Back In Action

I've been away from my blog for far too long! In the past few months I have transferred with my company and moved cross-country. Things have been... hectic, to say the least. Luckily for me, my job keeps me relatively active. But I have not been keeping up with my exercising or healthy eating the way I've imagined I would. So new year, new routine.

I got a fitbit ChargeHR for Christmas. It has basically told me that I've been super lazy during my time off from work. I love that it tracks my heart rate and my sleep. I've learned I'm a bit more restless during sleep than I had thought. But, perhaps even more awesome, is the fact that it automatically recognizes workouts. It's pretty accurate too, I mean it can distinguish between a walk, run, or aerobic exercise. SO... to keep myself accountable I will be logging my workouts on the blog again. And I am going to incorporate more about shopping and cooking healthy.

♥ B

Tuesday Workout

Today I did a video workout at home with my 2 favorite girls, Katrina and Karena. It seems like you aren't doing much, but I was sore after! I love being sore after working out. It lets me know that I did a good job.

Here is the video.

Here is the link to the video. Apparently you need the link to see it.

Bikini Body Workout on Tone It Up website
Bikini Body direct link

Saturday workout

Today I did my 30 minutes of cardio on the elliptical. I like to set it on the varied program that changes height and resistance the whole time. Call me crazy, but I get more out of my workout when I can tell that I'm sweating.

Today I also did another workout from POPSUGAR fitness. It's a HIIT (high intensity interval training) workout. I like doing these every once in a while. They not only work out your whole body, but also get your heart rate up. Doing the same thing all the time can hinder your results, so I throw these in to change it up.

Here is the breakdown of the workout in chart format. There are pictures and descriptions if you go to the link too.

POP SUGAR fitness HIIT workout

Thursday Workout!

Recently I joined a gym... yay!

So now my workout routine has changed up a bit. I usually try to use the cardio machines and weights that I don't have at home, when I'm at the gym. But I still like to do some exercising at home.

Today I worked on my core and arms. I actually did an exercise I found on POPSUGAR fitness. Some of these moves were tough, but some I made actually tougher for myself. To the side elbow plank, I added a dip. This is dropping your hip closest to the ground, almost to the floor and then coming back up to make your body straight from head to toes.

Regular side elbow plank

I am still drinking my protein shakes after working out. It's raw, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, organic, and non-GMO. What more could you ask for? I love throwing a banana or plain yogurt in with it. I am debating switching up the flavor next time, maybe to vanilla.

Friday Workout

Today I did 10 minutes of cardio followed by 2 ab videos from the girls at Tone It Up! 

This is my current ab situation. 

Keep on keepin on.. 

Friday Workout

Today I began with 15 minutes of cardio. Then I focused on my arms with the dumbbells.
I did shoulder presses, bicep curls, and rowing moves.

Row with dumbbells

I finished up with some regular squats and then sumo squats, while holding the dumbbells in near my chest. Adding the weights gave more core exercise to the squats.
This is a good image of the sumo squat with a weight. Place feet more than shoulder width apart. Remember not to let your knees go beyond your toes, and to act like you're sitting in a chair. The deeper the squat, the more it burns.

Sumo squat with weight

As always, I followed my workout with a protein shake. Today I had whole milk, a scoop of chocolate raw protein powder, a banana, and a large scoop of peanut butter.

Tuesday Workout

Today I started with my typical cardio. I did 20 minutes again- I'm getting there! I did butt kickers, jumping jacks, and danced a little, but mostly I focused on knee highs. Workin' the glutes.

After this I did about 10 minutes of arm work with the dumbbells. I had a 2-song dance party to celebrate my hard work..

And then did this booty workout.

I LOVE this girl, but she is cray. I am going to have to work myself up to doing the whole video. Some of the workouts I stopped after a couple reps.

After my workout today I am going to have my protein shake with a banana and some whole milk, because I'm out of almond milk.

Listen to my workout playlist on 8tracks here.

Tuesday Workout

Good Afternoon! Today I started with 20 minutes of cardio. I did jumping jacks, butt kickers, knee highs, and just generally jumped around to keep my heart rate up. I also included what arm movements I could. The more we move, the more we sweat. Sweating is good for us!

Then I did 20 minutes of different moves with the dumbbells. I did squats and upward shoulder presses at the same time, bicep curls, etc. Just anything to keep me moving.

Then I finished with 20 minutes of:

planks
plank into downward dog (hold each for 5-10 seconds and slowly move to the next)
regular bridges

donkey kicks

single-leg bridges

I am going to finish my workout today with 20 minutes of resting and then a protein shake with some almond milk. Get it girl!

Sunday Workout

Goodmorning! Happy #sundayworkout.

I have started posting pictures to my new fitness instagram account. Check it out at the link above. 

Today I began my workout with 10 minutes of cardio: jumping jacks, knee-highs, butt kickers, and just generally dancing. Then I did another 10 minutes of cardio with 5 lb free weights. So, I was jumping around and also using the free weights to do the following: bicep curls, shoulder presses, and side-lateral raises.  [how to below]

bicep curls

shoulder press

side-lateral raise

Wednesday Workout

Today I did two workouts from my favorites baes over at Tone It Up.

FIRST I did 10 minutes of cardio: jumping jacks, knee highs, and butt kickers. (with a little bit of dancing in between, always)

Then I did the Morning Booty Call HIIT training
To be totally honest, it kicked my butt. Ouch.

And to finish up I did the Toned and Sexy Abs workout
This was much more manageable.

I really like the HIIT interval training.

Just remember "you gotta try every try!" - Chelsea B.

Now I am going to have a banana and almond milk in my protein shake. I love the chocolate flavor.



[I am not endorsed or compensated for these shout-outs.]

Monday Workout

Today I plan to workout later in the day. I will be writing a new post on that.
But first, I wanted to share that I received my first Fabletics order today.

I ordered the Amargosa style because I thought it was perfect for moving into chillier fall weather.








I am so excited to get into these new workout outfits. After receiving my order, I tried everything on and then reviewed it on the site. This helps others when making a sizing decision. It also gives you points that go towards a future outfit.

Workout Outfit: Make or Break?

Recently I read an article about keeping your motivation to work out.

The tip that I remembered most was, put your workout outfit on before deciding if you want to exercise or not.

I have done it several times now and each time I decide to work out. I'm already dressed, all that's left to do is to get my workout on! I also think it's important to wear clothing that is comfortable and appropriate for the activity you are about to take on. So, I found this awesome site called Fabletics. That link will take you to a page to sign up and get 50% off of your first outfit.

The best part is that you CAN order an outfit for the same price every month. BUT, if you don't see anything you like or don't want to spend the money every month, you can opt to skip the month. It's  win-win. Now order your first work-out outfit and get your motivation on!

Sunday workout

#sundayworkout

Today I started my workout with 10 minutes of cardio: butt kickers, high knees, jumping jacks, and just dancing to the beat.

Then I did this workout for 20 mins. I ended a little early so I just repeated some of my favorites exercises.

I ended strong with a 2 minute plank!

I am going to wait another 20 minutes and then have my protein drink with a banana and a large spoonful of greek yogurt!

Sunday Workout

This evening I finally got around to my workout. My goal is to workout at least 3 times a week as I start my new routine. I may have slacked off and fell short on a couple goals so far but hey, I'm not a quitter. Here we go again. I am holding myself responsible by writing in my completed workouts on the calendar. I also have a "workout buddy," my sister. Will agreed to check in with each other every morning post-workout. Along with these things, I will be *trying* to write a post every time I work out with the results of my activities.

I find it much easier to workout with a poppin' soundtrack. I tend to move to the beat of the songs, and I use the songs as timers.
Today began with a 10 minute warm up of:

jumping jacks
butt kickers
knee highs  I also did a little arm motion with the butt kickers and knee highs to get my heart rate up)

workout:
squats (1/2 - 1 song length)
leg raises (front, back, and side 10x with each leg) and repeat for entire song
table push ups (as many as I could)
tricep dips (from table, as many as I could)
sumo squats (entire song)

REPEAT as necessary to complete full 30 mins

I am also trying for the first time, my post-workout protein shake. I am using Garden of Life's RAW Protein. I think I'll mix it with almond milk, and maybe a banana.

Bad Tooth Update

It's been about a month since I began (almost) daily oil pulling in the mornings. I usually oil pull as soon as I wake up for 15-20 minutes. Then I wait 20 minutes and have 1-2 tsps apple cider vinegar in a glass of water. I then wait another 20 minutes and have my morning shake, filled with protein, fruit, and or leafy greens.

I have not had any pain in my bad tooth or the surrounding area, besides one day after I ate a little piece of chocolate. I have been clean eating (with a couple exceptions). And I have been taking a whole food multivitamin every morning along with a fermented cod liver oil supplement morning and night. I have been feeling much better - more energy and less bloated. I am not sure how it is all affecting my bad tooth, but I think the absence of the constant pain I had been feeling proves that I'm doing something right. I have also been drinking a cup or two daily of raw milk, but currently I am out.   :(  I may get the most organic whole milk I can find in the mean time.

Hopefully in a few more weeks I will have a more definitive perspective on the bad tooth remedy. I have seen countless "we've done it" stories and I trust in the power of nutrition to heal the body.

Bad Tooth part 2

I am trying to heal a bad tooth. So in addition to oil pulling, I am clean eating. Basically, I am trying to eat as many foods 'whole' as I can. Vegetables and fruits are especially important. But, contrary to popular belief, so is fat. This past week I stumbled across a website that helps you find local raw milk. It is called the Real Milk Finder. So on Saturday, I drove to the nearest farm and picked up my REAL raw milk. There is a good 3 inches of cream on the top of it. I haven't tried it yet, but I think I'll put it in my breakfast smoothie today.
Another important factor in my tooth healing experiment is taking a multivitamin. The recommended daily serving is 4 vitamins. I am taking one a day just as a booster, in case I am not getting all that I need. I take only whole food vitamins- which means the vitamins and minerals are coming from food, not from a factory. Currently I am taking Garden of Life brand, Vitamin Code.


Follow how it's going with my update.

BAD tooth :(

So I have a bad tooth. It has always bothered me. There is a slight gap between it and the next tooth. I always get food stuck in there, especially chicken and pork. When I used to floss, it would get caught on something and always rip. Ugh, the struggle of a bad tooth. Well about 4 months ago I was eating a egg and cheese croissant. That's relatively soft, right? I guess not soft enough because all of a sudden, crunch! I bit on something hard - a piece of my tooth! How could a chunk of tooth just fall out? At the time I chocked it up to being a filling that was old and had just fallen out, but now I'm wondering if it was an actual piece of tooth.

Anyway, I finally got an appointment at my dentist. (That is another annoying story) He does a couple x-rays and tells me, "You need a root canal. Now."

Oh. My. Gosh. A root canal? So I made the appointment right away.
But then I started doing research. Wait, root canals are bad? Toxic? I cancelled that appointment and began to oil pull.

It's been 10 days since I began oil pulling. I am no longer feeling pain in my bad tooth. After oil pulling my teeth feel so clean. And my bad tooth feels nice and solid.

ACV Vinegar Update

Today is my 5th consistent day of drinking 1-2 tsp ACV (apple cider vinegar) in an 8 oz glass of water. I drink it when I wake up, after I do my 15 minutes of oil pulling.
I may have mentioned this before, but am I at the point now where I actually smell it and crave it. I am no longer grossed out by the taste or smell. I don't add anything else to it either, just water and ACV. It seems to give me more energy. And, added bonus, it makes my teeth feel super clean!

The oil pulling I am doing as a separate "experiment."
See my BAD tooth :( post to learn more about oil pulling, and how it can actually help you heal your cavities.

This is my original post.

ACV day 1

Today I am trying what is know as a whole body problem solver: ACV (apple cider vinegar).

As you can imagine the taste is pretty vinegar-y. So I have consulted the interwebs to find a palatable alternative to just taking a shot of it.

This is the recipe that I found and am trying for my first day.

Apple Cider Vinegar Drink

Sweetened Raw Apple Cider Vinegar Elixir:

• 1 1/2 cup of cold filtered water
• 2 tbs of apple or grape juice
• 2 tbs of raw apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 tsp of cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp of stevia (powdered) if using liquid you only need a few drops. (I used honey)

The best brand to use is Bragg's.

So this is what the recipe looks like. It is not necessarily good, but it is a flavor I can handle. Cheers!

Here is the update. 

Wednesday Morning workout

On Wednesday..


I woke up and perused pinterest for a while.. then I did this workout.. twice.
I can really feel it in my thighs today. I also feel it in my shoulders. I put my hands on a low table for the pushups today, however.

Today I will drink some lemon water after working out and then have my favorite high fiber cereal with some unsweetened almond milk.

HAPPY Wednesday everyone!