Mamas In Training

Be Fit!

This New Year is all about Resolutions and I have a few simple ones to get things going on the right track!!  One I want to get my family eating healthier then ever and feeling better than ever. Two I want to do more active things that are fun!! So what’s the plan?? Well it starts with finding more fun recipes!!  I want to have more of these recipes available on a regular basis, which takes more organization because this involves time and creativity!!!  I am about to try some of Jessica Seinfield’s “Deliciously Deceptive,” recipes this week so I’ll let you know how that goes!!  Feel free to add your comments as well!!! 

As far as having more fun being active I requested a pair of Inline Skates from my husband which I am loving and having even more fun playing with my kids outside in!!!  It helps me warm up a lot faster on the cold wintry days!! I also want to get a bike soon too because I haven’t had one in awhile!! So there are a few things I’ve added to my life to make things a little more active in addition to the kickboxing and weight training!!  I guess it all goes back to being a childlike!!  And your kids will love you even more for it!!  Now for my January Recipe.

Jenn’s Amazing Smoothie Recipe (This is so amazing you will be smiling all day!)

(My daughter Alyssa and I drink this for breakfast all the time.)

1 cup of  plain yogurt

1 and ½ cups of frozen strawberries (I let them thaw about 20 min so they are easier to blend but don’t over thaw because the frozen-ness makes it taste better.

1 ripe banana cut into pieces

1 capful of vanilla (about a teaspoon)

2 squirts of honey (or your preference depending on your sweetness desire)

½ of cup of non-fat dry milk

You can also add any vitamin powders that you like.  There is a Flaxeed one I like a lot that has no taste.  It is called  “Omega 3 Brain Booster.” Go to www.Omega3BrainBooster.com. 

Enjoy and BE FIT!

Houston

Mama Jenn, Mother of 2

New Year, New Goals, New You

Often in the beginning of a new year, you want to read that magical article that will get you moving and losing your last 10 pounds. You want to find the key exercises that will make you trim.  But what you want to truly look at is how can you create a better sense of incorporating balance and success into your every busy Mom-lifestyle?

As a Mom, we all experience the challenge of finding time to be the healthiest person possible.  We sometimes feel pressure to be the Super Mom who is a size 4 and well put together, all while home making every ounce of her child’s baby food.   Some Moms think at the beginning of every year, “I will wake up at 5:00 a.m. to be at the gym before my family wakes up every day”, or “I will never eat another one of my kids French fries again”, or “I am not going to drink wine with dinner anymore” or “I am going to make every New Years Resolution I set”.  These, as well as many other lofty goals, are quite strict and unfair when it comes to the art of “balance”. Though you may need to make changes when trying to incorporate health and fitness into your life, saying you will do everything 100% is setting yourself up for failure.  There is already enough pressure to be Super Mom, so why not try to have some more manageable goals in the New Year that are attainable and create a better feeling of healthy balance?

1. Goals- One goal at a time - To make a change that will be incorporated into your life, it takes 3-4 weeks.  This means if you start one the first week of January, it will be an established part of your life by Valentine’s Day.  A good way to look at goals is take them step by step.  Think of every week as a “check off” and monitor how you’re doing.  With your goals, and the mindset of establishing a healthy sense of balance, try to focus on one or two goals at a time verses every goal at once.  This process helps you to succeed.

2.  Water, water every where- Water is one of the essential pieces to every persons’ life. When you are active, experiencing less sleep, and feeling stressed you need to up your water intake.  To function, you need 64 ounces of water each day, or 8 - 8 ounce servings.  If you are very active, nursing, and/or pregnant you want to increase that amount by an additional 2 to 4, 8 ounce glasses of water.  Two key ways to help make this happen:  One- Purchase a recyclable 32 ounce water bottle and use that water bottle as a monitor.  When you first wake up, drink 8-16 ounces of water before having your morning coffee or tea. After your coffee, drink another 12-16 ounces of water. Before you know it, you have had third of your daily water and it’s not even 10 a.m.  Refill that container and know you need to drink 2-3 of them each day. 

Too often I hear “I don’t like the taste of water”.  Spruce it up!  Add some lemon slices, lime slices or frozen berries.  Add a little bit of Propel Fitness Water to splash it up a bit. 

3. Food Diary - Keeping a Food Diary is essential! It truly helps you recognize what you are eating, and how much of it.   Keeping a Food Diary helps you monitor your intake verses output. When you do get in a routine of it, you can gradually estimate what you ate and write it in your organizer or Palm Pilot.  Refer to the Food Guide Pyramid; it is the bases of a healthy diet.  http://www.mypyramid.gov/   This is one goal that is attainable, helpful, and supportive in monitoring your nutrition. 

4. Set aside time to move – Movement is essential when wanting to get in better shape and lose weight. Don’t put pressure to move 2 hours each day, but start with 20 minutes of exercise 3-4 days each week.  Gradually build to 60-90 minutes of activity most days of the week by December.  You will find your body craves to move, and your mind craves the time to yourself.  Try to schedule your events around exercise too.  Such as a walking date with a friend instead of going to lunch, or a hike with  your sister and your kids instead of going to her house for a play date. If you miss a day, don’t beat yourself up and schedule it in the next day.  Make sure your lapse doesn’t turn into a relapse.

5. Sign up for a race – When you pay money and register for a 5 or 10K fun run or walk, you are three times as likely to complete it.  Check out City Sports Magazine, Active.com, or even the Baby Boot Camp Phoenix site for some upcoming races to participate in.  Once you’ve signed up, you’ve made a commitment of doing it and having to “train” for it.  Put aside that time to train for it, the same way you set aside time to bring your child to soccer practice or to a baby gym class.  Mark out your time as an appointment to yourself that can’t be broken. 

Try these goals and see how you do.  Monitor your progress and before you know it, you will be feeling stronger, have a greater sense of healthy balance in your life, and be able to keep up with your speedy little munchkin(s).  Enjoy 2008!  The year has opened up just for you. 

When not chasing after her 2 sons, Kelly Listonis found throughout the Phoenix area helping Moms find ways to exercise.  She owns Baby Boot Camp® Phoenix, the premier stroller fitness program.  She is a Nationally Certified Personal Trainer.  To reach Kelly, please email kelly.liston@babybootcamp.com, www.babybootcamp.com, or 602.796.3430.

Pregnancy Health

I too am pregnant, 7 months pregnant, and while I can't run anymore I find walking on my treadmill and doing The Firm videos is helping my mental state more than anything.  By no means do I have more energy, but I feel like I can get through the day better having only worked out for 30 minutes.  Now that the morning sickness has subsided I feel that my eating habits need to be taken up a notch.  I came across an article highlighting 5 foods to Improve your health and have tried this week to incorporate them into my diet. So far it's going GREAT! See how many of the foods you can include into your diet this week.

...The Tough Get Exercising

When the going gets tough… the tough get exercising! 

It’s the middle of the winter and your July sprint distance triathlon seems far away. Resigned to too many indoor workouts and indoor training rides, how does one stay focused and motivated in January for an event in the summer?  Here’s my TOP TEN mid-Winter plan for “sticking to it”.

1)      Set goals.  Setting goals and telling people about your goals helps to keep your head in the game and stay focused.  You may even get more support than you once thought from family and friends if they know how much your particular race or event means to you.

2)      Set realistic goals.  Be realistic about where you’ve come from, where you want to be and how quickly you can get there. Usually, we want too much too fast and we certainly don’t want injuries to sideline our big event of the season.

3)      Sign up early for your races or events and do it with friends if you need extra motivation. Keep photos of the event or last year’s race on the refrigerator door.

4)      Workout with friends or family. A workout with a spouse or significant other CAN bring you closer together but beware—no competitions! Just enjoy each others’ company for a friendly jog or bike ride on the indoor trainers.  It makes the time go by quickly as well.

5)      Think of all the great benefits of exercise (and there are many--that is another blog altogether) and do the activities you enjoy doing.  Exercise and playtime should be one of the same. Racing is just icing on the cake if you chose to enter a race or special event.

6)      Sign up for clinics and informational seminars in your area. They are chock full of good information and help keep you motivated, give you confidence and inspiration. Check with your local area athletic shops for clinics near you.

7)      Journal your workouts! It’s a great way to track your fitness and see how you are improving. Include items such as average pace per mile, average speeds and heart rates if you are using a HR monitor. Also include how you “felt” and what your fatigue levels were on each day.  1-full of pep, 3-medium, and 5-very tired.  Don’t attempt “junk miles” as I refer to them. If you are too tired, take a day off from training, get rested and resume with more energy the next day.

8)      Exercise with movies and music when safe to do so. For those longer indoor cycling trainer rides, it’s a great time to catch up on a movie you’ve wanted to see. Take the new IPOD that you got over the holidays out for a run! Just remember most races or events don’t allow MP3’s or IPODS from a safety standpoint.  Leave the IPOD at home on race day and enjoy the good vibes at the race.

9)      Hire help when you need it.  A friend can be a good training partner but not necessarily a good coach. For professional guidance and appropriate workouts, hire a certified coach when you aren’t sure where to start. Make sure they are sport specific for your goals!

10)   Schedule in your workouts first in to your calendar! Plan the day, time, type of workout and duration at the first of every week and stick to it!

I wish you luck with your season goals and I hope this helps you in your quest for fitness and good health. Stick to it and good luck in 2008!

In Good Health,

Marla Emde

USAT, USAC Coach and ACE C.P.T

Emde Sports LLC

Race Organizer - Valley Girl Triathlon and WunderWoman Triathlon

www.emdesports.com

Register For the Women's Triathlon

Need a great resolution?  Want something to "force" you to workout?  Register for the Women of Steel Triathlon, to be held May 17th in American Fork!  Some of our Utah Mama staffers completed this event last year and had the time of their life.  Register quickly, the race fills fast.  See ya in May!

Walking, not Running

For many of us mamas, running and other vigorous aerobic activity is out of the question…we either don’t enjoy it, have medical reasons we can’t, or in my case…are 5 months pregnant.

So, until about 6 weeks after my son is born…I will stick to brisk walking and yoga.  Research has shown that walking can be as effective a workout as other vigorous forms of exercise, without the strain on your joints, muscles…or a growing belly.

Here are a few resources I find very helpful to keep my walking workouts fun and effective:

Want to plan the perfect walking route around your city?  Check out WalkJogRun.  It’s a route planner and a distance/speed calculator.   You can choose your own route, or select one that has already been created in your neighborhood.

If you are a little more spontaneous, or don’t have the time to be so organized and plan a route ahead of time…then maybe the Strollometer is for you.  It’s the world’s first computer/speedometer designed to fit on any baby stroller.  The Strollometer records your distance, speed and time.

And if you get the Strollometer…then you will need a jogging stroller to put it on.  Since I also have a 2-year-old, my workouts almost always include her.  So, I put her in my jogging stroller and off we go.  Check out JoggingStroller.com for reviews, advice, and a great selection of jogging strollers.

And finally…if you aren’t careful your vigorous walking workout can turn into a leisurely stroll.  So, to help keep up the pace check take along your MP3 player…check out the awesome workout playlists from Fitness Magazine.

New Year's Resolution: Get Fit

Are you one of those people who included exercise on your list of resolutions?  Well, you've got millions of other people on the same quest this year.  And, are you one of those people who have included exercise for the past five years on your resolution list?  Are you motivated and determined in January, but slacking by mid-February?

A featured article on WebMD tells us to don't try and do it all at once.  We will become overwhelmed and of course, want to quit in a month.  Break your fitness and nutrition goals into small pieces.  That may sound too easy or not the "typical" resolution.  But if you are successful at the small steps, the large resolutions become easy. 

Perhaps you need to try a new exercise.  Not all of us are suited to yoga, swimming, or aeorbics.  We try so hard then give up in frustration, boredom, or annoyance.  The key is to find our own "workout personality."

Read the whole feature.

Allison Thummel

Allison wrote our guest post yesterday entitled "Forget Your New Year's Resolutions".  Thank you, Allie.  We are excited to have words of wisdom you.  Here's Allie's brief bio:

:

Allison “Allie” Thummel was introduced to exercise as a young child, when her parents enrolled her in gymnastics with the hope of using some of her excess energy.  Allie decided in college to pursue her love of promoting fitness, where she obtained her Bachelor of Science in Health & Sports Sciences degree.  While promoting fitness to the employees of Texas Instruments, Allie completed her Master of Public Health degree, with an emphasis in Health Education and Promotion.  She is certified by the American College of Sports Medicine as a Health Fitness Instructor, and is a Certified Health Education Specialist.

Allie has promoted health and fitness for the following organizations:

University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine/ Family Medicine Department, American Airlines, Williams, Texas Instruments, The Cooper Institute and Ceridian.  As President of Mom and Tot Fitness, she enthusiastically promotes health and fitness to young children and their parents.  Her mission is to help reduce the obesity epidemic…one family at a time, by bringing physical activity into the home. 

Allie lives in the Houston suburbs with her husband, her four-year-old boy, and her baby girl born in October.  She enjoys obtaining physical activity through teaching aerobics and training for triathlons.

Get Fit Together:

Get Fit Together is a DVD that allows parents AND children to exercise and have fun together!  Other benefits include:

• Children use their energy in a constructive way,
• Perfect workout/playtime for busy moms or dads,
• 3 choices of workouts include: cardio, toning, or a combined cardio/toning,
• Warmups, cooldowns, and modifications are demonstrated throughout,
• Cartoon-like backgrounds and stimulating music,
• Instructions are easy-to-follow,
• Perfect for a variety of ages—from approximately 4 months to 6 years old.  Parents can be any age to participate.  J

*A one-minute sample can be viewed on the website: www.MomAndTotFitness.com.

 

Forget Your New Year's Resolutions

Have you ever abandoned your New Year’s Resolutions in February?  Change your outlook.  Replace your New Year’s Resolutions with a New You’s Resolution—a Plan for Success!  Plan to make your NEW YOU an ACTIVE YOU.  You will succeed when you plan to:

·         Be ready to change. Do you have the desire, knowledge, and resources (i.e. family support, time, money) needed to make the change?

·         Handle barriers to change.  What are things that prevent you from successfully making the change?   How can you anticipate and plan for these barriers?

·         Recover from relapses.  Expect to return to your old behavior. Try to figure out how you’ll approach your relapse.  (Have you ever heard that it takes smokers 7 times of quitting before they are successful?)

Here are some suggestions to make your NEW YOU an ACTIVE YOU:

·         Obtain more physical activity in little ways.  Park your car further away and burn an extra few calories.  Park your car at the fast food restaurant and walk in, instead of using the drive-thru.

·         Don’t think of exercise as exercise.  Convince yourself you’re becoming more physically active.  Don’t use weight loss as a reason to exercise.

·         Decide what you enjoy doing and set a small, reasonable goal.  People are more likely to keep small goals than lofty ones!  Write your goal down and keep it in a visible spot, i.e. the refrigerator or bathroom mirror.

·         Reward yourself.  Write down a reward you’ll give yourself if you keep your goal.  Ideas: CD, a massage, a pedicure, a night-out.

·         Enlist support.  Get your family on-board with your changes.  Create a monthly calendar & give your kids stickers when you exercise.  Recruit your husband (or neighbor, friend) to watch the kids for 20-30 minutes while you go for a walk, bike, or roller-blading session.  Or, bring your kids with you!

·         Suck it up! Register for a class, a race, or an event!  There are thousands of classes and events around the country that help motivate people to get active.  Have you ever wanted to try tap-dancing or tae kwon do, do a triathlon or a 5K?  Find a cause that you support and participate in an event that contributes (i.e. breast cancer, MS, March of Dimes, etc.)  Grab a buddy and you’ll be even more likely to succeed.

Allie Thummel, Houston

My New Diet

How many people have a New Year's Diet?  Too many to count.  In fact, the resolution of a "new diet" is rather boring and even dreadful to hear.  Well, this year I must be counted in those numbers.  I have been mandated to go on a low cholesterol diet by my physician. 

Last month I went in for my yearly physical and blood work, including a cholesterol test.  Since I'm now over 30, I thought I had better start getting these tests.  I don't know if I have ever previously had a cholesterol test.  My total cholesterol level is hovering above 200, but the kicker is that my HDL, or good cholesterol, is 28 (it should be over 40).

My new diet isn't just a diet to loose weight or a fad diet, this is a diet to help me live a longer, happier, healthier life!  I guess that could be said of all diet plans.  What I need to do is incorporate foods containing omega-3 fatty acids and foods such as salmon, dark leafy greens, walnuts, just to name a few.  The good news is that these foods will also fight the LDL, or bad cholesterol.

So, if anyone has any good suggestions and/or recipes to help me with my new diet, please let me know!  I'll be going back for another test in a few months, and if the level isn't lower, guess it will be time to start meds.  Let's hope the diet alone works.

Tanya, Utah