dark so quickly, we're doing our outdoor run at the weekend. We have joined Planet Fitness to get us through the winter and so far it's been a decent experience. There are times when that place is really full so you  have to pick a decent time to go. Be that later at night or 5 in the morning!

We are signed up for the Shamrock 8K in March. Most likely we'll freeze our butts off but it should be a lot of fun! We are also considering running our first half marathon in September of this year. At least we'll  have the spring and summer months to improve our fitness levels prior to.

Another good workout I've recently discovered is Zumba. It's a lot of fun even if you have extremely bad coordination, like me! I'd definitely recommend it as a way to mix up your workouts in the winter months. Going to the gym day after day and using the same machines over and over again is probably extremely boring and easier to give up on.

Keep up the hard work by throwing in new and exciting work outs to your routine!