Sunday, August 28, 2011

Something To Look Forward To!

I am working on a fun project that I will soon have to share with you all! 

I have been working with my trainer, Kathi Potts for several years.  Everytime we work out, I write down the workouts in a small binder.  Now, I am in the process  of transcribing my workouts into a soft copy.  Then Kathi and I will select the "favorites" for an easy workout and the "favorites" for a killer workout.  Initially, we will package easy vs. killer workouts and then post them on Kathi's website for sale.  Since you are my faitful readers, I will offer them to you for free!

From there, I am thinking about turning the workouts into a book format.  The working title for the book is "The Ironman in Every Woman".  Kathi is a 5 time Ironman.  She has done countless half ironmans and Olympic lengths, as well as sprints.  I admire that so much in her!  She has helped me find my "Ironman" in me.  She keeps me motivated to keep up with  my weight training.  I have become really strong and am very happy with my strength and stamina. 

So, stay tuned.  Let me know if you are interested in receiving some of the workouts, easy or killer style.  I look forward to completing phase one and getting you a copy!

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Treats, Treats, and More Treats!

We have been having so much fun with my beautiful niece!  If ever there was something to celebrate, it has been her visit this summer!  We have been having fun everyday!  On top of exceptional workouts together, we have also been shopping, spa-ing and enjoying the occassional treat!  Yes, I have, in the course of 1.5 weeks, managed to pick up a few extra pounds!  I decided to not freak out about it, but instead, to enjoy the love that it represents. 

I love myself enought to buckle down on Tuesday (when she goes back to college) and return to a very measured eating plan.  Now, mind you, I have NOT been going hog wild, by any stretch of the imagination.  But I did have a glass of wine today and 3 bites of her pancakes this morning and then some fat free frozen yogurt after dinner today.  It may not seem like much, but my body responds to these extra calories and stores them as extra weight.

The amazing thing is that an extra pound is supposed to be due to 3,500 extra calories.  I can promise you that I have not ingested that many "treats"!  But my body responds the way my body responds and that is my reality.

So, again, I will breathe, accept, refocus and move forward.  I do love the love that Alex brings with her!

Tomorrow, my Mom, Alex and I are going to the fantastic La Costa spa.  It will be glorious to have 3 generations of Massa's at the spa together!  Wish us well!  Wish you could join us!

Desire to love and cherish generational continuity.  Dedication to celebrate love.  Discipline to honor my bodies needs.

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Our Future Is Bright!

With all the negativity swirling around in the news these days, it is so refreshing to spend time around my spectacular niece, Alex!  She is visiting for a few weeks before beginning her junior year at George Washington University.  She is smart, funny, compassionate and gorgeous to boot!

She is very interested in being healthy! It is awesome!  She enjoys working out and making good food choices!  She is very interested in learning and has a real thirst to succeed with health!  While she is here, she is doing workouts with me....it is sooooo fun! 

In less than a month she is moving into a campus apartment with roommates and she wants to learn what to cook for herself that will be nutritious, healthy and delicious.  I turned her on to hungrygirl.com.  Hungry Girl just had a blog about her top 10 list of things to have on hand for fast easy healthy dinner preparations. 

I introduced Alex to Ezekiel english muffins for breakfast - fast and delicious!  She was surprised that it tasted so good! 

Yesterday, she joined me at the gym for an hour of cardio and an hour with Kathi.  This morning we go back for another hour with Kathi in the form of a muscle max class.  She is hanging in with me and the workouts, even though it is more than she usually does.  She is a trooper.

Lest you think it is all carrots and straining muscles, we are also managing to get in jacuzzi's, movies, shopping, spa treatments and the beach!

So, with since our next generation includes Alex, and other great kids her age (Justin, Matthew, etc.!) our future is bright indeed.  ENJOY your weekend.  I know we will!!!

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Sodium - The Final Frontier!

I have conquered workouts; swam laps again this morning.....AWESOME!

I have faced sugar, stared it down, and now manage it quite effectively, save for the occassional treat like last night's vanilla ice cream and piece of See's candy at Dad's birthday celebration!  Notice I did not say "conquered" sugar.  I have successfully identified it as a trigger and focus on managing it.

I have conquered fat and fully understand good fats and bad fats and really do limit bad fats to maybe two times a month.

I have become friends with calories.  They do count.  I don't think you have to carry a scale and calculator to every meal, but it is a really good idea to select a week and carefully monitor everything you ingest to calibrate from time to time, perhaps quarterly?

I have even come to terms with the scale and weighing in on a regular basis.  My mantra is that the number on the scale is not judgment, it is simply what it is, an indicator of where my body weight is on any given day. 

So, now I am going to focus on sodium.  It is pretty widely known that too much of it is not a good thing! Using too much salt can affect fluid retention, blood pressure, heart health, circulation, healthy liver function and just about all aspects of our health. 

I am not going to lie.....I love me some salty snacks!!!  I had my wake up call when I looked at the nutrition informaiton on the sliced deli turkey that I had been buying.  I could already tell you that it was 99% fat free with only 30 calories per slice.  Three little slices tucked into my zip lock baggie were an easy 100 calorie snack.  HOWEVER, those 3 little slices of low calorie low fat deli turkey meat have a whopping 730 mg of sodium!!!  That is more than a 1/3 teaspoon of salt.  YIKES!  WebMD says to keep your sodium levels to 2300 mg (about a teaspoon) or less per day.  I am sure that individual doctors would have differing opinions based on a a person's health profile.  So, check with your health advisor for what is right for you.

The thing is that I buy precious little processed foods, where a lot of sodium is hiding out.  It is not so much what you shake out of your salt shaker when preparing food or at the table.  That adds up too. Just be careful when buying anything processed and check to see how laden with salt it really is!

So, now I am off to the store to buy a turkey breast, cook it and slice it myself so I can still have my snack but it will have a lot less sodium in it!

Desire to conquer it all!  Dedication to incremental growth and learning.  Discipline to cleaner food preparation at home!