Quick Grocery Trip

Happy Wednesday! We are halfway through the week. Yessiree! :)

After work today I went to the grocery store for some quick items...


Sunflower and peanut butter

(I haven't actually tried the sunflower butter yet so I sure hope I like it)

Almond milk (unsweetened)

Snackwells popcorn (my newfound treat)

and some whole wheat bread!

Then I came home and went for a quick run. The sun was shining beautifully, but the wind really hurt my ears! I was only able to run 2 miles before my ears started to really hurt. Anyone else have this problem? It was my first outdoor run of the season!! Bring on summer :)

I then came in for some light stretching and some ab work.

That's it for now.


Questions
1. How was your day?
2. What are your favorite nut butters/brands?

xoxo Kristin

Monday Monday Monday!!

Hey guys! I am so glad Monday is over! Today got off to a rather WET start with the snow showers we had today....I am not a fan of snow so it was annoyingly cold and wet. Where are you summer?!!

I started off my day with my usual breakfast at work (hard boiled egg whites and 2 clementines). It's just easier to grab for breakfast at work. On the weekends I usually switch it up and have omelets or breakfast sandwiches.

Lunch
Leftovers from dinner last night (3 oz oven roasted chicken, 1 stuffed shell made with chopped spinach and low fat cottage cheese, and broccoli, cauliflower and asparagus). I also splurged and got some roasted potatoes and carrots from the cafe downstairs. The portion sizes at the cafe were ginormous! The potatoes were a little greasy so I didn't end up eating all of them. Look at all of that color! I love when you can look at your plate and see lots of COLOR!!

Snack
I later had a big ol' chocolate chip cookie which I nuked in the microwave until it was warm, gooey and delicious!

After work I hopped in the car and drove to Club Fitness to start my workout. Since bootcamp didn't start until 4:30pm and I had 45 minutes to spare I got on the treadmill and ran 2 miles in 19:39.  This was my warmup.

(This pic was snapped as I was walking after I finished my run).

I am making it my mission to get better at running. I was sweating cats and dogs and huffing and puffing. I need to learn to better control my breathing during runs. Anyone else have this issue?

I then decided to hop on the Elliptical Cross trainer for another 10 minutes and set the incline to 14 and resistance to 4. I wanted my heart rate to be between 135-145 because that is my target heart rate to burn fat.

After 10 minutes, I wiped down the machine and waited in line for bootcamp because it's serious business. Everyone wants to be the first inside to scope out their territory The instructor was not there today and we had a sub....fortunately she is a really good instructor that actually used to teach bootcamp classes all the time. We did stations today and it was a great workout!

My WOD

• 20 minute run @ 6.3 speed (19:39)
• 10 minue elliptical cross trainer ; 14 incline and 4 resistance
• 45 minutes bootcamp stations interval training

My fitbit estimated that I burned a whopping 669 calories at the gym this afternoon! I'll take it considering my cookie easily contained 300 calories this afternoon!!

After the gym I snacked on some red grapes before dinner.

For dinner I had some delicious crockpot taco chicken soup!! It was delicious and so easy to make. Here is the recipe

It was a busy day and I am just now sitting down to blog all about it!

Now it's time for Dancing With The Stars! I can't wait for Sean Lowe to dance!! :)

Questions:
1. How was your Monday?
2. What did you have for dinner?
3. Who does CrossFit?

xoxo Kristin

Relaxing Day (Saturday)

So Yesterday was a day of some serious R and R. I look back at it and think man what did I do? Unfortunately I sat around pretty much all day.

I did start working on a Shutterfly photo book. That easily consumed 2 hours of my day yesterday. There are so many different choices for layouts, backgrounds, stickers and arrangements!! So I spent a lot of time playing around with different ways to arrange my pictures! I want to make it perfect. I wish I could say that I actually finished it, but sadly I did not. I had to walk away from it and I'll finish it later. Thank goodness for the Save button!!

If you haven't tried Shutterfly, I seriously recommend it. It is very user friendly and they have cheaper prints, collages, other photo novelty items than the stores. :) I love to save $$$$!! Here is the link to the website so you can check out what deals they have going on.. Shutterfly

Lunch

Kashi Four Cheese Pizza. I like that the crust is made out of sesame seed and flax so it provides Omega 3's. One serving also provides 15 grams of protein and 14 grams of whole grain. It was delicious and I didn't feel guilty eating it!

After I worked on my photo book for several hours, I headed over to spend time with my boyfriend Mark. He had spent the entire morning planting grass at the beach for a service project. I'm trying to remember exactly what we did, but we did a lot of sitting around playing our favorite game and my new nemesis Candy Crush. Has anyone tried it? I am totally addicted to this game. It's similar to Bejeweled or Pop It but it's with candy. I can spend hours at a time playing this game sadly!

Dinner
We had pizza for dinner (again) but this time it was the good stuff. It was from Giacomos and totally swarming with grease! I did dab it with a napkin so it made me feel a little better. I limited myself to 2 slices. I then proceded to stuff my face with a Reese's peanut butter egg! YUM in the tum!!

We then sat around playing our games and watching March Madness. We were both very tired and I left to head home around 10pm.

Having felt super guilty for what I ate yesterday and my laziness, I woke up this morning bright and early for spinning!!! Tom was teaching today and he kicked my butt!!! Mark's mom also took the class with me and we were drenched in sweat afterwords! Now I'm refreshed and ready to start my day :)

Breakfast:
1 bagel thin with 2 TBSP almond butter and 1 clementine

Happy Sunday!!!

Question 1. What are your plans for the rest of the weekend?

xoxo Kristin

Friday Recap!

Yesterday was a very long work day, so I was beyond ready to kick off my weekend!

I started it off by taking my car into the shop for routine maintenance. I cannot believe my car has nearly 30,000 miles on it now..Where has the time gone?!

Thankfully my car received an excellent report card!!

Then I headed to the gym for Bootcamp. It was a tough one without weight, using own body weight. Sometimes this format is more challenging than with weights. I am currently very sore from yesterday's workout ;)

Then we went to Texas Roadhouse where I stuffed my face with sweet rolls, peanuts, cheese fries and skinny margaritas. I also saved room for broccoli, carrots and a LOADED sweet potato. Yesterday's dinner was filled with carbs!

Here are a few pics :)

Happy Saturday Y'all!
xoxo Kristin

My WOD!

Happy Thursday! Thank god tomorrow is Friday!!! It has been a long work week for me!

I did a breakfast test tray at the hospital today to check the temperatures and check for meal accuracy. As a dietitian we complete these three times a month where I work.  Thankfully the temperatures were all within normal limits. I got to eat the food on the tray after I checked the temperatures. I had a breakfast sandwich on an english muffin and a cinnamon bun. Not exactly healthy but it was FREE!

Lunch
I had some chicken marinated in mesquite sauce, broccoli, cauliflower and green beans. I then got hungry a few minutes later and had 3 egg whites and 2 clementines.

Later in the afternoon I grew hungry again and had a bag of Snackwells Caramel popcorn with cinnamon glaze. So yummy and it just may be my new favorite snack!!!

Then I went to the gym and worked it all off. (Well almost)


Kristin's WOD
Warmup: 1.06 mile run
Strength: overhead press, shoulder press, rows











Cardio: 55 minute spin class
Cool down: Stretching

My fitbit estimated that I burned 517 calories. SWEET!!!

Dinner
3 oz of parmesan breaded chicken breasts
1 cup of green beans
1/2 cup of mixed vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots)

Now I'm hanging out with the boy toy for the night.

Have a great night. Tomorrow is FRIDAY!!!

Questions:
1. What are you doing this weekend?
2. Does anyone else have a fitbit?

xoxo Kristin

Goal Setting

Hello all! Happy Spring!! I was so happy that today was a beautiful sunny day! It always puts me in a great mood :)

Today started out slow and uneventful.

I had my usual breakfast: hard boiled egg whites, two clementines,and green tea

I later indulged in a mid-morning snack of a Fiber One 90 calorie brownie.



Lunch

4 oz chicken breast (leftover from last night's dinner)
Steamed broccoli and steamed green beans
Diet peach green tea












My lunch was very GREEN!!

After work I headed for Club Fitness to start my workout. I have been wanting to get back into running again so I headed straight to the "dreadmill." I really hate treadmills but it was a little too chilly for my liking to run outdoors today.

Workout

• 3.2 mile run
• 10 pound dumbell arm front and lateral raises
• Squats with Medicine ball
• 5 minute abs
• Oblique crunches
• Reverse crunches
• Flutter Kicks
• Basic Crunches
• Penquin crunches
• Plank

I didn't work out for as long as I generally do but it certainly was an intense workout. Because I have been focusing more on bootcamp and spin class, I have been slacking in the running department. But given that summer is right around the corner I need to get back in the running groove!

I have been thinking about my top  Health and Wellness Goals for 2013 (never too late for a New Year's Resolution right?!)

My 2013 Goals

1. Eat foods with less artificial sweeteners and ingredients therefore eating more natural and organic foods (Limit my intake of diet sodas and diet green teas)
2. Run at least 10 miles per week (~2-3 times per week) in addition to fitness classes
3. Lose 5% body fat

While losing weight would be fantastic, I am more concerned about toning up and burning body fat. I was not happy with my recent body fat percentage reading! Clearly I have some pretty big goals. However they are manageable with some hard work.

After all, "No Pain, No Gain!"
Summer is just around the corner you guys!!!

 

I love this quote: "You Earn Your Body. I want to get healthy. I want to look better. I will eat right. I will exercise. I will earn my body."

xoxo Kristin

Getting Back On Track!

So today was my day to get back on track with my diet after a weekend of little exercise and lots of unhealthy food and adult beverages for St. Patty's Day ;) I was able to get back on track today despite a minor chocolate chip cookie detour this afternoon! I mean seriously though it was absolutely necessary and worth it! (Girl Issues).

For breakfast I had my usual: 3 egg whites, and 2 clementines with my green tea.

For lunch I had: Vegetable Lasagna with fat free cottage cheese and ground turkey, red peppers, mushrooms, and spinach. I also had steamed broccoli and cauliflower and a 4 oz vegetable noodle soup from the cafeteria.

Despite the rain and horrible weather I left work and headed to Target. I found a $5 off coupon in my purse with purchase of $25 that I forgot to use on my last purchase and you know I had to go back in there and get my money back! So after getting $5 handed to me in cash, I decided to search for the almond butter. I've been dying to try it and so I figured since I just got $5 handed back to me that I'd purchase a $7.39 almond butter (makes sense right). It better be worth it! Stay tuned for my input later this evening. Has anyone tried Mara Natha All natural Almond Butter?

Anyways so after my Target trip I finally headed to the gym. I almost witnessed an accident in the parking lot on my way into the gym. People need to slow down it's not a race track!

I had a KILLER workout with Toni Ann at bootcamp class tonight. Here was a summary of our workout:

• Warmup 3 minute
• Circuit A (10 exercises)  
• 1 minute rest (jog)
• Circuit A 
• 1 minute rest (jog)
• 10 different exercises (Circuit B) 
• 1 minute rest (jog)
• Circuit B
• 1 minute rest (jog)
• Circuit A 
• 1 minute rest (jog)
• Circuit B
• 1 minute rest (jog)
• ABS for 5 minutes
• Cool down 3 minutes

I don't remember exactly all of the moves we did from each of the two sets of exercises so I'm calling one set circuit A and one set circuit B. But note while we were "resting" we were actually jogging to gradually cool down! It was INTENSE!! Almost all of the exercises that we did today used free weights which made it that much harder! My Fitbit estimated that I burned close to 500 calories during the workout and I believe it! We did box jumps with weights, sprinter lunges with weights, star jumps, exploding squats, mummy kicks with weight, and burpee high knees just to name a few!

I walked away feeling incredibly exhausted, proud and satisfied to have pushed myself to the highest limit possible. I am already sore which is always a good sign! My philosophy is "No Pain, No Gain!"


So who can give me some advice on whether I should try to do Crossfit (the real deal, not just a bootcamp class at the gym with similar moves)? I want to try the actually local Crosfit box with a daily WOD. I read so many blogs about women doing it and I'm so intrigued! I mean if they can do it so can I! I have to admit though the crazy expensive monthly cost is the only thing standing in the way of me trying it. I do wish they had a one week trial or something so that if I decide it is not for me I can walk away without signing a contract!

Questions:
1. Have you tried Crossfit and do you think it is worth it?
2. Have you tried almond butter?
3. How was your Monday?

National Registered Dietitian Day

Today is National Dietitian Day. At work they honored us with a big CARBOHYDRATE rich breakfast of french toast, scrambled eggs, sausage, home fries, muffins and bagels. I was very disappointed that there wasn't any fresh fruit. I'm not going to lie though the breakfast was yummy and it was the thought that counts.

It was a busy day at work; so busy that before I knew it, the day was over! Hooray!!

I am thinking about trying Crossfit. All of the blogs that I've read so far make it seem so awesome and so hardcore! What are your thoughts about Crossfit? Currently I take a similar style class called Crossfit Bootcamp at the gym that I belong to.

I skipped the gym again today so this is my home workout for the night!

Just wanted to say Happy RD day to all dietitians out there!

Have a great night!
xoxo Kristin

Dress Shopping

I really hate dress shopping. After work I set off on a quest to find a dress to wear at a military ball. I had my eye on a few dresses on the rack but after trying them on realized they simply didn't fit my body shape well. I am after all pretty curvy. But after trying on several dresses, I came across THE DRESS!! It fits perfectly and makes me feel really good about myself! Now I'm really excited for the ball! My boyfriend on the other hand is not looking forward to getting all dressed up. But who can resist a man in uniform?!

Ok now I know I didn't go shopping for a wedding dress (so don't get any ideas), but you guys get the point. It was that moment I felt when looking at myself in the mirror in the dressing room that I really felt like THIS IS THE ONE! So naturally I had to buy it. AND I had a coupon so it made it all the more acceptable to buy it today! :)

I have been browsing various blogs this week and came across a blog called Carrots 'N' Cake. I have to admit I love this blog because the author is so honest. I love her philosophy that you can 'eat' bad foods too in moderation. As a dietitian I am not the food police and I seriously believe you can live a healthy life by eating anything in moderation and by exercising regularly.

I found this recipe on her blog Carrots N Cake and I am thinking about trying this tomorrow morning!!

Doesn't this sound yummy?!
Hope you guys have a great night!

Question
1. What is your favorite breakfast food?!
Kristin

Manic Monday

So today started off on a bad note with me oversleeping!! But fortunately I only ended up being 15 minutes late to work.

Today wasn't as busy as it normally is and I focused on taking the stairs instead of the elevators. It is so easy to be lazy working at a hospital with multiple elevators but I took the long way today and took the stairs when I could.

When I got off of work, I drove to the gym and squeezed in a 1.5 mile run on the treadmill before Crossfit Bootcamp. Let's just say I don't think there was a single square inch of my body that wasn't drenched in sweat after my workout! It was a cardio packed class and it was just what I needed :)

I forgot to wear my fitbit today since I rushed out the door this morning in a panic, but I know I burned some serious calories today and I feel great!

Now it's time to watch the Bachelor finale!! Who do you think Sean picks?!

I hope to start taking pictures throughout the day to make this blog more pretty!

Questions:
1. What are your favorite exercises/workout routines?
2. How do you get motivated when you don't feel like working out?

Back from blogging vacation!

I cannot believe it has been 2.5 years since I have used this blog. I am excited to start blogging again to document what I eat, and my exercise regime. I promise to use this blog more regularly from now on.

Let me recap my Physical Activity for the week:

Monday- I went to Bootcamp class and it was TOUGH. We did two different circuits plus an abs workout. It was all cardio and a total calorie scorcher
Tuesday- I was so sore that I had to rest and recover (rest days are important)
Wednesday- I went to the gym and did the Elliptical
Thursday- I took Spinning and it was a major cardio burner (I sweated buckets)
Friday- I took Bootcamp class again with a 1 mile run warmup
Saturday- I ran 4 miles and then did weights at the gym with my boyfriend
Sunday- (today) I took Spinning again


Man my muscles are sore today. Prior to Friday I had not run in about a month. Now that the weather is started to warm up, I am going to try to run at least 2-3 times per week. I am running a race in May. I am looking forward to Bootcamp tomorrow afternoon.

I have a goal to lose 15# in 7 weeks. Do you think I can do it? My boyfriend invited me to a military ball which I've been told is a very formal event. I haven't gotten that dressed up since high school Prom! Ahh!

I am going to try to update this much more frequently because once every 2.5 years simply won't cut it!

Happy Sunday! :)