Turn It Up Tuesday!

Happy first day of summer! :) I decided to celebrate the official arrival of summer with an early morning scoop of SuperPump Max and an intense 25 minute run through the streets with music blasting in my ears. After finishing my run, I fueled up my body with a cup of egg whites with Mrs. Dash seasoning, Oatmeal with some cinnamon added, an orange, and a big glass of milk. Like the old saying goes, breakfast honestly is the most important meal of the day. Unfortunately, I am not much of a breakfast person, but I know that if I want to build muscle and feel great throughout the day I have to force myself to eat a big breakfast. It is difficult for me to eat a lot in the morning, but on the days where I don't have a big breakfast I can definitely notice a difference in myself; without a big breakfast I find myself more tired during the day and I get much hungrier and just don't feel like my normal bubbly, high energy self. So do yourself a favor and fuel that body as much as you can when you wake up! :)

Later today I am going to lift and my workout is going to be somewhat of a total upper body circuit. I like to alternate doing days of isolated muscle group workouts (i.e. shoulder workout one day and back the next, etc.) with days of multiple muscle group workouts because it keeps my body guessing and keeps my mind interested and engaged. Also, for me personally, my upper body is what I have the most difficulty building up and toning, and I found that my muscles are responding better by keeping my workout routines new and by doing fewer reps with heavier weights. Every person's muscles are going to respond differently to workout routines. What works really well for one person may not be the best option for another. The only way to really find out is by trial and error. It takes time to figure out, but if you love fitness like I do, then figuring out what works best for you will be a fun experience as you learn more about your body and how you can manipulate and change the way it looks. That is what keeps me so intrigued with lifting weights: I am in complete control of how my body looks and I can change the shape of muscles exactly the way I want with time and effort. 

Here is how my workout is gonna go today:

Triceps: Skull Crushers

Biceps: 21's

Shoulders: Dumbbell Shoulder Press

Back: Romanian Deadlift

----- After Romanian Deadlift I will do 15 minutes of HIIT cardio. I like to split up my workout with cardio in the middle sometimes because my upper body, particularly my arms, are my weak points. By giving them a quick rest and doing cardio, I can finish the second half of my workout with the same intensity and heavy weights as in the first half of my workout. I am also giong to finish my workout with a super set for each body part I am working. A superset is when upon completing one set of an exercise, you immediately begin a set of another exercise. Again, this is just what works for my body, so it may not work for you.-------

Triceps: Bench Dips super-setted with Cable Overhead Extensions

Biceps: Hammer Curls super-setted with Overhead Cable Curl (I will do one arm at a time)

Shoulders: DB Incline Shoulder Raise super-setted with DB Lateral Raise

Back: Lat Pulldown super-setted with Back Extensions

And there you have it! Make every workout count. Your mind is just as important in a workout as your body. If your mind is not 100% focused and engaged, then you will just be going through the motions of your workout and not getting anything out of your workout. Stay enthusiastic and stay engaged! If you find it hard to get pumped up about your workout, switch things up: change your routine, add new music to your workout playlist, change the time of day you workout, or go to the gym with someone you haven't gone with before. 

<3 Health and Happiness

Back and Shoulders

Today I am doing a shoulder and back workout. In my workout I alternate a shoulder exercise with a back exercise. If you click on the name of the exercise I have listed, you will be linked to bodybuilding.com where you can get a full video explanation of the exercise, what kind of equipment to use, and what specific muscle group the exercise targets. Don't be afraid to go out of your comfort zone on your last set! Even if you can only get two or three reps, going up in weight is what is going to help you get stronger, build muscle, and torch that fat! If you are comfortable during your workout, then you aren't using your full potential! Going to the gym with a friend is a great way to make sure that you always push your limits.... they can spot you so you won't be afraid to lift heavier, and motivate you to do more than you think you are capable of. Happy lifting! :)

Back and Shoulders Workout:

Wide Grip Lat Pulldown
Seated Dumbbell Press
Barbell T-Bar Row
Front Incline Dumbbell Raise
Back Extensions
Bent Over Cable Lateral Raise
One Arm Dumbbell Rows

At the end of my lifting workout I will do 15-20 minutes of high intensity interval training. Many cardio machines offer preset interval programs you can choose from or you can control the intensity yourself. Doing cardio after you lift weights is going to increase the amount of time that your body continues to burn after working, which is always a good thing!

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Eggs Really Are Incredible!

Before working out I like to eat something that is going to fuel my body for an intense workout. I usually eat about an hour and a half before I hit the weights. Today, I made one of my favorite things to make... an omelette! Eggs are amazing and power-packed with protein. I buy egg whites or egg beaters from the grocery store, so that I can get all the protein that eggs have to offer without the cholesterol. An omelette is a quick and easy way to make something that is filling, healthy, and full of fuel for your body! And... you can put just about anything into an omelette to make it taste exactly the way you want! :)

I put some corn, roasted red peppers, spinach, and Mrs. Dash seasonings together on a medium heat and let them cook together for a few minutes before adding the egg beaters. I like to use Mrs. Dash seasoning in almost every dish I cook because they taste amazing and are salt free. My favorite seasonings that Mrs. Dash offers are Garlic and Herb, Extra Spicy, and the Original.

Next, I pour in the egg beaters. Let the eggs cook until you can lift up the sides and tilt the pan without the eggs running. Flip the omelette once you feel that the consistency is at a  point where you can flip it without tearing.

Once I flip my omelette, I added some mozzarella cheese to get some good fats in before I workout.

After the cheese melts a little bit, I fold the omelette in half, let it sit in the pan a little longer and it's done!
SOOOO TASTTYYYY :)

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Back On My Blogging Grind.

Hello world of cyberspace! Ok so I know I have been pretty bad on blogging in the last month, but I'm back at it now! Once I got home for a few weeks I just wanted to enjoy being with my friends and family that I only get to see a handful of times throughout the year... O and I got my wisdom teeth out so there wasn't much activity in the nutrition and fitness department to report... A diet of jello, pudding, soup, and no working out didn't exactly give me much to work with in terms of blogging material haha...

Tonight, Gabe and I had some southwestern/tex-mex inspired dishes for dinner. We each made something different but with similar ingredients, and of course the common goal of making something that tastes good and makes our bodies feel good! Gabe made a really awesome wrap, that had so much going on in it, he could barely keep the contents of the wrap tucked neatly inside the quesadilla.

Gabe's Wrap:

• One tortilla (we use the La Tortilla brand... less carbs and calories and more dietary fiber)
• Some salsa
• Chopped Lettuce
• Diced Tomatoes
• Black Beans
• Roasted Red Peppers
• Uncle Ben's microwavable rice
• Mozzarella Cheese (any cheese you like will work)
• Grilled Chicken
• Fiesta Lime flavored Mrs. Dash Seasoning

...He first cooked the chicken (seasoned with the Mrs. Dash), then cooked the rice and mixed the black beans in with the rice... After that he put all the ingredients onto half of the tortilla and then folded the tortilla in half and placed it on the George Forman grill to press the quesadilla, melting the cheese and making the tortilla a little crispy. And there you have it! Easy and inexpensive to make and delicious to eat :)

My Mexican Pizza:

• One 8 inch Bobolli Whole Wheat Pizza Crust
• Salsa 
• Cheese
• Spinach
• Garlic
• Roasted Red Peppers
• Mrs. Dash Fiesta Lime Seasoning
• Mrs. Dash Extra Spicy Seasoning

...I just made a simple pizza with only a few ingredients, but of course you can be as creative as you want and put just about anything on a pizza! I topped the pizza with the salsa first then added some seasonings, the peppers, spinach, garlic, and topped it with cheese... then I just put it in the oven for about 8 minutes and it was perfect! :) Eating healthy is delicious! 

Hope this will inspire some creative dishes of your own... I love experimenting with food and finding new ways to make great tasting foods that are also healthy. I read so many fitness websites, blogs, and magazines where bodybuilders and fitness models talk about what their daily diets are like. Most of them are all very similar and do not stray far from plain grilled chicken, oatmeal, eggwhites, and protein shakes. That's great if you are training or preparing for a specific event when you need to really be strict about your diet, but it is misleading to people who want to be healthy and fit, but still enjoy food. Eating is awesome! Don't be afraid to get in the kitchen, make a mess, and experiment with foods and combinations you have never tried before! :)

<3 Health and Happiness

Home Sweet Home

Two years of college down... seems almost surreal to me. I am now a rising junior at Rutgers University and it seems to me that I was just a junior in high school. I got home yesterday and as I went over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, I rolled down my windows and let the salty ocean air flood my nostrils, and at that moment... I knew I was home. One thing that I love about Virginia Beach are all the restaurants... small, little local places are the main food fare of vb, with one or two chain restaurants but it's the local places that keep people coming back. Today, my mom and I went to one of my favorite places called The Leaping Lizard. It's a little place off of Shore Drive, but the parking lot is always packed and you are lucky if you don't have to wait for a table. All of their food is as fresh as it gets and the fruits and veggies they serve are all organically grown by them. They even have a produce barn out back where you can get the best fruits and vegetables you have ever eaten. It's the local places like Leaping Lizard that make me feel like I'm home.

Fresh strawberries, my crabcake lunch, and the produce barn at The Leaping Lizard.

Of course, no day for me would be complete without my workout! If you click on the actual name of the exercise I listed, it will send you to link that will show you step by step how to perform each exercise :)

Wide Grip Lat Pulldown (on the last rep of each set: pull the bar down so that your chin is just above the bar and hold as long as you can) 

Front Squat 

One Arm Incline Lat Raises

Leg Press

Skull Crushers

Hanging Leg Raises

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Pictures That Make Me Smile

A Girl's Best Friend

Sooo today's blog isn't really about fitness or nutrition, but I guess you could say it's about happiness and realizing how important best friends are in your life. Sammy, my roommate for the past two years and best friend at rutgers is going to be moving to Paris for her junior year, which is amazing and I am so excited for her but I would much rather set the entire country of France on fire or release some sort of deadly plague on them so she can't go. What's even more amazing is that she is not just doing a study abroad program through Rutgers... no, she applied to a French university and is literally transferring out of rutgers and will have to apply to transfer back into rutgers for her senior year... which, if you knew Sammy, is completely something she would do. She's from cali and I'm from virginia and we both ended up going to school in new jersey, and becoming random roommates our freshman year. Random roommate situations are very tricky and you never know how it's going to end up... I got very lucky because sammy ended up being my best friend and we roomed together another year. I can't think of a better friend to have than sammy. She has helped me through some really hard times dealing with my dad's cancer, took care of me when I had swine flu, yelled at me when I tried to go to the gym whenever when I was hurt or sick, we've stayed up late complaining about our boyfriends (and then talked about how much we love them the next day), helped each other come up with ultimate methods of procrastination during finals, threw me the only surprise birthday party I have ever had, we've stayed up late just being hyper and listening to christmas songs for hours, and we have told each other things that we would never tell anyone else. I really don't know what I am going to do without this girl next year. Someone better come up with a teleportation device or I better win the lottery so I can get my own private jet, because experiencing Sammy withdrawals is going to be ugly. So here's to you Sammy, my strong, beautiful best friend. I love you and I know we really will be best friends for the rest of our lives no matter where we are in the world.

A Balancing Act

A picture of today's lunch for me at the lovely dining hall (not really...but I make it work). I try to create a balance between all my macronutrients at every meal. Macronutrients are nutrients that our bodies need a relatively large amount of in order to function properly... Carbs, fats, proteins, and water! A glass of milk, apple, handful of mixed nuts, and a whole wheat pita filled with hummus, turkey, spinach, and some spices give me a good balance of all my macros, and will keep me full until my next meal. I eat about 5-6 small meals a day and I plan them ahead so I always know exactly what I am going to eat and will not be tempted to stray from my plan once I get to the dining hall. Being organized and planning ahead is key to making sure you get enough calories everyday and that all your daily requirements are met.

<3 Health and Happiness

Thintervention

Let's pretend you have a daughter (or maybe you already do)... Eventually that little girl is going to say, "I want to be just like _________ when I grow up!" (If you are lucky they will say YOU)... Now, what are that chances that she will fill in that blank with names like Brandi Chastain, Laila Ali, Gina Carano, Holly Holm, Venus or Serena Williams, or Allison Stokke? Chances are, unless you read her fitness and sports magazines before bed every night or ESPN is the only channel on your T.V... she probably has no idea who any of these women are, and most likely neither do you! All those women by the way, happen to be on a list called "15 Female Athletes That Could Snap You Like A Twig"... And they are all beautiful... Just sayin. It is more than likely that your young daughter would come back with a reply like "Hannah Montanna, Lady Gaga, Ashley Tisdale, or some other pop star or 20 year old playing a 12 year old on the Disney Channel. The fact is, the media plays such a huge role in our lives today that it's hard to escape it, and unless you can explain to girls that those stick thin models in ads, commercials, on billboards and the cover of magazines, are not what healthy women look like... then they are receiving very mixed messages. I'm not saying that the media is the devil or that you should boycott T.V, because in the world we live in today, it is impossible to escape the media. Technology and the media have done many things in society that are positive, but there are also negative sides, just as there is in every aspect of life. When young girls are constantly exposed to images of models that are too thin and pop stars that are wearing too little clothing and too much makeup, that is what they are going to aspire to be whether it happens consciously or unconsciously, which is why issues of anorexia, bulimia, and poor body image and low self-worth are more common among young females now more than ever. This can be stopped with a little intervention from a parent, a positive female role model, or anyone that cares to take the time to tell a little girl that strong, healthy girls grow up to be the most beautiful women. 

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Carb Controversy

Have you ever thought that the key to losing weight was to eat as little as possible? Maybe just suck on an ice cube and gnaw on some celery to get that body you always dreamed of? I mean, that's how all the "fit" people got to where they are, right? WRONG! So so wrong. Starving yourself will result in lack of energy, dehydration, loss of muscle mass, and the tendency of your body to HOLD weight instead of shedding it. Ok, I'm about to get a little scientific on you, but I am gonna try to keep it as simple as possible, so stay with me!

... Glucose is vital to everything our bodies do. Cells cannot operate without it, and you may have noticed that if your blood glucose level drops below a certain level, you feel tired, weak, dizzy, and shaky. Too much glucose is also just as bad as too little glucose, and the careful balance of glucose is regulated by hormones created in your pancreas called insulin and glucagon. Glucose is a carb, so when we eat more carbs our blood glucose level rises, signaling the release of insulin to take up that glucose to be used in cells, transformed into glycogen OR transformed into fatty acids to keep the blood glucose level from rising too much. SO, if glucose is transformed into fatty acids and glucose comes from carbs, I won't gain weight and get fat if I avoid all carbs, right?! Not exactly. Stay with me here... glycogen (which we just learned comes from glucose) is stored in the liver or in our muscles. Blood glucose levels increase right after we eat and begins to fall around 3 hours after eating (which is a good reason to eat small meals every 3 hours instead of just 3 big meals everyday)... once those blood glucose levels fall, the glycogen stored in your liver will break back down into glucose to be released into your blood. The source of glycogen in your liver has a limit and is completely depleted after about 24 hours. So, once your body has gotten all the glucose it can from the liver, where will it get the glucose it needs to function? The glucose that was stored as fatty acids??? Unfortunately, no. Unlike the glucose to glycogen transformation, which is reversible, glucose to fatty acid transformation is IRREVERSIBLE. SO, when your body needs more glucose, and can't get it from the liver, it will start to take glucose from the glycogen in muscles, which is NOT good. To lose weight we want to lose fat, definitely not muscle!

SO WHAT THE HECK DOES ALL THIS MEAN?!

A. Starving yourself decreases glucose availability...
B. When your body needs glucose it goes to the liver first and then will start to breakdown muscle
C. Fat is the LAST thing you will lose if you starve yourself or consume a diet with extreme calorie restriction

But what about all these low carb diets??? Low carb diets appear to be good in the short run, but not in the long run. Most of the weight loss seen in low carb diets is water loss. Why?

Every 1 gram of glycogen is bound to 3 grams of water, so when glycogen is broken down, it is mostly WATER that is being lost.

There are lots of different diets out there, but I believe that the best way to achieve a healthy body is all about moderation. A diet too low in carbs is not healthy in the long run, but neither is a diet high in carbohydrates. Trying to find a balance with a moderate amount of carb intake is the best option, and getting your carbs from good sources is another important point. Sugar is a carb, but that is not where your carbohydrate sources should come from. Whole grains, fruits, and vegetables are the best sources of carbohydrates. Moderation is a good thing to remember for all aspects of life, not just nutrition.

<3 Health and Happiness

ARMageddon (ok, I know it's not that creative)

Today was an arm workout for me... specifically biceps and triceps, but you can't really workout the bi's and tri's without also working other muscles because our muscles are all connected in one way or another! As a Taekwondo athlete since the age of 6, I have spent most of my life using lower body strength, which is probably why I love leg day so much because my legs are used to be worked really hard. For me, it is the upper body workouts that I dread the most because my upper body is my weakness, which is an even better reason to work it out! My upper body strength has been improving with every workout and the progress I can see and feel is amazing motivation. Today my weight training routine went like this...

Pull Ups
Bench Dips
Push Ups
Triceps Pushdown
21's  (7 reps from bottom to midway, 7 reps from midway to top, and 7 reps in the full range of motion)
Skull Crushers (I promise it only SOUNDS scary)

...And there you have it! An awesome workout to get you one step farther away from shapeless, "skinny-fat" looking arms, and one step closer to beautiful, strong arms! These exercises are easy to perform. There is nothing fancy or unusual about them, but you you don't have to stray far from the basics to get the results you want. There is no magical or secret workout that fit and healthy people are keeping from the world... It's just consistency and effort that make the difference between people who are successful in their fitness goals and those that seem to constantly be at battle with themselves. Just going to the gym, however, is only half of the equation to a healthy body. You can spend all the time and effort in the world at the gym, trying to sculpt every muscle, but if you leave the gym and stop at McDonald's on the way home, everything you just worked for has gone out the window. Diet and exercise go hand in hand. Diet without exercise or exercise without diet is like having a cell phone with no battery or a bike with only one wheel... IT JUST DOESN'T WORK! Flipping your world upside down and changing everything you have ever done is hard at first, but soon becomes a habit just like anything else  and the physical, mental, and emotional rewards you get from living a healthy lifestyle are going to by far outweigh those fast food meals you might miss.

<3 Health and Happpiness

Need a new summer read?

This book, "The New Rules of Lifting for Women," is a great choice for a summer read because unlike all those romance novels women usually reach for as their book of choice for poolside reading, this book will actually improve your life. Granted, you may not follow or believe each suggestion or claim about health the author of this book makes, but it is definitely worth reading. Gabe got me this book for my birthday, and I haven't been able to put it down. The author takes an honest, straightforward approach to health, fitness, and nutrition without making foolish claims of going from fat to fit in two weeks by simply taking a diet pill that has been endorsed by a celebrity. The truth is, there is no, miracle, fast track, or secret to achieving a fit and healthy body. If you do the work and stay consistent, you will get the results. This book makes a lot of sense, is easy to follow, and I promise you will learn something new no matter how many health and fitness books you have read. This book explains in detail everything you need to know before throwing you into a new fitness and eating routine, provides amazing, REALISTIC recipes for every meal of the day that you won't need a personal chef to successfully create, and 6 months worth of workout routines that will challenge your body and keep your mind engaged and interested. There are step by step illustrations and instructions for all the exercises so that even the newest women to the world of weight training will feel confident and comfortable doing them. Do something great for yourself by reading this book and making your body more beautiful than it already is!

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The Final Stretch

Signs of final exam weeks are beginning to show around campus... Libraries are open around the clock and signs that people have been posted up in the library for days are becoming more evident- tables strewn with stacks of papers and books, dozens of empty coffee cups, 5 hour energy bottles, monsters and other beverages that promise a sleepless night, takeout containers, and of course the bloodshot eyes and tired-looking skin.... If you have ADD or ADHD chances are you have had more than one person ask to buy your adderal in a desperate attempt to study like a manic so that they can pass their finals. Anger that facebook exists is also at an all time high among college students during finals because it is irresistable when trying to do absolutely anything to avoid studying. Most of finals week is a blur where everyday seems to run together into one giant, sleepless, stressful mega-day! So as final exams approach, I say BRING IT ON... I will not allow these tests to affect my sanity or smiley personality... I think. :)

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Thankful Hearts

Today, I felt like writing about living life to the fullest and making each day count. Staying positive and appreciating the amazing lives we have, are things that sometimes people forget to consciously acknowledge... myself included. I try to stop each day and just take a minute to realize how lucky I am and to be appreciative of all the opportunities I have been given, the wonderful friends and family I have been blessed to be surrounded by in my life, and how thankful I am for this healthy body and mind that I have. But of course, there are days when I am busy, a little selfish, not putting myself in other people's shoes before I speak or act, or too caught up in my own trivial issues to take that time to be thankful. Being more thankful and grateful for all that I have, and being more respectful and understanding of the people in my life are things that I am working on making a more conscious part of my daily routine. Life here for us is only temporary and will always end sooner than you planned. We are not in control of the amount of time we have on this earth, only the way in which we choose to spend that time. Talk to your family more, take the time to learn something new about a friend, help a stranger, start each day by saying thank you, let go of something that would normally make you mad, acknowledge when you feel your mood start to go sour and turn it around, and let the people who care about you most know that they are appreciated by just saying thank you for no particular reason. I want to smile, give, appreciate, and love a little more everyday because I don't have perfect control over all the things that will happen in my life, but I have complete control over my attitude and my actions.

"One day your life will flash before your eyes... make sure it's worth watching."

"If there ever comes a day where we can't be together, keep me in your heart, I'll stay there forever." -Winnie the Pooh

"Always believe that something wonderful is about to happen."

"Start each day with a grateful heart."

"If all the hate in the world followed me, I would continue to love and live happily. Nothing can stop me, my ambition won't falter, my attitude is one which nothing can alter. Sunshine and light fill every space in my heart, sharing it with others is my favorite form of art." -Whitney Daniel

"I have decided to be happy because it is good for my health." -Voltaire

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Feelin The Burn

LEG DAY! Most people have a love-hate relationship with leg day... I tend to be more on the love side of that fence. Your legs contain largest and strongest muscles in your body (which I got to see when we dissected the lower body of our cadaver in anatomy lab... talk about AMAZING)... because these muscles are so large, they take a lot more energy and effort to workout than say the upper body muscles. I love leg day because I am addicted to that wobbly, jello-like, I think my legs might collapse right under me feeling that I get walking out of the gym after a hard leg workout.... and if I DON'T feel like that, I think I obviously must not have worked hard enough. Today my workout went a lil somethin' like this:

Bulgarian Split Squat (I used dumbbells)
Squat With the Smith Machine super-setted with Jump Squats
Lying Leg Curls
Thigh Abductors super-setted with...
Thigh Adductors

Then, for cardio I did 20 minutes of HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training)

And nowww... to go get a lil creative in the dining hall and make a delicious post workout meal!
I am going to make a turkey pita wrap...

Whole Wheat Pita
Deli turkey slices
Some hummus
Raw Spinach
Slice of provolone cheese
Garlic Powder
Red Pepper Flakes...

Put it on the panini press til the cheese melts and MAGIC... If you can be a little creative, eating healthy in a college dining hall IS possible :)

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