Spring is Marvelous

April 8, 2013 By Laura

Something about Spring makes life better.

Until the pollen hits.

Last week I was in a bit of a funk. It was rainy and cold, I was tired… but spring arrived just in time for the weekend! I want to carry over this weekend weather high into the week, and Katie’s Marvelous in My Monday link up is my favorite way to focus on the good and start the week out right!

Almost everything involved the outdoors – something I’d forgotten how much I love!

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There’s only one right way to start the weekend – pancakes! I made Heather’s Peanut Butter Cookie pancakes and topped them with a fresh strawberry sauce. My only change to her recipe was to omit the rice flour and reduced the liquid to 1/3 C. They were perfect!

With the spring berries on top, it was like PB&J cookies for breakfast.

Those pancakes fueled the best workout I’d had in DAYS. This week in the gym I had just not been feeling it. I’d be half way through a workout coaxing myself with post-workout foods if I finished.

Not only did I have a great shoulder/glute day in the weight room, but I was feeling so good I decided to run some sprints before heading home. Those sprints are great for the glutes and I could feel it the next day!

After than calorie torch, I made myself a massive Carrot Cake Smoothie… I needed some cool-down fuel because I then met Carol and her puppy for a 6 mile walk in the park!

I don’t know how we walked so long – I was already tired. We just started talking and the time FLEW by!

We parted ways and I headed home for a (much-needed) shower before meeting a friend for dinner.

I don’t know about you, but my #1 favorite thing about spring is patios. Sitting outside with my flip-flops on, a teensy sunburn, and a margarita makes me happy. Simple pleasures.

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Sunday I woke up early (read: before 9am on a weekend) to play softball. We won both games! Our team is undefeated in a men’s league. Hahaha! 🙂

I didn’t have time to make Sunday morning bacon… but my favorite meat-treat still managed to make a cameo.

Sunday is also my grocery store and meal prep day. I hauled my sweaty, dusty self (#sorryimnotsorry) to the farmer’s market and Whole Foods for the weekly stock up. No real diet changes yet, but the competition is coming up fast and next week it will be lock down time.

Despite having bags of groceries from 2 stores, I made it up to my condo in one trip. I saw this on Pinterest, which perfectly captures the moment. Please tell me I’m not the only person who is this stubborn:

I also bought myself flowers. Flowers go a long way in brightening up my week, especially when I work from home. It’s nice to look over and see their natural brightness after staring at a computer screen for hours!

Besides, if I waited for someone else to do it I’d be waiting a looong time. 😉

Another favorite of mine in the warm weather is watermelon. After a long 2 days in the sun, I was happy to have a refreshing watermelon salad… and finally, my Sunday bacon.

Sweet, salty, and a little earthiness from the beets. It’s the perfect spring salad! #strangebutgood

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Watermelon, Beet, & Bacon Salad

1 C watermelon, diced
1/4 C beets, roasted and diced
2 strips crispy bacon
Cilantro, to taste
Freshly ground pepper, to taste

***

My teensy sunburn got worse on Sunday. I forgot that with spring comes the need for sunscreen. #fail

Do you ever buy yourself flowers?

What is your favorite part about spring?

Work It Out: Gym Confessions

April 2, 2013 By Laura

Working out doesn’t mean being perfect.

Sometimes it means going from the gym to work without a shower, or eating 2 pieces of cheesecake at 10pm… not that I would know.

Today’s Work It Out is dedicated to imperfection.

It’s easy to feel like everyone else is eats cleaner, is more disciplined, or is in better shape than you. It’s not true. Try as we might to fight it, we are mere mortals.

I am painfully human. #sorryimnotsorry

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In the spirit of full discolsure and keeping it real, here are a few things I must confess:

1. People talk about how comparison is bad… but I sort of like it. ~~Being the most competitive person I know~~ I enjoy a challenge, so trying to out-lift the dude next to my in the weight room only fuels my fire.

2. I like red wine. A lot. My cheat day includes more than one glass.

3. Sometimes I wear the same outfit to workout 2-3 times without washing it. Sports bras… 4-5 times.

4. If you are hogging the machine while “resting” (a.k.a. playing on your phone reading a magazine, eating a banana), I am fanticizing about beating your ass. then I will walk over and politely ask if I may work in while you ~~screw around~~ rest.

5. I drink a ton of water… so much that I have to pee at least once during my workout. I also can’t make it through the night without getting up to go. It makes me feel like an old lady.

6. In my head I’m 5’6 and completely ripped. In reality… well, I’m 5’3 (on a good day) and slowly building. Reality bites.

7. I’m a loner in the gym. Unless I’m with my trainer, I want to be left to my own devices and move at my own pace. Until I need a spot.

8. I always wear mascara and a little eyeshadow to the gym. Always.

yeah, yeah…

9. Sometimes if I’m going straight from work to the gym (or vice versa) I wear a sports bra and black workout pants to work for a faster change.

10. On my heaviest set… a fart has been known to slip out.

***

Unrelated confession: I wish Bacon Mouthwash hadn’t been an April Fool’s joke.

Confess! What are you guilty of?

What is your gym etiquette pet peeve?

Work It Out: From Running to Lifting

March 26, 2013 By Laura

Competing is not for the faint of heart.

Or for those who dislike asparagus.

Body building requires a lot of hard work and discipline. I love the weights – that part doesn’t seem like work to me (most days).

The diet… well, those few weeks leading up to a competition get a little rough. You probably didn’t want to be near me the last week because I was ~~a total bitch~~ tired of chicken and asparagus.

This post isn’t about asparagus. Today’s Work It Out is a guest post from a friend and fellow comptitior. Jennifer trains at my gym, House of Payne.

We competed together in the NPC Jen Hendershott Big Shott Bodybuilding Classic last year (Jenn in Physique and myself in Figure). She was such a great friend – calming my beginner nerves and raising a margarita toast to out successes post-competion.

Jennifer, Christina, Steve (our trainer), Devy, and Me

Jenn is a big inspiration. Like me, she’s a former runner. The muscle she’s gained in the ~7 months I’ve known her is absolutely incredible.

Below is the story of her transformation. I hope it inspires you – even if you aren’t interested in competing, it’s a great reminder that we can do anything we want to, if we want to badly enough.

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Close to 2 Decades of Fitness

The year is 1994 and I sign up for my first jogging class at Gainesville State College. Little did I know at the time what my fitness future would hold. I had an amazing coach who shared his passion of fitness with me. He gradually took us, beginners, and taught us how to build up stamina and endurance in running. Through the class, I developed a liking to running. I’ll never forget how I felt when I completed running 2 miles without stopping. My coach told me if you can run 2 miles, then you can run 6 miles. Well, I kept on running. I even thought I was “Forrest.” Forrest Gump, that is.

I ran all the way through college, 3 pregnancies, and into mid 30’s. Then all of a sudden, I realized my body had massively changed. I was fat. I was flabby in a lot of areas. I couldn’t eat the junk that I ate in my 20’s and look good. I felt as if my muscle tissue was a lot less than it was in the previous years.

I took a huge leap and decided to change my eating and my training. I always loved the way girls looked in Muscle & Fitness Magazine. I wanted that look. I wanted biceps and a 6-pack. So I started weight training at home. I started out with a beginner set of barbells and a pull-up bar.

I trained 1 year at home and starting transforming my body gradually. I mainly did strength training 4 days a week and 2 days of cardio. But I wanted to do more and continue to transform my body. So I hired a personal trainer. Also at that 1 year mark, my pursuits became a little different. At first, I just wanted to get fit and lose some weight. Gradually as I transformed my body and learned more about weight training and its results, I decided to enter a figure contest.

So I entered my first figure competition. I will be real honest, my first time out I was not even close to the top 5. However, that first competition set me on fire to compete. This was the best thing to happen. I went into that competition thinking that I was going to win. Oh Yes! However, I left that competition and decided I was going to put in the time and build some serious muscle. I was going to be a competitive figure athlete.

For the next 3 years, I studied and researched training methods. I also hired a nutritionist/coach who monitors all of my food and helps develop my training splits. He has developed a plan to help me build lean muscle mass in the off-season and he knows how to turn me into a lean competitor for the stage.

I have competed in 4 figure competitions since 2010. However, in November of 2012, I stepped on stage as a physique competitor and placed 3^rd in the competition, which qualified me for the national stage.

Physique is a new division in the body building world. This division is for women that have a little more muscle than figure. The Physique division also requires a routine that enables you to present your physique and display your muscles in a way that figure girls don’t get to do. I absolutely adore it. I love being on stage and the center of attention. I especially love showing off my hard work that I have done in the gym and through my nutrition.

As I write this, I am in prep for Team Universe in July 2013. This is my first national show. I am giving my 110% to this competition. I still have the same fire in my soul as I did with my first competition. I love the structure, workouts, and the discipline required for competing. Every time I do a show I feel as if I learn something new about myself. I have also learned in order for you to succeed, you must step out of your comfort zone and push a little bit harder.

Train Hard and You will be Amazed at Your Results!

XOXO

***

Follow Jennifer’s journey on Facebook and Instagram, and be sure to check out her blog!

Did anyone try last week’s Super Slow technique?

Would/have you ever considered competing?

A Death Race and a Birthday

March 21, 2013 By Laura

Oops, I did it again…

You can thank me later for getting that classic song stuck in your head.

Tuesday was leg day. Two days later, walking is a difficult task. 25 barbell squats, 4 sets, increasing weight. Weighted lunges. 25 hack squats, 4 reps, increasing weight (I HATE hacks!). And that was just the first 3 exercises. Oy.

The good news is that my trainer told me he sees huge gains in the last month and my legs are getting bigger!

And my BUTT!!! Woot!

But my pain today doesn’t come close to how Kat must have felt after her Ultramarathon “Death” Race. Only a crazy person celebrates a birthday like this. 😉

Read on for Kat’s fabulous story…

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On March 16, 2013, I ran my second Ultramarathon. It was definitely the biggest physical challenge I have ever undertaken, and I savored almost every minute of it.

Note the caption – SO TRUE!!!!

I woke up at 2:15am and began my journey. I hadn’t slept much the few nights before it, and only about 2-4 hours the night before the race.

I was so nervous I couldn’t sleep!! (Editor’s note: I would have barfed from the nerves.)

Geared up and Ready to Go!!

I stayed at Hiker Hostel on Friday night with my friend Ann. She braved 5:00pm Atlanta traffic headed north to get me up there (you Atlanta folk know that THAT is a sign of true love).

We left the hostel at 2:45 in the morning to head to the start where I checked in, got my map, met some runners, and began my journey.

Saying Goodbye to Ann

At 3:55 the race director, Sean, gave a funny speech that began, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” and you know the rest.

It made all of the runners giggle nervously as we began our journey on the Georgia section of the Appalachian Trail. We started at Vogel State Park.

I ran with several of these people many steps of the way.

Before the 3^rd Mile, I was feeling absolutely fantastic. I was skipping along on the rails, “dancing forward” with a smile on my face. Sometime right around then, I fell HARD, heard my ankle pop, screamed a little. Then, with a little encouragement from a few friendly trail folk, I was up and on my way, hiking with the best of them. Oh yeah, HIKING.

People, this was NOT a running race for the most part. This was a hiking race. It was elevation, elevation, elevation. We climbed about 17 peaks on the Appalachian Trail. I was at Duncan Ridge for Sunrise, after already climbing over 2,300 feet.

Sunrise on Duncan Ridge

I had so much fun in the early parts of the race, making friends, laughing about slipping in mud, and hiking up, up, up. We were all frustrated with the hills, in awe of the views, and even more in awe of our strength as we climbed. (Editor’s note: I am in awe fo YOU!)

I continued to have fun, and I met a guy named Kip, a fire fighter who loves to help people. He was strong, loyal, and kind. He offered to wrap my ankle at the next rest stop. That was before I tripped on a down-hill around mile 16 or so, heading face-forward into the leaves, busting my knee. I finally got up, cursing the leaf-covered ground, then tripped hard and sprained my ankle even worse around mile 19.

The face says it all…carnage and getting wrapped.

I eventually made it to mile 21, convinced I wouldn’t be able to go on. When I got there, I saw the race director, and I became determined to finish. He made this course ridiculously hard for a reason, and I wanted to finish. Another runner wrapped my ankle, and I pressed on. Things got slower after that.

My stick friend

At mile 25, I decided it couldn’t get much worse, so I kept going. At mile 28, I got my ankle re-wrapped and pressed on for the most frustrating part of the run. I found a stick that became my friend as I hiked and hiked and hiked uphill.

I cried, I was frustrated, and I pressed on. I wailed, and I cried when I when saw the clearing that meant the climbing was over. (Editor’s note: I really don’t have anything to say… you are fierce.)

Swinging Bridge

The clearing that made me cry

Eventually I got to mile 44-ish… Winding Stair Gap aid station. I got a big hug from my friend Wilson, and I finally knew it was in my ankle’s best interest to stop. I had hiked and run over 44 miles, climbed over 13,000 feet, for 14.5 hours on a sprained ankle.

I called the friend who was picking me up, and she brought me home, in pink fuzzy slippers, as my ankle swelled. (It’s much better today – good thing I stopped when I did). I feel like it was the most noble DNF (Did Not Finish) ever, and I really gave it my all.

About 2 hours after my race

The 14.5 hours really made me think – WHY am I out here? WHY am I doing this? What is this for? And I think I know.

I think I know why I run, why I stay out in the woods for hours and hours trying to find myself.

Not only does it teach me to keep moving forward, even when things are difficult or painful, but it lets you embrace the moments that suck because they help you to know just how strong you are, and just how strong you can be. I think we all can feel down or defeated from time to time, some more than others. When you find the thing that helps you move on, that works as your therapy and that helps you to believe you’re more than you thought you could be, that just might be your thing.

I think I realized through this race, that whether it’s running, creating art, raising kids, lifting weights, or whatever your thing might be, that you need to do what makes you feel strong and what makes you feel alive. (Editor’s note: So well said – we are so much more than we first imagine.)

No better way to celebrate my 26^th Birthday. (Editor’s note: Such a tender young age. 😉 )

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Laura posted about my nighttime potluck gathering yesterday, which I believe brought about 25-30 people together, an eclectic group from all walks of life. 🙂 It was the best birthday I have had in a very long time, and I LOVE my birthday.

Just a few of my amazing friends

I also got to go to a birthday lunch with one of my dearest friends in Atlanta.

We went to the One Eared Stag. I had one of the weirdest and most delicious meals ever. (Editor’s note: Whaaaat?! I want to try this place so bad!)

In the picture:

White Anchovies
Olives
Fried Dates
Mint
Pine Nuts

Such a weird and delicious combo (Editor’s note: Strange but good?). I think the marriage of the nutty white anchovies with the sweetness of the dates made this dish really work. Everything else sort of worked in for a flavor-explosion in my mouth. I also had the carrot soup with fermented garlic and ginger.

All-in-all a great lunch, and I’m really looking forward to going back to try it again!

***

Funny side note: Kat texted me yesterday to ask if I was ok with her sending bloody pics to post. I said bring it. 😉

What challenges make you feel more alive? Stronger? Better?

What strange but good combos have you had recently? Don’t forget to link up tomorrow!

Work It Out: Super Slow

March 19, 2013 By Laura

Going slowly is hard for me.

I may be the most impatient person alive.

In the past I’ve focused the Work It Out series on changing up how you perform the exercise. All-new workouts are great, but that’s not your only option for continuing to make progress and ensuring you don’t plateau.

You can get an incredible burn from moves you’ve been doing for months! All you need to do is take one of your existing routines and apply a new approach.

Here are some of my favorite ways to shake up moves you’re probably already familiar with:

Today I have one more to add. You can thank my trainer for reminding me of this little ~~gym~~ gem…

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Super Slow Sets

Were you wondering where the patience part from the beginning of the post would come in? I am one who prefers to go hard throughout a workout. Slowing it down is sometimes more of a challenge for me than performing the actual slow set!

What are they?

Slow sets are all about control and contraction. To perform these, you will want to use a lighter weight than normal. You will be doing the same number of reps as you usually, do but your muscles are under strain for a much longer time due to a slower cadence.

You will be completing each rep using a 1-2-3 count. Remember grade school when you counted 1 Mississippi, 2 Mississippi, 3 Mississippi? Do that on the way up.

The idea is that going super slow allows more blood to flow to the targeted muscle. It uses slow-twitch muscle fibers, which are normally missed during faster lifting (that hits fast-twitch muscle fibers). This results in strength gains.

Where do I use Super Slow Reps?

Super Slow Sets can be applied to most exercises. A good starting point for any of these is doing 3 sets of 8-10 reps.

Here are a few of my love-to-hate-them favorites. Click the links below for a written explanation of each move.

Leg Press

Never, ever lock your knees while doing these!

Standing Bicep Cable Curls

This also works well with dumbbell curls.

Lat Pulldowns

Try these with both wide and close grips!

Assisted Pull Up Machine

If you can do these unassisted… I am truly impressed. Please send video.

Close Hand Push-Ups

To make these easier, spread your feet wider or simply go “girl” push-ups (on your knees).

Warning: When you first start using super slow sets (or any new technique), don’t be surprised if you are more sore the day after. This is a result of the neuromuscular adaptations in the body, which usually create the greatest degree of muscular soreness.

This is not something you want to apply to every workout you do. These, like the others listed, are meant to be done for a short period of time to help boost you through a plateau.

***The Disclaimer: I’m not a certified professional anything. Use common sense. If it hurts, stop. You will see results, but only if you are consistent, relentless, and patient. ***

***

I’m back down to 4 rather than 5 sets this week. It’s like heaven. I’ll never complain about 4 again!

Did anyone try last week’s Chest and Bicep workout?

Have you ever hit a plateau? How did you get through it?

Work It Out: Chest & Biceps

March 12, 2013 By Laura

Chest and Bicep day is my favorite.

My trainer says this means I’m like a guy. Whatever.

A few weeks ago I posted about working out away from home. I am a consultant, which means I travel a fairly often. You guys have seen they way I pack days and days of meals for the road. It takes effort, but it – like most things – becomes habit and gets SO much easier.

Workouts are a little harder. It is a habit, but you never know what the hotel gym situation will be. In my last post, I talked about learning to be flexibly inflexible. My daily workout is a habit – one that I am inflexible about breaking.

Flexibility is also important. Those hotel gyms are 95% of the time pretty sparse. I have to be able to change my planned workout to fit the situation.

The previous hotel workout was a back and tricep day re-created in a gym equip only with free weights, a bench, and a stability ball.but got a few requests for the chest and bicep workout. Ask and you shall receive! 🙂

Simple to do with minimal equipment, the following workout was done in that same small hotel gym.

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For each exercise, do 3 sets of 10-12 reps. If you are lifting heavy, do 4 sets of 6-10 reps. Click the links below for a written explanation of each move.

If you realllly want to shake it up and shock your body, do what I’m doing right now: 5 sets of 12. You. Will. Die. (Please don’t do this if you aren’t already lifting a lot – no need to actually die.) 😉

Chest

Flat Bench Press

Incline Bench Press with a twist

As you press up, twist the wrist so that at the top of the movement the palms are facing away from the body. If this causes discomfort, simply leave the twist out.

Decline Bench Press

Stability Ball Pullovers…

…superset with push ups

Biceps

Prone Incline Curls

These can also be done over a stability ball.

Alternating Bicep Curls

If you aren’t doing these with heavy weight, try them while standing on one leg for an added challenge.

Hammer Curls

To change it up, try doing these as alternating curls, or cross-body.

Reverse Curls

***As usual, here’s the disclaimer: I’m not a certified professional anything. Be smart. Don’t hurt yourself. Don’t expect to have Jamie Eason arms the day after. I work out all the time and I still don’t have her arms. ~~Dammit.~~**

***

Yesterday I did a back and tricep day. Every back exercise was superset with horizontal pull ups. By the end I’d done 240 of them. I’m surprised I’m able to type right now. LOL!

Did anyone try a new supplement after last week’s post?

Have you ever combined Chest and Biceps? I know it’s more traditional to do Back and Bis, but I’m loving this method!

Microwave Protein Carrot Cake

March 11, 2013 By Laura

My Mam Maw made the best carrot cake.

I know we all say this, but I’m not kidding. I think it could have won awards.

It’s probably her I have to blame for my carrot obsession. Oatmeals, shakes, protein batters, overnight oats… I put carrot in EVERYTHING.

I’ve even been making my own cake. Healthy and with protein, of course. ~~Mam Maw is turning in her grave.~~

The traditional cake is loaded with oil and sugar. It’s iced with cream cheese and more sugar. ~~How could it NOT be good?~~

Anyway, this isn’t one of those cakes. This cake won’t make you feel like you need to run a marathon the morning after AND it still tastes good! 2g of fat and 6g of sugar, plus a whopping 24.5g of protein. That’s without the “icing.” I have been whipping these up with my Designer Whey protein powder post-workout.

Carrot Cake you can feel good about in under 10 mins. That wins in my book! This cake has all the spice of a traditional cake, and is incredibly moist!

It took me a few tries to make this. It kept exploding in the microwave! ~~Did I mention I hate cleaning the microwave?~~

Making it in a cereal bowl vs. a mug really helped. I did that and adjusted some measurements to finally get a cake in one piece. The first explosions still tasted good though:

I really liked having the icing on there too. It’s a simple cottage cheese mix, but that creaminess takes the cake. Hee hee.

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Microwave Protein Carrot Cake

Based on my Chocolate 150 Calorie Protein Cake recipe.

1/2 C grated carrot
1 scoop white chocolate Designer Whey protein powder (28g scoop)
1/4 tsp no sodium baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 egg white
2 T water (or other liquid)
1 T applesauce (no sugar added, can also use pumpkin puree)
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/8 tsp butter extract (optional)
~5-6 drops NuNaturals vanilla liquid stevia
Optional toppings: “Icing” (see below), cinnamon, cacao nibs

Grate carrot and set aside.

Place dry ingredients in bowl and stir to combine. Stir in wet ingredients. Mix in grated carrot.

Transfer to a greased (I use PAM) cereal bowl and microwave for 2-2.5 mins (mine took 2:15). Tip the cake out onto a plate and top as desired.

My cake was topped with a cheese cake icing made by combining cottage cheese with stevia and maple extract.

Makes 1 cake.

Approximate Nutritionals (will vary based on protein powder brand used): 154 calories, 2.1g fat, 183.7mg sodium, 13.4g carbohydrates, 0.7g fiber, 6g sugar, 24.5g protein.

***

As for Mam Maw’s cake… I have the recipe. It may make an appearance on here for some holiday… 😉

What is your favorite cake?

Did you have any odd names for your grandparents? I called my other grandmother “money” for a while. She worked at a bank. 😉

In a Rut & Bacon Truffle Parmesan Popcorn

March 7, 2013 By Laura

All day yesterday I thought it was Tuesday.

I am especially happy it’s Thursday today. If it was only Wednesday this week would be reallllly long.

I don’t know what it is, but this week has seemed tedious. Work, workouts, even cooking. I think I need a vacation.

When I was younger, I couldn’t wait to be an adult. No authority, no homework… I do what I want! Wellll… the thing I didn’t realize is that you actually DO have to answer to people (bosses, bills, ~~cops~~…) and there really IS homework (work you were handed at the end of the day, house work, working on my fitness, other obligations).

I’m not necessarily complaining. I normally love working out and I’m happiest when my job is busy. It’s just this week. This cold. Bad dates. ~~Girl Scout Cookie cravings (I swear those little people are stalking me at the grocery store!).~~ I need a vacation. Some place warm.

Thankfully, I have friends like Kat to cheer my up. Not only will she meet me for a glass of wine and a second dinner after a bad date, but she also write a guest post (see below), that perfectly describes my feelings right now.

So now you should quit reading my whining and listen to Kat, who reads my mind and makes me feel more connected.

It’s part of human nature to sometimes feel like “no one gets you.” We have to make an effort to realize that it’s not true! You’re never alone – someone will always be able to “get you” if you just reach outside yourself. (Editor’s note: get outta my head, Kat!)

So, I have to share – I was in a RUT! Every kind of rut – a running rut, a yoga rut, a dating rut, a food rut, and opening up about my feelings rut. UGH!

How to kick yourself out of a rut? First steps first – admit it to yourself… then tell people! When people relate to you, they often offer suggestions that help you pull out of your rut and kick you into high gear with a new, better attitude.

And having an amazing Friday night girls night opening up to some of your closest friends and sharing ~~a lot of wine~~ your feelings doesn’t hurt either.

K Trifecta: Kelly, Kat, & Kim

To get out of my running rut, I decided to run some new places, with new friends, and make better, solid plans! This helped my running rut because it made me want to run even more than I already usually want to!

I made a plan with a new friend, and a woman from yoga. BOY did that help! 🙂 It made me get back to my smile-when-I-run mental amazing state, and enjoy my solo runs even more. (I know, crazy, running with people made me enjoy solo runs more???)

Have you ever noticed that smiling literally makes you happy? It’s true. Whatever muscles you use when you smile trigger something in your body, that triggers something in your brain… let the experts tell you about it. It can also make you younger, prettier, friendlier, and on and on. The point is – SMILE. (Editor’s note: this actually works. I was skeptic, but after Kat told me this I grinned my way through my 8 hour race!)

I ran 15 miles on Monday (Yo-Run-Ga! – 7 before yoga & 8 after). On my way home, I was almost GIGGLING. I was smiling so big and bright. I love love love to run. It makes me high. BUT, not everyone can relate to that. So, apply it to your favorite thing/activity! Smile while you do it!

Now, to get out of the yoga rut. I was taking the same classes over and over and over. I was hitting a plateau – not trying as hard, not getting much stronger, not learning new poses. Perfect solution – try a new teacher!

Turns out I didn’t even really like the new teacher I tried, but I learned something and it helped me to enjoy my regular classes even more.

I want to learn to do this!

I really want to start learning new poses and breaking out of my shell. Maybe I will try a new studio or ask some of my favorite instructors for tips. I know I’m strong enough and flexible enough to do more!

The dating rut? I have no idea how to get myself out of this one. Ask someone else for advice on this. (Editor’s note: Good Lord, don’t ask me. #fail)

The food rut! Okay, seriously, who else ends up buying the same groceries over and over and over?! It’s like I have been reusing the same list… forever! And you know what I make? The same meals. I know, shocking!

To get out of the food rut, I have had a few strategies:

Eat out more! If you do this, you will draw inspiration from menus, and eat different things.
Shop in the frozen section. No, don’t actually spend a ton of money buying the frozen meals, but use the ideas to go buy stuff to make similar, more fun items.
Buy something, anything, that you wouldn’t normally buy, then go online and search the ingredient for recipe ideas. The advent of the internet is glorious! (Editor’s note: So true! I just bought curry leaves = awesome.)

One other thing I like to do, is find something I like, and do it better! For example, I had Bacon Cracker Jack Popcorn (below) at Harper Station. UGH – It could be done SO much better. (Editor’s note: I had the same thing at Holeman & Finch 2 weeks ago… and thought the same thing!) So I later made Bacon Truffle Parmesan Popcorn – WIN.

Yes, it’s real!

I couldn’t help but recreate it after coming home to a 12.5 pound bag of popcorn on my door step, thanks to my friend Jimmy!

Popcorn is one of my favorite foods. In fact, I eat it almost every day! Not always as decadent, usually just some EVOO and Salt.

H. Harper Station popcorn

Mine was SO much better. First of all, the “Cracker Jack” from H. Harper Station was way too sweet. Second of all, their bacon was NOT crispy – and it was COLD. Turn-off! Third, who doesn’t love truffle-parmesan anything… and then you add bacon!? AMAZING WIN!

And I got the idea for the cute little serving cups online – bonus if you’re going for portion control. I refilled my “personal size” like 3 times. (Editor’s note: Bring me some!!! Inviting a friend helps with portion control!)

MY Bacon Popcorn = Amazing

Bacon Truffle Parmesan Popcorn

1/4 C popcorn kernels
1 T coconut oil
1 T truffle salt
4 strips of bacon, cooked crispy and chop finely
1 C shredded Parmesan

Cook the popcorn in the coconut oil; this gives it a better texture.

Then coat the popcorn with truffle salt. Add bacon (finely chopped and crispy) and Parmesan.

Use a large spoon to stir it all together. Devour.

Notes: This is not a healthy meal option. You could also sub the truffle parm and do bacon chocolate popcorn! YUM! Next time.

Editor’s note: Make it vegan with bacon bits (yes, they’re vegan) and nutritional yeast!

***

Tomorrow is Friday. Kat’s post made me smile. *deep breaths*

What kinds of ruts have you been in, and how do you get out of them? TIPS!?

What is your favorite unhealthy snack?

Spring is Marvelous

Watermelon, Beet, & Bacon Salad

Work It Out: Gym Confessions

In the spirit of full discolsure and keeping it real, here are a few things I must confess:

Work It Out: From Running to Lifting

Close to 2 Decades of Fitness

A Death Race and a Birthday

Work It Out: Super Slow

Super Slow Sets

What are they?

Where do I use Super Slow Reps?

Work It Out: Chest & Biceps

Chest

Biceps

Microwave Protein Carrot Cake

Microwave Protein Carrot Cake

In a Rut & Bacon Truffle Parmesan Popcorn

Bacon Truffle Parmesan Popcorn

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