Tone It Up 7 Day Slimdown Round 2

I completed the Tone It Up 7 Day Slimdown again last week. This was my second time doing the slimdown and this time seemed to be easier. Here are my tips for having a successful week.

1.  Make sure you have all the groceries you need for the week. Here is my grocery list from the first slimdown. 

2. Get gallons of water and I love LaCroix. This is sparkling naturally flavored water. I love the Peach Pear.

3. Change up the way you fix your meals. I say this because you will be eating the slimdown scramble a lot. In order to not get tired of it, this time I made them into quiche cups. They were delicious.  Also used my omelet maker.

4. Drink lots of water. It will keep everything flowing.

5. Keep a positive attitude.

6. Make your meals a presentation. You will feel better about what you are eating.

7. Plan, plan, plan. Do not get upset if something goes wrong. Just get immediately back on track.

8. Be prepared to be hungry. By the fifth day, I was ravenous but stuck with it.

9. Try to find others on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook to do the slimdown with you. It will change everything and keep you motivated. Follow me on instagram @okgetfit or twitter okgetfit

10. Do your workouts but if needed do light cardio and yoga. Do what your body tells you to do.

11. Take some time to just enjoy yourself. I had a great evening on the back porch with a candle and new book.

12. Be prepared to feel good and proud of yourself when you are done! I lost four pounds and really felt fantastic. My body felt lighter and overall stronger.

Perfect Fit Pumpkin Cookie Dough Bites

Happy Fall! I want to share a recipe with you today. A couple weeks ago I created a recipe because I was craving pumpkin and cookie dough. I combined these two flavors to make these semi-healthy Pumpkin Cookie Dough Bites.

1 c perfect fit protein powder or other favorite vanilla PP
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp salt 
1 tbsp butter melted, can use butter substitute
about 1 cup pumpkin purée (NOT pumpkin pie filling) Start with 1/2 cup and keep adding until you get the moistness you like. 
½ tsp vanilla extract
½ c coconut sugar or brown sugar or stevia (whichever you prefer)

1. Mix together the dry ingredients first and mix the wet ingredients together in a separate bowl. Then combine them together and mix throughly, adding more pumpkin if needed. See above note.
2. Next line a baking sheet with wax paper. Take an ice cream scoop to help portion mixture and create 24 cookie dough balls. Place on lined baking sheet and put in freezer for about 30 minutes. Just enough time to get them to set properly. Then you can store them in a glass or plastic container. They will stay moist for up to 2 weeks. 

Enjoy!

Tone It Up Frisky Fall Weekend Challenge - Say Wow

Happy Friday.

Still rocking the Tone It Up Frisky Fall Challenge. Had a little detour this week while my parents were here but just on food. However I did get lots of miles in due to walking all over the place with them. Plus finishing another 5K race.

Today my parents are gone and almost home so I told myself I need to get serious. There are not many days left until Halloween. This is when the challenge ends. So I am challenging you today to do something beyond your normal day to day activities this weekend.

Push yourself a half mile farther on your walk or run.

Finish the book you have been trying to finish in forever.

Meal prep on Sunday.

Go hike a mountain.

Clean out your closet.

Make a new healthy recipe.

Try a new fitness class.

Paint a picture.

Just do it! You will be glad you did and feel great about your accomplishment.

Tone It Up Frisky Fall Challenge Day 8

Moving right along on this challenge and nothing really to post on food or exercise but going to post on motivation.

One area that we all need to remember to work on every day is our brain. Our brain controls the rest of our body and are daily activities so always keep a positive outlook because it will change how you feel about yourself and your accomplishments.

Plus it just feels better to keep a positive outlook on life.

Smile!

5 K Addiction

I realized I not published this post but still wanted to share.

Since it is January most people set goals for the year and so far I have only one for 2013. My goal is to complete a 5k race every month in 2013 and do a 12k in Vegas on Thanksgiving. I smile as I say this because I have become addicted to 5k races.

Last year I did a race in May for the first time in awhile.  I walked it and was very scared. However I met a lady named Robin that was my life saver. We started chatting before the race and she walked with me throughout the whole race. I am not sure if I would have made it without her. I will be forever grateful. You see I was scared and tired and hurting and emotional but I have learned that this is a good thing because after the race I felt such a jubilation and excitement that I completed a race. Plus I was so darn proud of myself.

Well I went back into the office the next Monday after that race and told my coworker about the race. She had done several before and knew what I was saying about my feelings. We immediately found a race that we both signed up for called Color Me Rad. Well long story short, the guys from Color Me Rad stopped by our office and gave us free goodies for the race. It was really cool because my coworker had contacted them on Facebook. Because of this I ended up signing up for a Color Me Rad race in Oklahoma July 14, 2012 and then in Virginia July 21, 2012. I did the race with coworkers in Oklahoma and my brothers in Virginia. Boy were they different races. If you have ever been to Oklahoma in July, you know that it can be very hot and it was the day of the race. I really did not think I would finish it and I am grateful to my coworker because she hung right with me through every stop that I made saying I cannot finish. It was truly stressful for her and I felt bad that she probably did not enjoy the fun of this race. Check out the fun of this race in this picture.

However when I did it with my brothers in Virginia, the race was very different. Weather was better. Race organization was better. Plus I loved being with my brothers. I see them rarely.

My First Yoga Class Was A Success

I realized I never published this post but wanted to share.

Last week I signed up for my first yoga class. Well actually I signed up for two classes because I was feeling brave about trying something new. One class on Thursday and one on Saturday.  Boy was I excited and scared at the same time.

I pulled in the parking lot looking around to see who might be in my class and a million thoughts were running through my head but I walked through the door and was greeted by the instructor who made me feel right at home. 

The class I took was a gentle class which ended up being perfect for me. The moved through the poses at a slower pace and she really helped me understand what I should be doing throughout the whole class. I will say the hardest part was at the end when you do the corpse pose. This is where you lay on your back with your arms out to the side and close your eyes for 5 minutes. Well to someone that cannot sit still, that was the longest five minutes of the class but I was so proud of my self when I finished. I felt great but my jaw was tense and I think this was due to me being nervous. 

My second class was a beginner class and went a lot faster. I was sweating and my face was beet red because we moved at a faster pace.  Meaning we did not hold our poses as long as in the gentle class plus we did more poses.  I really liked it though and felt even more amazing when I left.  The second class was much more calming to me because I felt more comfortable with the process.  

I am taking another one tonight and I recommend adding yoga to your exercise routine. It is harder than it looks but brings a calmness to your body. So glad I branched out to something new.  Next week is Tai Chi and then hopefully a Kettle Bell class.