Yummy! How about a nice berries fruit salad today before this...

….but CRUNCH!

Mi nombre is Maria, and I want to be a marathoner. Well, I am kind of being a scary cat about it and want to back out, but part of me feels like if I don’t go through with this.. it will haunt me forever. 

I will be running the Bank of America Chicago Marathon in October (omaaaagaaawd 26.2!!!) and I have not yet started training. So that you all could get a little bit of an idea of who I am, or my history of running/being active…lemme tell’yuhh wassap.

• In the summer of 2008, I lost a good 30(ish) pounds by occasional jogging, improving my ways of eating. I’d say this was awesome and opened my eyes to so many things I was missing out on.
• Summer of 2009 was a weird pause, and I didn’t gain or loose.
• Summer of 2010 I dropped another 20 pounds— I began jogging, a lot! I finished my first race ever, the Soldier Field Fleet Feet 10 Miler, and also completed the Chicago Half Marathon. 
• Summer of 2011— so far, I have not dropped more weight.. I tend to lose then gain in winter. It’s tough being an FBI agent, I mean..student/worker. I started on the Insanity workout plan just this week, and plan to keep it. I completed the Shamrock Shuffle (baby race) 5 miles. AND NOW… I will start on my official training on Monday. 

I am really excited to be sharing my experience with the public, in case anyone needs some motivation to become active, or if someone has any tips they can share with me. I am also REALLY into nutrition, so I will have healthy recipes up, as well as links and interesting runner’s info. This is the schedule I will be running on, except I will adjust it so my long runs can be Mondays. 

Marathon Training Schedule:Novice 1
WeekMonTueWedThurFriSatSun1rest3 m run3 m run3 m runrest6cross2rest3 m run3 m run3 m runrest7cross3rest3 m run4 m run3 m runrest5cross4rest3 m run4 m run3 m runrest9cross5rest3 m run5 m run3 m runrest10cross6rest3 m run5 m run3 m runrest7cross7rest3 m run6 m run3 m runrest12cross8rest3 m run6 m run3 m runrest13cross9rest3 m run7 m run4 m runrest10cross10rest3 m run7 m run4 m runrest15cross11rest4 m run8 m run4 m runrest16cross12rest4 m run8 m run5 m runrest12cross13rest4 m run9 m run5 m runrest18cross14rest5 m run9 m run5 m runrest14cross15rest5 m run10 m run5 m runrest20cross16rest5 m run8 m run4 m runrest12cross17rest4 m run6 m run3 m runrest8cross18rest3 m run4 m run2 m runrestrestrace

What To Eat To Lose Weight Fast...But Safe!

What To Eat To Lose Weight Fast...But Safe!:

http://wee.fm/8ja1 Another Great Post What To Eat To Lose Weight Fast…But Safe! by @kingcash thanks for sharing!

i’m going to start off with a few goals every week. they will most likely be small for a while, and relatively easy for most people but will be a challenge for me. so here we go!

6/13-6/19

1. drink four glasses of water a day (try to drink water with breakfast and dinner).

2. only have one mountain dew a day (lunch).

3. exercise three times this week. this can be swimming, pool volleyball, walking the dog, etc.

three, i think, is enough for the first week. :)

BLESS THE MIC FESTIVAL SET FOR 2ND JULY

Ghana’s largest entertainment event Bless The Mic returns this July to the capital city Accra for the third annual bless the mic arts and music festival.

On Saturday 2nd July Alliance Francaise will host the final day of this year’s Bless The Mic Arts & Music Festival. The festival will begin at 3pm showcasing an eclectic variety of poetry, paintings, art and photo exhibition With other attractions like acrobatic display, Health Spa – stress relieve massages, facial & skin treatment hand and foot care, capoeira lessons and good music 

What To Eat To Lose Weight Fast...But Safe!:

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Will Eating Whole Grains Help You Live Longer?:

A headline-grabbing study just hit the press, and on the surface, it looks like a home run for team Healthy Whole Grain. This chunk of research – officially titled “Dietary Fiber Intake and Mortality in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study” – followed a pool of over half a million adults and found that, across the board, the folks eating the most fiber had lower rates of death from almost every disease. But here’s the kicker: The only fiber that seemed to boost health was the kind from grains. Not veggie fiber. Not fruit fiber. Just grains, grains, grains.

I enjoy going for early afternoon runs (: They make me feel awesome for the rest of the day. I love it.

Here’s the thing. I’m not trying to “diet.” I’m trying to find a balance where I can lose some weight (however slowly) in the short term, and that I can carry with me into the long term so that I can enjoy life, enjoy food, enjoy socializing, and be healthy.

But I feel like I’m stuck in this cycle of climbing on and off some “regiment,” and I can’t seem to get to a place where I don’t feel like I’m over-correcting from one extreme to the other. I want to shake out and land in the middle.

Friday during the day was so good. I was eating right. I felt healthy. I was proud of myself. I had prepared on Thursday night and had good food to choose from. Awesome. I even went to lunch with a friend and had a coffee because I had already had my salad at my desk. Someone give me a friggin medal.

And I went out Friday night, but I sipped my drinks (sip sip sip) and managed to stay within a reasonable points value for a Friday night. And that was fine.

But Saturday morning rolls around, Damon suggests we go to brunch … and while I do order fruit instead of hashbrowns, I also eat more omelet and toast than I really need. And dinner that night — chorizo and eggs — isn’t particularly healthy, in spite of the fact that I tried to stuff as much swiss chard into the eggs as possible.

But I’m still within the right range, and I think I’m going to get up Sunday morning and go to the gym and everything will be ok. But somehow I snooze my way out of a trip to the gym, and then graze on wine and food all day at a BBQ. By the time I got home, I just felt uncomfortably full and unpleasant, and like I had undone all of the previous good.

So now today, I’m like “focus, game face,” but I know that the other extreme isn’t really the solution either.

I’ve lost weight before. I know it’s possible. But I’m really struggling this time. And I don’t know what to do to stop the cycle and get to the balance that I really need.

Any words of wisdom from the universe?

What To Eat To Lose Weight Fast...But Safe!: http://wee.fm/8ja1 Great post from Tracey!

Luto by Pedro Lucena on Flickr.

http://www.audaxhealthsolutions.com:

Audax Health Solutions located in Washington DC and hopes to improve the human condition through connection. Audax Health Solutions is built to show you the power of the human condition through connection.

I’m not surprised. I’m still at the same weight as last week. Better than a gain I suppose. Going to mix things up this week with circuit training and more cardio and endurance stuff rather than strength.

Last week I talked about starting Chalene Johnson’s “Turbo Fire” workout. The picture below speaks for itself. I haven’t sweat this much (including my pony tail!), and needed to stretch as long as I did post workout in a long time! Although it was my first class, I used the hand weights to kick it up a notch. Holy crud, it was intense! The moves were confusing at first, I even had to rewind a few times to make sure I got it down, but once the music starts going, and you get into the groove, it gets a lot easier. I’m looking forward to tomorrows class!

I don’t plan on posting everyday. I only wanted to post my first thoughts on the workout and hopefully will be able to post my progress at the end of every week.

AND HELLO TO ALL MY NEW FOLLOWERS! ? ? ?

Want To Know What To Eat To Lose Weight Fast?:

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Can you train for a marathon, tri or other endurance event powered only by plant-based foods? Some...

I always feel so great after a workout. Jamal is right - you may not always want to go initially but, afterwards, you never regret going.

These past 2 days I’ve been trying my best to keep up with Jamal’s workouts. But, tomorrow, I get to try out some new fitness classes! I’m super pumped for some Cardio Jam!!!!!

Oh yeah, I’m starting a health/exercise book :)

Breakfast: porridge w/ sultanas, apple and cinnamon

Snack: red grapes, green tea

Lunch: leftover veggie nosh

Snacks: carrot sticks dipped in low fat cream cheese, green tea

Dinner: chicken stirfry

Dessert: baked apple w/ teaspoon sugar and cinnamon

Approx 1300 cal

Exercise: YouTube yoga/pilates workout, skipping rope

Really good day yesterday Was cramming for a psych exam and struggled to beat boredom eating! Really sore knees though, think I should give the running a miss today until they’re better.

I stumbled across the most awesome thing the other day.  PBS has episodes of Julia Child’s The French Chef!  What better than to watch her cooking Indian food??  My two favorite culinary themes (Julia Child and Indian food).  Since I am taking a Punjabi cooking class this week, I relished in Julia’s attempts to try her hand at Indian cooking.  Her usual kitchen antics of sticking her fingers in boiling water, dropping things, and asking hilarious questions continued throughout the 30 minute show.  ”Now do they use chopsticks in India?”  ”No, we like to eat with our hands and savor the experience of eating our meals.”  ”Oh, how…..interesting” I love her!  

I found some great trails to start running around town.  My goal is to be running a few times each week.  It was a gorgeous way to spend a Saturday afternoon.  The air was crisp and clean, and the trees and plants had this refreshing smell to them.  It honestly reminded me of a summer in Bavaria (without the beer and bratwurst!)  While my stamina certainly left something to be desired, I hope with practice it will improve.  I need to remember to just leave some shorts and running shoes in my car.  If I have to drive home from work to get my things to exercise, I will not be motivated to go back out!  I also must remember to watch for bikes; as was the case in Munich when I was there a few summers ago, I nearly got taken out by a group of over eager bike enthusiasts.  They are so hardcore.

I got home all rejuvenated from my run, so I decided to cook a batch of Greek style spinach with brown rice.  The recipe is pretty standard, so I will attach a link here ( http://greekfood.about.com/od/spinachrecipes/r/Spinach-And-Rice-Pilaf-Spanakorizo.htm ).  In the spirit of being healthy, however, I substituted brown rice.  The only change is the cooking time increases just a smidgen, but otherwise the recipe is still just as good and the change is not at all noticeable.  I like this dish because it is rather healthy, it stays for quite a few days in the refrigerator, and you can make a huge batch to last you through the week.  Also, in my opinion, it is just as good cold as it is hot!  I would add some feta on top as well, but again, in the interest of cutting calories I left it out.  

Not pictured are the two perfectly hardboiled eggs that I made with this!  I used the method that Ina Garten recommends: Start off with cold water, add your eggs, bring up to a boil for 2 minutes, turn off the heat and let stand for about 5-7 minutes.  The Barefoot Contessa knows best!

Luto by Pedro Lucena on Flickr.

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What To Eat To Lose Weight Fast...But Safe!

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Enchantée!

Now let me introduce myself….

My name is Ailisha and I’m a teenage student living in Austin, Texas. I was born in Alberta, Canada and I’ve been living in the states for almost 10 years now! I’m a lifeguard as well, so lots of time spent in the Texas heat. I love spending my friends and my family! I speak fluentish french as well so si vous avez des questions en francais, vous pouvez me demander! 

As for being overweight, I have been my whole life. I think growing up into a young woman and beginning the journey to spend the rest of my life independently from my parents, it is very important that I learn to maintain a healthy lifestyle. My goal is, yes weight-loss, but also confidence-gain. Throughout my journey I’ll make sure that I feel just as good on the inside as I look good on the outside haha. 

I’m not going to promote anything that is unhealthy for my followers or anyone for that matter! You don’t have to be a size 0 to be beautiful, or even a size 4! You’ll see thinspo on here but I promise no ribcage or hipbones.  

Well I hope you follow me on this life-changing process! If you have any questions please feel free to ask! 

xx,

Ailisha

Fat loss workout: (Credit: My boyfriend)

I’ll be starting this on Monday, June 6, for anyone that wants to cIomplete the workout challenge with me. Duration: 5-6 weeks.

 *Day 1- Upper Body *(3 sets of 10-12 reps)

1). Push-ups- (2 sets of 15 reps)

2). Wide-Grip Lat Pulldown*

3). Dip Machine*

4). Dumbbell Shoulder Press*

5). Seated Cable Rows*

6). Dumbbell Bicep Curl*

7). Hyperextensions*

8). Bicycling, Stationary- (30mins.)

  *Day 2- Lower Body *(3 sets of 10-12 reps)

1). Freehand Jump Squat- (2 sets of 15 reps)

2). Butt Lift*

3). Dumbbell Lunges*

4). Stiff-Legged Dumbbell Deadlift*

5). Seated Leg Curl*

6). Leg Extension*

7). Standing Calf Raises*

8). Stairmaster- (30mins.)

  *Day 3- REST DAY

  *Day 4- Upper Body *(3 sets of 10-12 reps)

1). Push-ups- (2 sets of 15 reps)

2). Dumbbell Bench Press*

3). Lying Triceps Press*

4). Standing Military Press*

5). Bent Over Two-Dumbbell Row*

6). Upright Barbell Row*

7). One-Arm Dumbbell Row*

8). Knee/Hip Raise on Parallel Bars*

9). Running, Treadmill- (30mins.)

  *Day 5- Lower Body *(3 sets of 10-12 reps)

1). Freehand Jump Squat- (2 sets of 15 reps)

2). Split Squats*

3). Plie Dumbbell Squat*

4). Narrow Stance Squats*

5). One-Legged Cable Kickbacks*

6). Leg Press*

7). Calf Press on Leg Press Machine*

8). Elliptical Trainer- (30mins.)

  *Day 6- Cardio

1). Running, Treadmill- (40mins)

  *Day 7- REST DAY