Do you take medications?

Those are my grandparents.  Love them.

Today I had lunch with them at my parents house and talked about my vocal chord paralysis a bit.

Grandpa has some medical problems he battles and we talked a little about supplements that could help.

I don't like to give advice but I do like the research part and I stumbled across some pretty cool articles.

The first was on the condition he asked me about peripheral neuropathy. 

Click the words to read about suggested treatments.

The other was even more intriguing!

Nutritional-solutions.net

Drug-Nutrient Depletions & Known Interactions

Image link

They created a document that allows you to look up meds you take and then see if they cause any vitamin or mineral depletions.  I wouldn't just go buy and take them. I think you would want to consult a physician of some sort for dosage and contraindications but it is definitely a talking point to print and take to your appointment.  

Good Luck everyone!

Deck of cards

I love to workout with my husband.  It's hard at times because we run different paces and are at different levels when it comes to strength training but we have managed to find ways to work out together over the years.  He keeps me so motivated and I have tried many things I would never have tried on my own...and I am healthier for that!

Recently, I have been learning about the benefits of strength training for weight loss. I used to think if I just ran and ran and ran I would off set the calories I ate.  But I am learning that becoming lean and burning calories is most effective when you add in strength training or even plyometric work outs.  So now We usually have one rest day and then alternate running and strength.  

A typical week looks like this: 

Sun-alternate strength training such as this Deck of cards work out

Mon-recovery run-middle distance

Tue-Body pump at the gym

Wed-Speed work and shorter run

Thur-Body pump at the gym

Fri-Rest

Sat-Long run

Here's a great little article from RUNNER'S WORLD about it all.  It touts the following

1.  Muscle burns more calories: 

"Your body typically uses about 4.5 to seven calories per pound of muscle every day. If a 160-pound runner with 20 percent body fat increases his muscle mass and lowers his body fat to 15 percent, he'll burn an extra 36 to 56 calories a day at rest—simply by adding muscle."

2.  You'll be more efficient:

A study published last year in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research showed that runners who add three days of resistance training exercises to their weekly program increase their leg strength and enhance their endurance. 

3.  You'll be less injury prone:

  If you increase your strength, you'll also increase your joint stability, reducing your risk of repetitive stress injuries," says McCall, citing a study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, which showed that incorporating moves such as squats, single-leg hops, and ab work into a workout can not only prevent lower-body injuries, but improve performance as well.

Between my chiropractor and what I have learned about workouts I know this to be absolutely true!

So this brings me to the title of this blog... a fun little workout for my husband and I that really mixes it up and makes for a great work out!

The Deck of Cards

We choose 4 activities.  We try to choose things that will allow us a total body work out.  You might want to do  it multiple times a week arms one day, legs one day, core another.  We run for a mile or about 5-10 minutes to warm up.  We like to set the timer on our phone and try to move quickly from one to the next.  It keeps the cardio up and we try to beat our previous time if we can.   

Our 4 go to activities are.

goblet squats

Weighted ball sit up with partner

Burpee

and the pull-up

I use the machine at the gym and the hubs starts with pull ups then he adds a box for one leg or switches to the machine if he needs too.

BAM!  You're welcome!

Rotisserie Chickens

So I have been traveling lots with the family and my husband.  One of my greatest trials at keeping on track with weight loss and staying health is to fail at eating well and exercising are when I am away from home and out of my routine.  I am proud to say...not this time! Hubs and I have discovered the answer to all that travel...at least for us!  Rotisserie chickens.  

Ha Ha.  It's really more than just chickens... but that is how it started.  We take a cooler with us and have learned along the way to find grocery stores to purchase our snacks and even some meals!  I'm a small town girl and we don't have big city healthy food stores or amazing healthy grocery stores.  On this last trip we found a Whole Foods.  

<Pause sunbeam and angelic singing>

Whole Foods is THAT good.

Here is our hotel fridge after our trip.  Top left is a smoked chicken with barbeque sauce.  Top right is a ginormous salad that we will share.  Bottom left are two soups (local yumminess creole, seafood kind of soups), shrimp cocktail in the center and fruit on the bottom right.  Almost all hotels have microwaves these days at least in the lobby if not in your room.  You can also use the gas station microwaves if you need to!

That's another love of mine!  The Jimmy Johns Unwich.  No bread, lettuce leaves to hold in all the goodies.  I know the meat is processed and not "clean" but in a pinch it's a good choice and easy to eat while driving.

This little gem travels well too.  At the start of my trip I might eat it out of a paper cup (mixed it up at a rest stop) with some celery sticks I brought along.  At the hotel I mixed some up and then broke off hunks of banana to get that goodness into my mouth for a snack so I wouldn't over eat at dinner.  

I paid $7.50 for this bottle of water and cup of fruit!  Dang.  If I was smart I would have refilled my water bottle and stuck some of the fruit they served at breakfast in our fridge.  Sometimes the ambiance of purchasing a snack is worth it.  See the live Jazz band in the back ground?

Other snacks we take along?

bags of baby carrots-sometimes I need to mindlessly eat and they are crunchy and I don't have to feel guilty

cocoa roasted almonds-although a 1 oz serving is only about 20 nuts.  

microwave popcorn -pop it at a gas station microwave!

bananas, oranges, apples

I also cut up strawberries and cantaloupe before we left the last time.  

Having the containers was handy after another grocery stop too!

And back to the chickens.

Well, we have learned that the ones at Walmart are actually VERY yummy.

Hubs drives while I eat half.  Their Barbeque sauce is good (smokey) and we share a little cup of it.  They have napkins, forks, knives, everything.  Then when I am done we switch and I drive.  We remove the skin and I sometimes don't eat the wing or leg and leave it for him-he can have more calories than me.  Once we did this two days in a row lunch and dinner trying different chickens...Target, Walmart, Kroger, local grocers ha ha ha

I know. It's weird.  

We bought a bottle of BBQ for $1 that was pretty good actually and had like four meals for $25 for two people.  See...weird and cheap.  I'm winning ya'all over aren't I?

All in all at the end of vacation, I gain .4 (not even a half pound).  That is a victory.  In the past I would have gained 5 lbs and probably stopped all my healthy ways.

I enjoyed my meals while out on the town knowing I had done well on the trip down and back.  I continued my workouts.  I am learning to LOVE running in new places.  It has mixed up my training.  I have adopted some weight lifting strategies that allow me to do strength training with no weights if I need too.  

Does is seem humid here to you?  I think it's a bit humid.

Holy headbands that's gross.  I forgot my pony tail holder and there I am in foggy, humid, damp New Orleans running along the river.  It makes me laugh to look at it.

It's not a diet.  It's life.  Indulge if you want. 

But keeping the weight off and the work it takes to plan and do it is far worth the work.

Vacation shopping.  Honey can I get this?

Alone doesn't work

Today I ran with my pal Pam.  Pam is amazing and I'd love to share her story some day.  She has lost 118 lbs and has 4 boys under the age of 17.  I was on vacation last week so my schedule this week is so busy just catching up.  Pam and I have been trying to run together on Tuesdays all winter and have only done so two or three times.  So when she asked me to run today I told her I couldn't because of my schedule.  This morning as I crawled out of bed on my vacation hangover to head to the gym I knew I had to find a way to say yes to Pam.  Maybe she was needing a run with me as much I as I needed one with her!?

After careful calculations in my schedule I texted her and she said YES!  The run was so great on many levels. We talked-the whole way.  I don't do that.  Ask the hubs.  I listen to my music and talk sporadically.  Sometime I even yell at HIM for making me talk.  But, with Pam today our pace was manageable and the talking was breathy but doable.  It was releasing to run, it was releasing to talk and hear an adult woman's perspective on life.  I don't do that much.  

Our talkative run quickly went from 4 miles as planned to 4.44 miles because I didn't hear Lola (AKA Runkeeper) tell me it was time to turn around.  When I got home I breezed through a few chores, showered, and was at work by 10:30.  With a smile on my face I took this picture for my hubs at work.

It is difficult to ascertain whether the benefits of group exercise are derived from the activity or the social interaction, but experts agree that the support, variety and motivation a group provides can help improve physical and mental health and create lasting exercise routines.

"It is known that women tend to exercise more when they perceive high levels of social support in their lives," says Cherilyn Hultquist, assistant professor in the department of health, physical education and sport science at Kennesaw State University in Kennesaw, Ga. "Seeing familiar faces each class makes it more than a stale exercise environment. It becomes a community with common goals."

Social interaction in group exercise settings can be a vehicle of encouragement and motivation for many, says Cedric Bryant, chief science officer for the American Council on Exercise, a nonprofit organization that promotes physical fitness and creates certification programs for fitness professionals. Group classes also create an atmosphere of accountability.

"Individuals are more inclined to come to the session because of social interaction, but also to put forth better effort because of the group dynamic that occurs with others -- a positive competition, in a sense," Bryant says.

Click here to read the full article from the LA Times

So was it how amazing Pam is?  Is it runner's high?  Probably both I think.  Do you have someone that supports you in being healthy?  I am blessed enough to have an army!  Each one from my mom, my sisters, my husband, my weight watchers group, the people at the gym, lady on the treadmill who I race but she doesn't even know it to PAM provide me with accountability and support and I am grateful and blessed and hope that I do the same.

I checked on Pintrest for a catchy saying about Friends working out together and found this.  The Friends Workout.  Ha Ha

Get it-from Friends the show.  Gotta have been a 20 something in the 90's!

And then this hilarious pic that has nothing to do with anything but I did FOR REAL laugh out loud.

Oh man I digress..

To wind things up... I felt happy at all I had accomplished, positive because I got to talk with a trusted friend, and healthy for having run and lifted weights this morning.  In turn, I made healthy eating choices and tracked all of my food. My chocolate cravings only went as far as lick the residue of the Reeses Peanut butter egg off the cardboard holder instead of beg my 10 year old for a bite.  

Baby steps people-baby steps.

Eating healthy on vacation gets creative

This particular vacation I was convinced I could stick to my healthy eating and workout habits.  While I did better than ever before I still failed a few times.

This is taken as we are waiting to receive our CHOCOLATE EXPLOSION dessert.

This is it.  Basically a to die for chocolate cake and some ice cream.

I am convinced that at some level, being healthy is every bit as much about planning in this world we live in.  I have to plan to buy the right food, plan when to make it, plan to workout and plan to sleep the right amount.  I had to plan to keep those precious probiotics cold for a 1000 mile journey.  Plan to pack all my supplements and plan to pack health snacks in a cooler for 2 day. God forbid I get hungry while stopping for gas.

I stuck with my routine of getting up and working out in the mornings before the day got away from me.  Thanks to those nasty histimine issues I have it had to be at the crack of dawn!  Florida is HOT!  We ran lots but the weight lifting suffered.  We did push-ups and ab ripper with P 90x one day and my upper body cursed me for about a week.  170 or so of each.  On our beach run here I literally got so hot during my 4 mile run that I felt nauseous and jumped into that 60 degree water with all my clothes on.

On our travel days, I packed snacks although I quickly ran out.  The hubs and I are ever so skilled at both penny pinching and finding healthy eats and we bought ourselves a rotisserie chicken at Walmart.  I ate half while he drove then he ate the rest while I drove.  Yes it was hillbilly.  But, it was much healthier than anything we could get on the run...so we did three times.  Ha Ha Ha

While there we had a kitchen so we purchased healthy things to eat pool side as well as for breakfast and other meals.  Our Easter meal was seafood and we chose steamed items.

carcasses from our meal

I didn't count my protein grams (I am trying to get half my body weight in protein) and I suffered hip pain because of it.  I'll be starting that up again!  I know it helps.

Some of our meals included:
rotisserie chicken-Walmart
6 oz steak dinner with plain baked potato and side salad at Texas Roadhouse
steamed crab, mussels, and shrimp with side salad
Chipotle salad (had this two times!)
baked Ham and green beans- cousins provided this meal
Cheese burger & fries-this was my indulgence meal

Workouts were running although we did some speedwork and the push ups and sit ups.

For lunches I ate:
salmon directly from the pouch with salt and pepper
lots of veggies and fruit
smoked salmon
cottage cheese
dill pickles- seriously eating these at the beach on a hot day from the cooler was YUMMO
hard boiled eggs
chicken salad from a rotisserie chicken

Then one little bonus of vacation....some outlet mall shopping. I love Under Armour shoes for running and picked me up this new pair!

Here is my idea of satisfaction.... 6 mile run, and a healthy breakfast in sunny Florida with no plans except to lay out.

The thoughts in my head

While running on the dreadmill this morning I did battle again with the thoughts in my head. First it starts out that I think I am racing the people around me.

Can I pace with them?

Am I faster?

Can I out last them?

I wonder how long he has been here?

That actually works for me.  It challenges me and keeps me going.  That is why I like to run with the hubs.

We rarely talk while we run but I know he is there and that we committed to a distance or time.  That makes all the difference.  Today he was out of town.

Then my running partners (aka complete strangers) leave.

Now I am left to my thoughts.

At first it's good and I would say that God tries to help me out.  He DJ's some good tunes and I continue.  But then I am soon bored with that too.

Time to battle and here are some of the thoughts that can derail me.
You have to go to the bathroom. 

You need to stretch.

You aren't going to have enough time to finish.

You worked out enough this week.

It's good that you just got here today.

This is a fine distance to stop.  Good job.

Do more tomorrow than you planned.

SHUT IT!

Today my answer was to run faster.

I don't know if I thought I would out run those thoughts but it worked.

Might have been that I was running so hard for my usual pace that I couldn't think about anything else except for not falling off the back of the dreadmill.

And bam.

Done.

5 miles in 46 minutes

I think you could have done 6.

SHUT IT!

This work out business has me stumped

I plan my menus, I make a grocery list, and I work out according to our planned schedule.  So why am I not losing any more weight right now?  UGH!

Three weeks straight.  Lost .4 lbs.  There is a point before that 4.

As in not even half a pound!

Hubs is so encouraging.  I know he is right.  I am gaining muscle.  

The motivation is the weight loss, feeling better and how my clothes fit.

Luckily my energy increase has been great.

I don't know if it's because 

I am healing from the vocal cord paralysis 

(I was exhausted at the end of every day)

or 

it's all these supplements and this healthy eating

or

it's the exercise (endorphin's)

or

it's just less weight on the bod gives you more energy.

It's all good either way :)

So...research.  You got it.

Strength Training Weight Gain Explained by Pink Lemonade's Blog

Tom and I continue to increase our weight for resistance weekly, increase our speed in speed work and training and increase our long runs on the weekends.  We have been doing this for the last month-about the time I have been stagnant with the weight loss.  

So the plan?  Gotta have a plan.  Keep it positive.  

Use this to motivate.

I am not gaining so that is good news.  I am staying the same.

I will continue to lift and increase weight and distance until we go on spring break here in a couple weeks.

At that time, it's inevitable, that we will not be able to do the level of weights the entire time we are gone.

That will be our back off period to let our bodies rest before we do another increase.

Sort of like when you are training for a half or marathon.  

You run with a 10% increase for several weeks in a row then you back off a week on mileage before another increase.  It makes you stronger and recharges you both physically and mentally.

So they say.

I ran one half marathon and I was ill prepared at that time.

I have done many training plans and been successful at increasing my times and distance though.

It works!

Here is our weight training work out

SPARTACUS

We took this from the Men's Health Website.

I have to take a few options but it works well for both Tom and I.

I want to add some core training.

We run for 10-15 minutes before and after for a total of about 3 miles.

We do this on Sundays and then Body Pump two other days.

Tomorrow we do a long run.  We're thinking in a town nearby instead of here for a change of scenery.

I am sure the trails are a muddy mess right now.  

I'm not opposed to getting my sweet shoes muddy but not that muddy.

The route looks like a 10k minimum (we are going to see how we feel) with a gigantic hill!

I am really excited also to try out some natural ideas for fuel during the long runs.  I liked a page on Facebook called Distant Runners and asked if anyone had ideas for clean (not processed ) energy on the run.  I got lots of help!  Love those Running Community Sites!

Click HERE for 

Ciara's Chocolate Peanut Butter Energy gel recipe.  

An all natural version of GU

Click HERE to go to Ciara's Blog
and get the recipe for this recovery drink shown above.

I want to try this recipe for a natural energy gel

but tomorrow I am going with just straight organic honey.

Click HERE for Ciara's energy gel

And a bonus thing I learned about the honey that I will need to test out...
My friend Shelly says that I should use local honey.  It helps with the allergens because the bees collect the local allergens.  COME ON SPRING! Mama needs to get to a farmers market!

As for other dietary concerns related to fitness...

The toe is unchanged.  My painful knees from all the squats are taking front and center now on the annoyance scale.  My podiatrist suggested putting Biofreeze on my sore joints before my run and I have to admit I think it's helpful.  I have taken anti inflammatories she prescribed by try not to.
I worry a little about taking them.

Read about that HERE from Daily Spark
In a nutshell, it hinders your bodies natural response to healing itself making it take even longer to recover.

The reason, these meds have been shown to decrease tissue regeneration, decrease collagen repair, as well as increasing gastrointestinal and kidney issues when taking them over a long period of time. And because they are also a pain reliever, these meds can mask pain, therefore a runner may run through an injury unaware of the damage that may be occurring.

I like this article on what eating anti inflammatory foods can do to speed your healing process. BodyBuilding.com

I'm chowing the salmon for now ...... and pineapple.Icing the knees and the toe in prep for tomorrow.

Happy Friday guys!
Next week for motivation I am going to take my measurements again.
Nailbitter, I know.  Ha Ha