Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Fit Food- Foods that make me feel good (Part 1)

Homemade Fruit and Yogurt Smoothies.

They basically do the job of ice cream, but with way fewer calories, and way more nutrition.

1 c (8oz) Organic Fat Free Plain Yogurt (140 Calories, 8g Protein)
1 c (8oz) Organic Blueberry or Pomegranate Juice (130 Calories)
1 c (8oz) Sliced Organic bananas, frozen (100 Calories)
1 c (8oz) Any other frozen fruit: mango, strawberry, papaya, blackberry, etc. (100 Calories)

Blend.

And don't drink the whole thing. If you're good at math, you can see that this makes a LOT of smoothie (32oz). This blender will serve 2 easily, but in my house it serves 3. And at 156.7 calories for 10.7oz, I may never go back to ice cream.



Tuesday, February 16, 2010

5 days later?

I had a three-day weekend. It was fabulous, but not very Sarah Connor-ish. Unless you count making my three-year-old help me with the laundry.

I did build my husband a website (www.isaacbenelli.com). I feel really accomplished even though it's not finished.

I also cooked from scratch and ate well, although my over-all calories-from-wine-and-chocolate were a little high (what can I say, it was Valentine's day).

I did an intense abs workout yesterday, but nothing tonight (so far: the night is young!).

I'm still working on my List. It is more difficult than I had anticipated to make myself a list of goals. It's getting me thinking about the "kind of woman" I want to be. Which has me looking at the Bible a little more seriously than I have been looking at The Terminator movies....

So here we are. Parting thoughts?

People hide secrets, time is a lie, the material world can disappear in an instant. It has and it will again. Our identities change. Our names, the way we look, how we act and speak. We’re shape-shifters. There is no control, no constant, no shelter but the love of family and the body God gave us. And we can only hope that will always be enough.

-Sarah Connor, The Sarah Connor Chronicles

I'm not sure what I think about that, but it makes me want to press some weight.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

"Did you make a list?"

Mom's voice rings in my ears.

She can always tell when I'm overwhelmed. And for some reason she always asks me if I've made my list. Actually, I know the reason. It's because making a list works for me. Somehow the task at hand seems so much more manageable when it's all there on the paper. As I complete one task on the list, I put a big check mark by it. Each check mark is a little power gem, giving me enough energy, resolve, and focus to complete the next task.

To be quite honest, I am a little overwhelmed with the idea of becoming tough. I'm not even sure I know what it means. Even with using Sarah Connor as model/inspiration, the whole thing seems too nebulous to manage. So for the next day or so, I will be working on my List. Three or four long-term goals, and my mid- and short-term plans to get me on the right track.

Thomas Edison said, "Vision without execution is hallucination." Well, I'm not hallucinating; I'm making an executable plan.

And while I'm thinking loftily about my future mind/body/spirit, I ought not to neglect today. Here are a few things I want to put a big check mark by before the end of the day:
  1. Incline Running 15 Minutes
  2. 30 Sumo/Chair Jacks
  3. 20 Bicep Curls
  4. 20 Tricep Kick-backs
  5. 20 Back Flys
  6. 20 Overhead Tricep Extentions
  7. 20 In & Out Straight Arm Shoulder Flys
  8. 20 Hammer Curls
  9. 20 Lawnmowers
  10. Drink 4 Huge Glasses of Water


Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Doing Something.

We have a lot to learn from Sarah.

  • Brooding burns lots of calories, but exercise burns more.
  • Tank tops look even hotter when you're doing chin-ups.
  • There is a direct correlation between looking good in tight jeans and the wearer's ability to run fast, jump high, crouch low, and effectively wield heavy weapons.
  • Sweat = Perfume.
  • There's no time like the present.

That last one's a biggie for me. It really easy to cheat myself out of a workout completely by telling myself that that I will get to it later. Take it from me, later never comes. Later, there will be dinner to cook, dishes and laundry to wash. And don't forget raising your only son to be the single greatest warrior Humankind will ever know (pretend not to notice how unlikely this seems when you're cleaning his poop off the side of the bathtub).

There is ALWAYS a reason NOT to work out. But let's be honest. There is NO time like the present. I'm a busy girl, but even I can find time to do fifty squats while I'm waiting for my stale coffee to reheat in the microwave. And let's face it: if I wait till the robots are already trying to kill me to begin my training, I'll be dead along with the rest of you weaklings.


No offense.



Layout.

See that shot of me at the top of the page in the purple onesie? Pretty hot, huh?

Yeah, photoshop makes people hot.

The photog shaved about 15% out of the arch of my back, making my waist appear much smaller.

Of course, everything else is really me. So I guess I am pretty hot, or at least I was last May before a knee injury became my excuse to get out of working out whenever possible (read: ever).

I'm gonna get brave soon and post my "before Sarah Connor Survival Training" pics. It will be all I can do not to touch them up in PS.

Monday, February 8, 2010

It starts.

OK.
I'm twenty-seven years old and I'm little closer to being ready than when I was seventeen. I still get winded walking up a flight of stairs, I can't jog more than a mile without rest, can't lift anything larger than my three-year-old above my head. Forget shooting robots and climbing fences. When Judgement Day comes, I'm totally and completely screwed.
It's enough.
My Sarah Connor survival training begins today. No scales, no measuring tapes. Just good old-fashioned running, lifting, robot shooting, and tourniquet tying.
I'm not totally sure how to start.
WWSCD?
Do chin-ups on her up-turned institution issue bed, and act leery of her iMac.