Some big changes going forward…
PIN IT!Hello friends, fans and readers! I wanted to let you all know of some changes being made to this lovely little blog! I’ve thought long and hard and think they will only make this a better, more informative and more interesting blog!
1. I am no longer going to be doing resolution days. This was a tough decision, but in the end, I think it will be in the best interest of the blog. I’m sad I wasn’t able to keep it up throughout the whole year, but am very proud of myself for what I have accomplished thus far. Life happens and I was unable to post everyday, which left me to feel stressed out and anxious because I was behind, which is not feelings I want, especially about this blog! I will, however, finish my updates for April and will end in May. That doesn’t mean that I won’t still be posting new and exciting things I’m going to try to help me become fitter, smarter, healthier and happier, just not in the same format. I think this change will make my blog easier to follow, easier to relate to and easier to read! I hope you all still chose to stick with me as I continue to bring you top quality “stuff!”
2. I will be moving over to my website [www.nutritionfor.us] in May! My fiance and I are doing some hard work on it to make sure it’s as fun and easy to read as this blog. I’m just ready for a new face and look to my blog and think this new platform will only increase my readership and gain more traction!
3. I would like to introduce my exciting, new categories! Meal Makeover, Pump it Up and Keep On Smilin’. All of these will be updated once a week and will contain ways to make your favorite dish healthier, pump up your exercise regime for maximum results and daily tips on how to be happier. I’m definitly wanting all of these to be user friendly, so if any of you have any recipes you’ve made over, really great workout tips or happy advice, please send my way!
I wanted to thank EVERYONE who is a dedicated follower, you are all why I do this 🙂 I can’t wait to see how everythin unfolds!
Days 24-25: Add a dab of excitement…
It’s not that my life is boring, persay, it’s more that it can be rather seriously lackluster at times, which is normal, I know. However, as I mentioned in a previous post, I tend to get very stir crazy and can go a bit mad if there isn’t something exciting on the horizon. Although I have plenty to be excited about in a few months [my trip to Italy] and this year [My wedding!] there are still gaps of dullness that drag me down. Sadly, I’m also on a tight budget [due to the two exciting things I just mentioned] so I need some low-budget, free ideas to add some pizzazz to those boring days and weekends. So below, you will find some ideas on how I plan to spice up my life. I’m open to suggestions and more ideas, so leave a comment or drop an email if you know of any! It took me two days to compile this list, but I”m excited!
Learn to cook
I’m not a horrible cook, but I’m not great either. So what better way to spice up my life than to add some zest to my meals? Before I sought help from a professional [a cooking class] I wanted to try to teach myself the culinary arts. [Obviously with a little help from my hubby-to-be]. Now learning to cook is not a one, or even two, day thing, but is something that I can do when I’m feeling bored with my life.
So how do you teach yourself to work? Well with help from Food & Wine magazine, it’s rather easy! If you want to add some spice to your life [AND your dishes!] top chefs [like Tom Callichio] would read cookbooks, cover to cover. If you don’t have the time for that, try following a few simple pieces of advice I’ve picked up from friends, family members and colleagues who have mastered their kitchen.
1. Commit to cooking everyday. Whether it be something small like scrambled eggs or something larger like a roast chicken, find time to be in the kitchen everyday. You can’t learn if you don’t practice!
2. Find a technique cook book, that not only gives recipes, but helps beginners [like me, who barely know the difference between a tsp and a tbsp!] Some good suggestions are Tips and Techniques to Cooking Like a Pro, Anthony Bourdain’s Less Halles Cookbook and Betty Crocker Cookbook.
3. Focus on fresh ingredients. The best dishes are made with the best ingredients and the best cooks only use fresh food. So follow in their footsteps and try to use fresh fruits, produce, meats and breads in your recipes.
Sign up for a fun, reoccurring dance class
I am an embarrassment when it comes to dancing. My skills rival that of Carlton, but not nearly as cool. I’m a klutz and uncoordinated, which make dancing something to dread. So to overcome my fear of dancing and lose some weight at the same time, I decided to sign up for dance classes.
Now, finding dance classes for serious beginnings was a bit tough, but I found a great resource local to DC! Joy of Motion Dance Center in Bethesda caters to the worst of the worst [me] to near perfect dancers. I signed up for the Intro to Hip Hop dance classes. The price is a bit steep [$85 for 5 weeks] but I think the benefits totally outweight the cost. You can burn up to 500 calories per hour doing hip hop dances and dancing will add some spice to my social life!
These tasks should add some excitement to my life, and if I start to get bored again, you better believe I’ll feature another post with more fun, easy ways to add a bit of fun and spice to your everyday!
Claire
Tags:best cook books, cooking class, dance class, excitement, learn to cook
Calorie Counter
This is, by far, the coolest online calorie counter. It really motivates you to put down that donut and grab a peach! [Or in this case, a stick of sugar-free gum!]
Day 20 [Wedding]: The big O
I know what you are all thinking…and no, I’m not referring to that O. [Not in this post, at least!] I’m referring to the big ol’ O of organization! Not quite as exciting but just as necessary for a healthy, happy life…and a successful wedding.
I was in desperate need of an organizational game plan for my wedding. My house was cluttered with wedding magazines, notepads with inspirational ideas, wedding books and photos. Even worse off was my hard drive, which was loaded with saved internet pages, wedding documents and to do lists and thousands of emails between my bridal party, my vendors, and myself. My wedding life, put frankly, was a f***in’ mess! So on day 20 [a day that will live in my mind as the one that saved my life] I gathered all my documents from the house and printed all the documents on my computer and sat down to organize, color code and stick them into a wedding binder. A daunting task, but at this point, I was in need of some serious help and was willing to try anything.
As a girl who never understood the power of organization, I was shocked to see how much easier [and less stressful] it made planning my wedding. After my binder was built, I became a devout believer in the big O. [See pictures of this paper miracle below.]
As you can see from the photos above, this binder has a place for everything and anything that relates to my wedding. It has theme inspirations, accessories, favorite dresses, vendor contracts, gift bag ideas and our menu. It also has wedding day timelines and to-do lists. This baby has it all and it has already saved me from a few major meltdowns.
So brides to be, I highly recommend making a wedding binder. If you aren’t a fan of the binder [or don’t want to lug around something that weights 20 pounds] create a wedding folder on your desktop or in your inbox where you can save all of your emails, to-do lists and inspirational ideas. Having one place that houses all of your wedding information will not only save you time, but can also save you money and keep you from unnecessary freak-outs. It may seem time-consuming to build this binder or save EVERYTHING, but in the long run, the extra few seconds will be worth it. I can’t tell you how many times, already, this binder has come in handy during conversations with a few of my vendors. It is such a time and life saver to have everything easily accessible and in one place.
If you’d like more information on my binder and what I included, comment your question or shoot me an email! I’m more than happy to assist anyone! [claire.gllam10@gmail.com]
I can’t stress enough, an organized bride is a happy bride!
Days 21-23: Add some intervals to my workout
This is how I feel I look…
and this is how I want to look.
How do I get from Point A to Point B? With a kick a$$ exercise regime and a healthy diet, but of course! Luckily, thanks to my pre-wedding nutrition plan, my diet is flawless nearly flawless. My workouts, though, could use a bit of pumping up. So on day 21, I wrote up a high intensity, high fat blasting workout that will work alongside my diet plan to get me those slim, sexy abs. [And nice legs and a great butt too!]
So what is the number one way to add intensity to your cardio workout? Interval training! Interval training works both the aerobic (making energy with oxygen) and the anaerobic (making energy without oxygen) systems. During the high intensity minutes, the anaerobic system uses the energy stored in the muscles for the short bursts of high activity. Basically, interval training consists of switching back and forth from a lower intensity workout to a higher intensity workout. What are the benefits? This type of training allows the body to build new capillaries, and is better able to take in and deliver oxygen to the working muscles. Also, interval training increases weight loss efforts because by challenging both you aerobic and anaerobic systems simultaneously, you’re improving your body’s ability to burn calories.
So to show off how I added interval training to my cardio routines, I made this graph. A few things to keep in mind while looking at it. This represents a 30 minute workout [including 5 minutes for the warm up and 5 minutes]. Below [before the graph] is how I spaced out each intensity.
As you will also see, the RPE [rating of perceived exertion] increased each day I did this. [The RPE scale is as follows: 0-no exertion at all to 10-maximum exertion possible, very hard work]. I did this for 3 days so adapt your intensity on how often you plan on doing this!
Warm Up–5 minutes
Low Intensity–4 minutes
High Intensity–2 minutes
Low Intensity–4 minutes
High Intensity–2.5 minutes
Low Intensity–4 minutes
High Intensity–3 minutes
Cool Down–5 minutes
Claire
Tags:intense workout, intensity, interval training, up intensity, weight loss, working out
