No Excuses NOT to Work It Out

December 18, 2012 By Laura

I don’t have time to workout.

I make time.

I know, I know… easier said than done. But it CAN be done!

Today’s Work It Out is about beating our holiday excuses. We all make them. Some of them are even legitimate! During the holidays we’re traveling, over-committed, and exhausted.

Yesterday on Facebook I asked you guys for some of the excuses you have for not working out over the holidays.

Do any of these sound familiar?

“I don’t have time to workout.”

“I feel selfish taking time away from my family to go to the gym.”

“I’m too tired!”

“It’s too cold to go outside.”

“I don’t have access to a gym/weights while traveling.”

Today let’s think of ways around these barriers.

No time?

Make it a habit! If you haven’t gotten to that point yet, start by taking some steps to plan. I schedule the time with myself on my calendar, and I have my gym clothes in the car so I can go on my way home from work. If things are TOO hectic, I squeeze in what I can, when I can. Do you have 10 minutes in the morning? Do a quick rotation of jumping jacks, planks, burpees, and push-ups in your living room. Only have 20 minutes at lunch? Go for a brisk walk!

Feeling selfish?

#1 DON’T! Your family is better off in the long run when you are healthy and happy. Personally, if I don’t get to move a little bit each day (and take a little break from the relatives), I’m not as pleasant to be around.

#2 Turn exercise into a family activity. Suggest a walk or a game of touch football after one of the many holiday meals I’m sure you’ll have. Bring a workout video to share. One of the best times we had last year was when my mom and sister and I all tried to do P90X Plyo together. The laughter alone was a calorie burner!

Too tired?

I know you don’t want to hear this… but exercise actually energizes you AND improves sleep quality at night. Instead of dropping to the couch after a long day, put on y our gym clothes before you even sit down. Half of the battle is getting dressed! If that’s not enough to motivate, make a date with a friend to talk a walk or sign up for a class. If you already spent $50 on that month of Body Pump classes, you’re more included to actually go.

Too cold (or hot)?

I get it. I hate cold weather. When I ran regularly, I always took the coldest months off. This is the time to dust of your P90x/Jillian Michaels/Yoga for Dummies DVDs. Your living room is warm. Exercise there! Or take advantage of all of those “one week free!” fliers. I’m willing to bet you could gym-hop for at least a month. 🙂

Same goes for the heat. Modify your workout and move to where the A/C is blasting!

No equipment?

Again, you can bust out your old DVDs. Another idea involves Pinterest. I love taking these “pinned” workouts and doing a few rounds at home.

A few of my favorites:

(Click images for sources.)

Great beginner AM workout

This will leave you feeling like spaghetti in 30 mins.

Perfect for setting your own pace and then pushing a little beyond!

One from my trainer, with a video demo.

These best part is that these can all be adjusted based on the amount of time you have and your physical limitations (Bad knees? Do wall sits instead of squats.) They can also be done indoors, so you avoid the cold. AND you can get the family to join in, eliminating the selfish-feeling factor.

So what was your excuse again?

One more Kitchen Workout check-in before the holidays!

I once again did well during the week and succumbed to sugar over the weekend. There was a cookie swap party. This happened:

Keeping it real.

BUT this kitchen workout is about doing what’s right for YOU. I know myself. If I’d sat at home or gone and watched everyone else eat cookies, I would have been annoyed and then (more than likely) done worse damage later. So I ate cookies. They were delicious. So there.

As I go into and even bigger holiday-part week, I’m keeping these tips in mind. I’m not going to splurge on the store-bought party things, but when something is “worth it” (for me that means chocolate and homemade) I’m not going to feel deprived.

INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE?

I offer personalized online training and nutrition programs! Check out my philosophy here and fill out the from for more info.

***

In other news, I have only completed my Christmas shopping for 1 person. Oy. Power walking through the mall in a panicked state is great exercise!

Did anyone try last week’s Gun Show workout? What did you think?

What are some of your excuses? Any of these sound familiar?

How to Run 50 Miles Through the Woods + Nutrition

December 13, 2012 By Laura

Strange is good.

Sometimes… I’ve had some questionable encounters…

Tomorrow’s Strange But Good link up will certainly be good! I hope you guys will all come check it out and link up a dish you’ve had lately that may seem strange, but it quite good. In case you missed it, click here for details/rules.

In the meantime, Kat is back today with her bi-weekly guest spot. This post is all about something I think is strange: running 50 miles. LOL! Clearly, a good thing. I totally admire her, and all of you endurance athletes out there!

Here’s Kat…

As I finished up my finals week and went into finishing my papers, I thought a lot about my study breaks and writing for fun. I realized that these past couple of weeks have been a lot about pacing myself and doing just what I need to keep going and do my best from start to finish. These past couple of weeks have really reminded me what it takes to run 50 miles.

Everything I say in this post will be a metaphor for life. There is ~~probably~~ definitely a way to apply every principle from a 50 mile race into life because a 50 mile race IS living. You feel every possible human emotion, even ones that you didn’t know existed or that you can’t describe, you meet a ton of people along the way who help you in some way, and you learn both your limits and how strong you can be.

I’ve only done it once, but it was awesome. September 22, this year, I ran the Georgia Jewel, the 50-mile option. When you wake up way before daylight to run through the woods, and will encounter obstacles you can’t even anticipate, there are a ton of feelings. You don’t know when the ups and downs (oh, and the hills), the obstacles yet to come will be or how long it will take you, so the only thing you can really feel is excitement, nervousness, and anticipation, both good and bad. You don’t know what kind of people you will meet, or whether you will spend a lot of time out there alone or with others, so all you can do is just… GO. (apply to life)

I mostly knew I was determined to have a great time and enjoy the ride, so I took a lot of pictures… (Editor’s note: clearly Kat was meant to be a blogger.)

It was BEAUTIFUL!

At the start of the race, you clearly need to be fueled, but not too full. It’s best to take it easy, but make sure you get a good placement so you don’t get lost in the back. I’ll talk about the nutrition and what I ate toward the end of the post… it’s vital to surviving this kind of race. Be fueled, but don’t overdo it.

So we started. It was DARK for the first few hours. You can’t see all the rocks, or even your feet, so all you can really do is be careful, and follow single-file on the single-track trail. I spent a great deal of this time listening to the voice of the person in front of me, getting to know them, and just kept going. I had to remind myself not to go too fast, even though excitement told me otherwise. I was so excited at the beginning. I was laughing, talking, and definitely had a pep in my step. Then at mile 10, we took in a little nutrition, and kept on going! This is the first time where you can really pass or fall back, make a move, hang back, get your bearings, and back onto the trails.

The next 7 miles for me were great… I met someone who I felt like I could really open up to and be real with, talk to about raw, real experiences and the depths of who I am. He was someone I could expose myself to, knowing I may or may not ever see him again. I mostly passed other people during this part of the race, while getting real with myself about how I was feeling, and what I thought my limits might be, even though I wasn’t really sure since it was early on (insert metaphor for life).

After a quick change of socks at mile 17, I kept going. I hit mile 18 – the farthest I had ever run before – and I kept going. AMAZING. Around mile 19, I hooked up with someone else who made me feel really good about myself, and we stuck together through the toughest hill of the race up to mile 25. We hiked up to the half way point together, laughing and talking, and when we got there, we felt AMAZING. This was followed by a very disappointing first couple of steps down. We made it to the highest elevation point of the race and I all of the sudden was afraid I wouldn’t be able to finish (insert life metaphor) because my knee got in my way.

I had to make a conscious and deliberate decision to push my limits, and I kept going, on my own. Along the next 5 miles, to avoid thinking about my own pain, I spent my time encouraging every other runner/hiker/human I saw. I just kept cheering with a smile on my face, hoping I wouldn’t be able to think about my own pain (this is SUCH a me thing to do). I spent the next several miles running by myself, and running into people who were really starting to struggle, but I kept it up.

At mile 32, another rest stop, I was greeted by some amazing SAG people. They helped me to sit for a minute, and asked me what I wanted. I had just been going and going, trying to feel nothing, unsure of myself, and I had no idea. I got it together, and put in my iPod for the first time, and there was nothing to do but try to finish! This is when it got REALLY hard.

By mile 41, I really thought I would not finish. I was 10 hours into this race, and my knee was killing me. Then a stranger came along. This stranger for whatever reason, believed I wasn’t done, and basically convinced me to come with him. The last ten miles are pretty hard to believe. I can only tell you, I saw one really angry man (a friend of mine), another man I barely knew cry, another man throw up, and another man so distraught because his kids might not see him finish because he wasn’t sure he could. I didn’t feel so hot myself, and we were all in it together. It was RAW. At mile 48.5, I sat down in the middle of the trail. Yep, sat. I still didn’t think I could do it. People started to pass me. (insert and remind yourself of the life metaphor again)

Although the 12 hours of trails had gotten me down, something inside me realized I was stronger than I thought I was. I reminded myself of the light inside me and began to skip. Skipping was way less painful than running, AND it put a smile on my face. After over 12.5 hours, I skipped across the finish line with a smile on my face, and received my award. ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE. Now I know, and was able to prove it to myself.

I carry this race into my daily life, and have signed up for an even more intense challenge to learn even more about myself. The Georgia Death Race. 60 miles & 30,000 feet of elevation change. It will likely take me longer and beat me down more than the Jewel, but hopefully only to make me even stronger.

Now, probably the more informative, and less life-changing portion (or maybe it is) — the Nutrition.

For 12 hours, you have to think that you’re eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner, plus some for all the calories you burn. No, I personally don’t break it down to a science because of my go-with-the-flow-ness… BUT I fuel as I go.

Throughout the day, I ate the following:

Breakfast: Shake w/ Juice, Greek Yogurt, and Protein Power + small cup of coffee
Mile 7ish: small 90 calorie Lara Bar
Mile 10: 3 M&Ms, a handful of chips, and about 4 oz of electrolyte replacement drink
Mile 17: a couple of small potatoes dipped in salt, a few M&Ms, and about 1/2 of a fuji apple (about 4 oz of electrolyte replacement)
Mile 21.5: GU gel
Mile 25: a couple of small potatoes dipped in salt, one apple slice.
Mile 32: a full Lara bar and a couple of apple slices, some electrolyte replacement
Mile 37ish: forced myself to have about a half of a GU
Mile 41: some coconut water and a couple potato chips (I was SICK of food by now)
Mile 45: some ginger chews (I was nauseated)
WATER CONSUMPTION: approximately 20oz every 7 miles… slow and steady flow of water throughout the day. I just kept one hand-held water bottle.

Like I said, it was NOT scientific, but it felt perfect for my body giving me sugars, carbs, salt, and electrolytes, as protein is not easily digestible and used for fuel. (Editor’s note: the ginger chew idea is brilliant!) I ended the day with some simple grilled chicken with nothing on it, and a soy café au lait (Editor’s note: why am I not surprised you had a coffee?). It’s all I had in me to drink/eat.

Sorry this post was so long, but running 50 miles is long! Cheers to 50-mile life races!!

Work hard, and it pays off. Enough said. (Editor’s note: True story.)

***

I’m convinced there’s nothing Kat can’t do… and I’m REALLY excited to be one of her SAGs for the Death Race!

What challenges have changed your life?

What is your favorite metaphor for life?

Orange Cardamom TVP “Oats” + WIAW

December 12, 2012 By Laura

105 lbs doesn’t seem like a ton.

Until it’s on your lap while you’re doing dips…

Normally I do legs (my least favorite) with my trainer, but last night I had a back and tri day. It was a great reminder that – even though my upper body is more developed – I still need a “check up” every so often. With a little help I can move SO much more weight. I couldn’t have stacked those weights on my lap by myself… ~~and there is no way in hell I would have turned that last set into a drop set.~~

I’m feeling much better with my diet after last week’s adjustments, and it’s paying off. My trainer noticed growth. (He also told me I make sex-like noises while doing hack squats. Weird that hacking with 200 lbs elicits the same sort of sound…). A couple of other people have commented recently too (on the gains, not the noises). Never in my life did I think people telling me I look bigger would be a compliment! 🙂

It is a little disconcerting to have lost my abs, but I know they’ll be back and looking better than ever after bulking season. I need to print that reminder out and tape it to my mirror.

My Kitchen Workout (have you joined?) is keeping me motivated an (mostly) on track during this month of indulgences. Jenn’s What I Ate Wednesday theme this month is also a great accountability check!

Below is a day of a figure competitor’s bulking-season eats. Check it out, and then be sure to head over to Jenn @ Peas and Crayons and see what everyone else is eating during the most delicious time of year.

Meal 1:

I started my day with the only thing I like to repeat: my morning cocktail (mix of Apple Cider Vinegar, Glutamine, and Fitmixer Aminos), and my 2 mile incline walk.

Then it was time for a breakfast I started dreaming up on Sunday. This is a new version of my TVP oatmeal, and it may be my favorite one yet!

Orange Cardamom TVP “Oatmeal”

1 C water
1/3 C TVP
2 T oats
1 tsp ground flax
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cardamom
1/2 tsp coconut extract
4-5 drops lemon liquid stevia (or sweetener of choice)
3 T egg whites
1/2 orange, sectioned
Unsweetened coconut flakes, to top

Prepare according to these instructions from the original recipe. Top with orange sections and coconut. Demolish.

Meal 2:

Last week I rocked a chili-lime crab salad with mango for lunch. This week I was ready for more… but needed to make it strangers for this Friday’s link up. Being strange pays off, friends. This one was a hit! The sweet citrus from the orange was perfect against the tangy lime and heat of the cayenne.

Curried Chili-Orange Crab Salad

3 oz crab
1/2 large orange, sectioned
1/2 C edamame
Pumpkin seeds
Juice from 1/4 fresh lime
1/4-1/2 tsp curry powder
Cayenne pepper, to taste
Cilantro

Meal 3:

I had to get a new plate to take to work. My zoo animal paper plates ran out. Booooo!

On my pretty blue plats is: Chili Nutty Baked Tofu, celery sticks, a P28 protein bagel, and the last of my favorite hummus. I get this Roots hummus at Whole Foods. It’s from Asheville, but I’m not sure if you can get it outside of the Southeast. If you can, the spinach is worth a try!

Meal 4:

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen my new swordfish creation Monday night. I finally tried making it a different way – I chipped it into cubes, coated it in lime juice, avocado oil, and my Mexican spice blend before cooking it under broil for ~10 mins. It worked like a charm!

I brought the leftovers to work to be enjoyed over a kale salad massaged with coconut vinegar, fresh orange juice, and nutritional yeast. Topped with baby bellas and red pepper. My complex carb was a very tasty Garnet sweet potato.

And I wonder why my co-workers think I’m weird….

Meal 5:

Leftovers from yesterday… a creation that I made for this Friday’s Strange But Good link up. Are you guys planning to participate?! I’m so excited to see what everyone comes up with!!

Don’t know what I’m talking about? Click here for the explanation.

Meal 6:

My trainer’s gym is pretty far away (30-45 mins… or an hour during rush hour…), so I always take a recovery shake to enjoy on the ride home. After a killer workout, I enjoyed a favorite: Carrot Cake Batter Shake.

Don’t you love when your clean-eating #kitchenworkout meals taste dirrrrty? I added some kale (clearly not enough since it’s still orange-ish), and stirred in muesli for a chewy happy ending.

Meal 7:

I’m on a serious bender with my 150 Calorie Chocolate Microwave Protein Cake. Tonight I topped it with a healthy scoop of Arctic Zero Cookies ‘n Cream ice cream and a drizzle of peanut flour sauce. Cherries on top. Fo’ shizzle.

***

The protein count for the day: 177.2g. I can almost feel the growth. Bwhahaha!

It’s been a week… time for another shameless plugs! I’d love it if you’d click here and “Like” my new Facebook page. 🙂

Do you have a workout partner or trainer that you “check in” with when you need to push harder?

What is the tastiest “clean” food you’ve eaten this week? Work it out in the kitchen!

Pushing Forward

December 10, 2012 By Laura

Time is scarce.

I’m sure that was a newsflash to everyone…

Lately I’ve been struggling with wanting to move forward in several areas of my life, but lacking the time it takes to make the necessary changes.

In the gym I’ve been rushing through workouts because I’m so busy at work. I’m still putting in the effort, but my rest time suffers. Last night I took the time to more thoughtfully move through my workout and take the rest I need between sets. Lo and behold, it paid off! I hit a new bicep curl PR for the first time in weeks.

I really wanted to tell all of the guys in the weight room, but I managed to bottle my 8-year-old-on-Christmas-morning excitement. I did tell my concierge and he noted that I look bigger. 🙂

The next thing I’d like to do more with is developing recipes. My Recipage still needs to be completed, and I have a few new recipes I need to share with you guys from 2-3 weeks ago. I’ve been too lazy to edit pics. Is that terrible or what?!

I want to get back to posting more food. I’m still cooking a lot, but lately I’ve been rushing around too much and not bothering to measure/take “good” pics of anything I’m eating.

Tonight is a great example. I was in a rush and made my cauliflower pizza crust again. This time I used different spices that worked really well… but I didn’t write it down. I also didn’t take a pic… which I really needed to do so I could join Heather’s Meatless Monday A-Z link up.

She might kick me out for this one, but I DID use this week’s ingredient – quinoa – to make a vegan version of my Cauliflower Pizza. The binders in the crust were a flax egg and quinoa flakes. Check out the original recipe here.

Recycled pic… but this crust is sturdy enough to eat by the slice!

Finally, I’ve been wanting to make forward progress on is this blog. My goal is to make it more interactive. I love all of your comments, tweets, and emails, and I wanted to find ways to be able to get to know you better and make sure I’m posting things you’re interested in. Step one was the Facebook page I created last week. (Pretty please “like” me!) Step two is what I want to share today.

For weeks I’ve been threatening to start a “Strange But Good” link up. Now that I have a snazzy new logo, I have no excuse not to get it together and brave the Linky thing. This Friday will mark the first ever Strange But Good Link Up!

Here’s the deal. A lot of things healthy living bloggers/readers eat wouldn’t be considered strange inside this community; however, your co-workers, friends, and families probably give the strange looks when you load up your sweet potato with almond butter, for instance. Those things count as Strange But Good!

You get bonus points if it’s a combo that this community would think is strange. This could be something like my Vegan PB & Zeggs, or this Chocolate Protein Red Cabbage Ice Cream many of you thought was bizarre:

Want to play?

All you need to do is come up with a concoction this week that is Strange But Good. Just add the Strange But Good logo to your post and link up to your recipe. (Copy the code below.) On the Strange But Good post each week, you’ll see a link to add your own recipe and picture at the bottom of the page.

Not a blogger? I still want to see your strangeness! Send me an email with a picture of you food and a brief description by noon on Thursday and I’ll include it in Friday’s post.

It would be fabulous if everyone would use #strangebutgood in any Tweets and Instragrams of your creations. 🙂

***

I’m SO excited about this link up!!! I’ve been thinking of how strange a concoction I can come up with to share. Bwhahaha!

Do you struggle with finding time to make forward progress? How do you do it?

Is there anything specific you’d like to see more or less of on the blog?

Work It Out At Home

December 4, 2012 By Laura

We’re all busy.

My calendar is nightmare-inducing.

This time of year things get hectic. You don’t have to sacrifice your fitness due to holiday craziness though! Today’s Work It Out is something different – a routine you can do at home with NO equipment.

This quick, full-body workout is demonstrated by Jacklyn, a trainer at my gym, House of Payne. She started doing figure competitions in her 40s. When I met her, I thought she was 30. Diet and exercise pay off!

Check out the video below for a video explanation of each move:

Printable/pin-able graphic of the workout:

Make time to run through this 4x to get a quick 20 minute workout. Or just do one round – whatever you have time for!

On days when I’m in a rush or on the road, I’ll do one round of a simple workout like this just to get the blood flowing in the morning. You can always find 5 minutes!

Remember last week’s Kitchen Workout? It’s about eating to fuel your body properly. Calee (who designed the awesome logo above) created a graphic with my guidelines! Again, these are guidelines that work for me. Come up with a list of you own. Calee came up with these for her “Operation Pants Fit” goals.

Have you joined the Kitchen Workout?

How are you doing with it? I’m doing decently well. Weekdays are easy, but this weekend I definitely slipped a bit… I blame the giant unguarded container of peanut M&Ms. Whoops. The important to remember that every day, every moment is a new opportunity to get back on track. Beating yourself up over M&Ms is silly.

Feel free to post/pin/tweet the #KitchenWorkout graphic and show your clean eating pride! Check out last week’s post for tips and recipes!

***

I caved in and created a Facebook page for the blog. Click here if you would be so kind to like my page. 🙂

Do you prefer to go to a gym or workout at home?

How are have worked it out in the kitchen lately?

Gift Guide for Food and Fitness Lovers + Giveaway

December 3, 2012 By Laura

Gift giving is a big part of the holiday fun.

Almost as fun as gift-getting.

It is December 3rd whether the weather got the memo or not. I went on a jog yesterday in shorts and a tank top and was sweating while passing houses decked out for Christmas. Bizarre. My iPhone said it was 66 degrees, but I think it cleared 70.

Since it is the month of giving, I wanted to share some of my favorite things (aside from whiskers on kittens – that goes without saying). These are tried-and-true items – I already own most of them!

Whether you are brainstorming something for your favorite food-lover or for someone whose idea of fun is working out, I hope this will give you some ideas.

2012 Holiday Gift Guide

1. Shun Knife

This is my favorite knife. It’s a fantastic tool, but what makes it even better is that they make a left-handed version! Santa brought me one last year and it’s basically the only knife I use. Speaking of… I need to get mine sharpened for Christmas!

2. Magic Bullet

I used this thing religiously before I got my Vitamix. It can take some abuse, and you can blend smoothies right in the cup for a quick breakfast or post-workout refuel. I still use mine for small tasks like whipping cottage cheese for Apple Cupcakes or single-serving dips. But if you really loved the giftee… you’d buy them the $450 Vitamix.

3. FitBit

My FitBit inspires me to walk 10,000 steps and 20 flights of stairs a day, something I need since I am a cube monkey. I don’t use all the features, but it also can track sleep and calories (though it’s not entirely accurate as it can’t tell when you’re lifting weights or at a standing desk). Warning: If you are a little OCD, this may not be the best thing for you.

4. Handful

Greatest sports bra ever… if you’re a member of the itty bitty titty committee. It’s not a super-support bra, but if your pecs are biggest part of your chest (like mine) it’s perfect. There’s even a little layer of padding so you don’t like like a flat-chested 12-year old when you’re at the gym. AND they are having a $12 closeout sale on the size large.

5. Peanut Flour

I talk about it all the time. If I were to find peanut flour in my stocking, I’d be one happy girl. Better yet, if I could just get a year’s supply… Mom, are you reading this? If you order through iHerb.com, use discount code USO924 for $5-10 off your order!

6. Grow Your Own Wheatgrass Kit

Wheatgrass is awesome stuff. It’s full of amino acids, chlorophyll, minerals, vitamins, and antioxidants. It’s also expensive. I want to grow my own! You don’t even need a juicer to use it if you have a Vitamix! It will blend up the grass like a champ. The Wheatgrass Kit can be found on OpenSky at Robin McGraw‘s new Insider page (yes, it’s Dr. Phil’s wife).

Here’s the giveaway part….

To celebrate Robin’s new healthy living collection, OpenSky has offered to give one reader a $25 credit to use anywhere on the site!

OpenSky is a “social shopping site that helps people discover, buy and share unique goods that match their individual taste. Users can connect to friends and industry insiders in Food, Style, Beauty, Healthy Living, Electronics and Home Décor for exclusive information, advice and insider product recommendations.”

I’ve been a member for over a year now and have found lots of great products. They will often have sales on my favorite vegan protein powder (Sun Warrior), and its where I found my Kombucha homebrew kit (I’m on batch 8!). My favorite Insiders include: Robin McGraw, Bobby Flay, Dorie Greenspan, Tracy Anderson and Jackie Warner.

Receive up to 4 entries by:

Join OpenSky
Tweet: You could say something like: I entered to win a $25 @OpenSky gift certificate in the @sprint2thetable #giveaway http://wp.me/p16jDn-1OI
Be Social: Pinterest Follow Me and/or Pin Something of Mine, Instagram Follow Me, Follow Me and Open Sky on Twitter
Comment: What is on your wishlist this year?

Please leave a separate comment for each entry!

Contest ends at 11:59pm EST on Thursday, December 6th. The winner will be announced on Friday, December 7th.

***

I quit posting a workout recap on Mondays… it seems like it was getting too repetitive/boring to read. If anyone has thoughts on that… feel free to share. For now I’m going to do away with it.

Is it still warm where you live?

Have you ever tried any of the things on my gift guide?

Sources of Protein: Vegetarian and Vegan

November 21, 2012 By Laura

Are you geared up to eat?

My stretchy pants are ready.

Before you start the Thanksgiving extravaganza, I have an awesome guest post from Allie about vegetarian protein sources. Allie decided to start training for a her own figure competition, and began working with my trainer a couple of months ago. We’ve worked out together a few times and let me tell you – this girl lives up to her blog name (Forgotten Beast). She is a beast.

You guys know the crazy amounts of protein I’ve been eating? Well, Allie has a very similar nutrition plan, only she’s doing it vegetarian! While you may not need quite as much protein as we try to eat, it is important to have an adequate amount (typically 0.8g per pound of body weight for athletes).

Instead of a typical What I Ate Wednesday, check out the creative ways Allie crams in the vegetarian protein in a day.

Be sure to click here to head over to Jenn @ Peas and Crayons to get to see how everyone else is ramping up for Turkey Day!

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Hey kids, I’m Allie! You may have seen me pop up on Laura’s blog from time to time, since this wonderful guest-blog-post-host inspired me to get on the figure competitor train and has put up with me showing up on her doorstep three times now. Training for a figure competition requires mega-protein, and I’m trying to do it on a vegetarian diet. This may seem impossible, but I wanted show just how easy it can be with some pointers/ideas for getting vegetarian protein in any diet.

Soy, Beans and Lentils

I’m grouping these together to keep it short and sweet. I mean, those are the pretty obvious sources of vegetarian protein, right? But if you’re in a rut or just don’t know what to do with it, you’ve got to give Laura’s Chick-less Nuggets and TVP Oatmeal (20g protein) a try – or pick up a package of tempeh (23g) to make “meat” sauce, stir-fries and more.

Nuts and Seeds

I feel like nuts are another obvious source of veggie protein—but what about seeds? Sunflower seeds (7g protein), pumpkin seeds (9g protein) and hemp seeds (11g protein) are all fabulous sources of protein – and they taste pretty darn good too.

Eggs

Whole eggs (7g protein) and egg whites (4g protein) are some of the most adaptable proteins. Breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert – there’s no wrong time for scrambled eggs, PB & Jeggs, or an omelet.

Dairy

Greek yogurt tops the charts in the protein-from-dairy category (23g protein in brands like Fage and Trader Joe’s). Other good dairy-based protein sources include cottage cheese (15g protein) and ricotta.

Vital Wheat Gluten

Not an option for the wheat and gluten-free among you, but otherwise? 23g of protein in one serving – and there are SO many ways to use VWG. You can make your own seitan, faux chicken, faux breakfast sausage (Editor’s Note: I’ve made Allie’s recipe with TVP and it is really good!), high-protein bread and more. Save money and all the preservatives and sodium you find in the vegan “meat” options at grocery stores by making your own.

Protein Powder

Protein powder is an easy way to get a protein boost. While it is not a replacement for real, whole foods, it can supplement shakes, meals and an overall balanced diet. There are so many good vegan protein powders out there that there is no reason feel powders are limited to those who can/want to drink whey and casein. (Or beef protein powder. Really? Has anyone tried this?)

Greens and Veggies

Of course I can’t omit the veggies! Don’t let these precious grams of protein go unnoticed! While a serving may only have 1-3g of protein, if you get 5-6 servings in a day, you’re adding 15g of protein!

So How Do You Put It All Together?

Here’s a sample of what a day may look like for me (keep in mind I’m eating seven meals and aiming for crazy amounts of protein – just like Laura – you only need a few of these to meet everyday health goals!):

Breakfast: Greek yogurt and fruit (24g)
Post-Workout: Peaches and cream smoothie (Vanilla protein powder, frozen peaches, hemp seeds, almond milk) (36g)
Morning Snack: Lentil flatbread topped with peanut butter (22g)
Lunch #1: Tempeh “bacon” and sautéed collard greens (26g)
Lunch #2: Vital wheat gluten “chicken” salad (27g)
Dinner: TVP and cottage cheese “hot pocket” with a side of oven-roasted broccoli (42g)
Dessert: Egg white topped with cranberries and sugar-free syrup (17g)

Grand Total? 194g of protein

And not an animal in sight. Half of these options are vegan as well, so, even if you omitted the eggs and dairy (and I do mean omitted—not even substituted one of the other many amazing and completely plant-based protein options), this day would still have 140g of protein – much more than average daily protein needs (which seem to be around 50 – 100g for ladies, from what I’ve read).

While I’m not a huge fan of numbers when it comes to food and nutrition, they can be a helpful guideline, so I’ll include this: this entire day comes in at under 2000 calories and balances out to a 40/40/20 macro ratio.

I hope this answers some questions/busts some myths about vegetarian protein!

***

Thanks again to Allie for such an incredible post. I am so impressed by her dedication! For Thanksgiving I’m taking a few days off to relax. I hope you all get to do the same.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

How are you “falling into good habits” over the holiday season?

Do you make an effort to get protein throughout the day? Post-exercise?

Work It Out with Jody

November 20, 2012 By Laura

New moves are my favorite.

I’m doing many right now and I point my toes down some ski slopes.

Today’s Work It Out post features one of my biggest inspirations – Jody @ Truth2BeingFit. She is a big fan of changing up workouts to keep things interesting and effective, and her positive energy is contagious. Take one look at her picture and you’ll see she clearly knows what she’s doing. AND this amazing lady just celebrated her 55th birthday!

I’m Working It Out this week in a few different ways. Saturday I went hiking at Red Rocks with Heather and Lauren!

Heather, Me, and Lauren at Red Rocks

________________________________________________________________________________________

I want to thank Laura for inviting me to guest post today! She is an amazing young (Editor’s Note: It’s so nice to be called young…) woman who knows how to kick some “arse” in the gym! 😉

For those that don’t know me, my name is Jody and I blog over at Truth2BeingFit. I have been working out for over 30 years & turned 55 on the 15th of this month. YIKES! Where did the time go! (Editor’s Note: I sure hope I look half this good at 55!)

I know some may look at my pictures & think I can’t relate BUT I can! I was heavy as a kid. I lost weight in high school but did many things wrong on this lifelong journey. My mantra: ALWAYS LEARNING & ALWAYS A WORK IN PROGRESS.

Laura asked to me to share a couple of workout moves that are different from the norm to help you mix it up in the gym & work your body in different ways. I am a “change agent” in the gym. I LOVE mixing it up!

I first want to link you to a couple recent posts of mine. Many people are stuck in a rut using the same attachment for the same move all the time. Check out this post, Variety is the Spice of Life, Cable Attachment Love! I also have a post on a variation of drop sets here. Drop sets are a more advanced move so if you are a beginner, leave this until you have a few months under your belt.

One move I love to do is using a seated row machine for bicep curls with a rope (hammer curls w/rope), straight or cambered bar or even a single D handle. You will have to use a LIGHTER weight for this move. Grab the bar, rope or D handle & lie back on the seat of the row machine. Curl away. The fact that you are lying & you can’t cheat really stresses the biceps – LOVE IT! You can also do this by placing a mat on the floor by the bottom rung of a cable machine. With your feet closest to the cable machine, grab attachment, lie back & curl! (Editor’s Note: This is how I do them – SO effective!)

Another move is to place a bench by the cable machine. Place one of the attachments in the paragraph above on the lowest rung of the cable machine. Grab the attachment & lie back on the bench with your head closest to the machine. From here, you can do lying cable triceps extensions/skull crushers. Use a stability ball to engage the core or if there is not a bench available. Always use proper form! It is easy to hurt the shoulders if you are not very careful with form!

I would like to finish by saying that always be true to you! There is no “my way or the highway.” Find what works for you. Of course, if you are new to lifting, you want to learn the traditional way of lifting with proper form. Learn to listen to your body and how everything feels from day one – get that mind/muscle link!

Once you become more advanced, you can start putting programs together that meet your needs – not that friend or other person in the gym. Life changes, we change, our body changes, our goals change along this lifelong journey. Always work toward finding that best for you. This does not mean we can’t learn from others BUT it does mean that we learn to recognize what works best for ourselves.

Thanks again to Laura for inviting me to guest post! Please feel free to email at jody @ truth2beingfit.com with any questions… although Laura knows her stuff! 🙂

***

Thank you for showing us some new moves, Jody! I’ve never thought to use the row machine for curls… can’t wait to get back and try it out!

Did anyone try last week’s 1 1/2s?

Has the way you workout changed over time? How so?