ActiveGal

I hope everyone has had a wonderful Sunday! Happy Super Bowl Sunday to those who are watching the game! We are watching it here.

I don't really care either way who wins, but I enjoy watching the game and the commercials!

My favorite commercials so far:
1. Snickers commercial with Betty White
2. Doritos commercial with the shocking dog collar
3. Hyundai Brett Farve commercial
4. Career Builder Casual Friday commercial

I went to church as usual this morning and babysit in the nursery. I ate a bowl of Kashi granola cereal before I headed out the door.

I got back around 12:30 and we headed to start our long runs for the day. I completed 6 miles, which you can read about here. If the weather is nice on Sundays the boyfriend and I always head out to the American Tobacco Trail about 15 minutes from our apartment.

It lasts for a total of 13 miles roughly. I really enjoy the fact that they have the miles marked out for you along the way.

I am still living in the dark ages and don't own a Garmin, so it really helps to be able to track my mileage as a I run.

We went over to my boyfriends parents house for a while and just got back to finish watching the game. I am not ready for Monday, but at least next weekend is a long weekend for me!

What were some of your favorite Super Bowl commercials this year?

Coming Soon: tomorrow I will be making my Chili recipe that was planned for this weekend

What a day! Nothing turned out as planned and my whole scheduled got turned around. The worst part, I didn't get a workout in.

I had about 30 minutes of free time at home so I did a makeshift workout:
-50 power lunges
-3 sets of 25 squats
-25 girl push ups
-3 sets of 10 pulls up (we have one of those total gym pull up bars)

That was my workout for today. My plan was do a Body Pump class but sometimes life happens and you just have to do what you can.

Last nights cleaning session was a huge success. I vacuumed all the furniture, vacuumed the floor, cleaned the kitchen, cleaned the bathroom, dusted the entire apartment, and went through the mail for the week. I feel so much more organized and happy :)

The boyfriend and I got into a conversation about brown vs. white rice tonight. Most of my life I have been a white rice girl. I ate it whenever we went out to place likes P.F. Changs or Pei Wei and would even fix it with my meals. Wes on the other hand loves his brown rice, so since meeting him we have transformed into a brown rice household. I looked more at brown rice and discovered a lot of healthy facts.

The wonders of brown rice:
1. Process for producing brown rice only removes the outermost layer, which is called the hull. This part of the kernel has the least nutritional value.
2. To convert brown to white rice you takes away a lot of the vitamins and nutritional value of brown rice.
3. Brown rice is a high source of fiber and selenium, which has been linked to preventing colon cancer.
4. The oil in brown rice also helps lower cholesterol.
5. Brown rice is a rich source of magnesium, which reduces your risk of type 2 diabetes.

Brown rice is an awesome source of so many vitamins and minerals!

Well off to get ready for bed, I have to get up early in the morning to babysit at my church.

Coming Up: I will be back to regular posting tomorrow: including a recap of my long run, my chile recipe, and a new product review!

Sleep tight bloggies!

Is anyone out there as strange as me and finds cleaning and organizing relaxing?

That is exactly what I plan to do with my Friday night.

On the Agenda:
-clean out my desk
-VACUUM (two cats = way too much cat hair everywhere)
-Go through the mail that has piled up this week
-Finish laundry
-Re-arrange furniture (if time permits)
-Wash blankets and sheets

Needless to say, I have my work cut out for me tonight. It will make the rest of the weekend a lot more relaxing or me. I know; I am a strange individual. :)

Breakfast was a banana and a few bites of a Zing: Blueberry Almond bar.

Lunch was some Chinese leftovers from last weekend, chicken-lo-mien.

If you have been reading my blog you will know that on my Let's Get Cooking schedule tonight was supposed to be Barbecue Chicken Pizza. The boyfriend woke up this morning feeling terrible. He wasn't in the mood for anything more than Macaroni and Cheese tonight, so I am going to have to put off the pizza for another night this weekend.

Keep your fingers crossed that he will feel better soon!

I ended up fixing myself a turkey and cheese sandwich on whole wheat bread.

Alright bloggies, I'm off to start this cleaning extravaganza! Have a wonderful evening!

What do you do to relax? Do you have anything that you enjoy that most people don't?

My rest day is over and now it's time to get back into action.

You can check back later tonight to see my workout for the day.

Breakfast started out with a Fiber One: Oats and Chocolate bar.

Nutritional Facts: Calories: 140, Total Fat: 4 grams, Sodium: 90 mg, Carbohydrates: 29 grams, Fiber: 9 grams, Sugar: 10 grams, Protein 2 grams.

Lunch was a banana and peanut butter sandwich on whole wheat. 

I have been thinking a lot about fitness goals today. I was reading Caitlin's blog this morning and she was listing the races she has coming up. It made me realize, I need attainable fitness goals.

I don't run too many races anymore, although I would love to run some 10k's or half marathons in the future.  I have a very far off goal of completing a triathlon, but that is not feasible right now, so what fitness goals can I set for myself?

 Fitness goals (Feb 4th-April 30th):

1. Complete at least 4 days of weight training a week (I want arms like Jillian Michaels) :)
2. Complete at least 4 days of cardio a week
3. Go to 2 Body Pump classes a week (these count as weight training).
4. Complete at least one long run (5+ miles) a week. (These typically happen on Sunday's because it coincides with my boyfriend's long run on his marathon training schedule).

I typically work out 5 days a week so I think these are all very attainable goals. I just need to stay focused, organized, and motivated.

I am going to take before and after pictures starting today (before) and ending on April 30^th (after). I think seeing results really help you to stay motivated.

Off to the gym for my workout, to shower, and then heading over to a friend's house for dinner and a movie.

What are your fitness goals? Do you think mine are enough or do you think I should push for something more? I welcome all opinions!

P.S. Click here to ask me an anonymous question. I haven't received any yet, so ask away! I will answer them on my blog.

"Rest when you're weary. Refresh and renew yourself, your body, your mind, your spirit. Then get back to work." – Ralph Marston

Today is one of my two (the other is Friday) rest days this week. I usually feel lazy when I have a rest day, but today I am very happy to take it easy. I am so sore from the past two days of hard workouts that my body needs a day off.

Tomorrow of course, it is back to work!

Breakfast (unpictured because it was lame) was an apple with honey. No excuses, right? Ok, I'm sorry, from now on no more unpictured breakfasts.

Lunch was a banana and peanut butter sandwich on toasted Arnold's whole wheat bread.

I am going to jump on the bandwagon today. Click here to ask me anything. It is anonymous and I will respond to your questions on my blog. You can also let me know anything you would like to see on the blog. I am new to this, so your suggestions are always welcome!

I originally had planned to make something quick and painless for dinner, but going along with my Let's Get Cooking initiative, I decided to make Pomodoro Pasta.

I pulled the recipe from The Essential Pasta Cookbook, and altered it slightly.

Ingredients:
-1 lbs whole wheat pasta
-11/2 tablespoons olive oil
-1/2 onion, very finely chopped
-2 13 oz cans of Italian tomatoes
-1/4 cup fresh basil

1. Cook the pasta and return to pan to keep warm.
2. Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Add the onion and cook over medium heat until softened.
3. Stir in the tomato and simmer for 5-6 minutes, or until sauce has thickened.
4. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Stir in basil and cook for another minute.
6. Pour sauce over pasta and gently toss.
7. Add Parmesan if desired.

Off to watch some basketball and get ahead on some laundry. Have you noticed that I hate doing laundry and put it off as long as possible? J

Coming soon: New product review coming later tonight.

As usual, you can checkout my workout for the day here.

I know a lot of you have always loved cooking, or enjoy trying new things out in the kitchen. To be honest, I have not always been that way. In fact it really doesn't seem to come natural to me at all, and sometimes I feel like I am forcing it. On a positive note, I do enjoy it and am trying to learn new and exciting ways to cook.

Today begins Operations: Let's Get Cooking. I need to stop making excuses and just get in the kitchen and get my hands dirty.
-I'm going to start planning out my meals so no more guessing is involved.
-I am going to try something new 4 out of 7 days a week. Of course, if I can do more than that I will, but with our busy schedules I think that is reasonable.

This plan is for the rest of this week. I only have 3 meals planned for this week because I missed Monday.

If you have any recipes to share, please shoot me an email or leave a comment. They will be greatly appreciated. (Don't worry; if I put any on my blog I will put a link back to yours.)

Starting back this morning, breakfast consisted of a Newton's Fruit Crisp: Mixed Berry bar. In case you have never seen these before, here are some it's nutrition facts:
Calories: 100, Total Fat: 2 grams, Sodium: 86 mg, Potassium: 20 mg, Sugars: 8 grams, Protein: 1 gram.

All in all, not a bad little bar. I tend to eat breakfast in the car so this is something easy to eat while I try not to get in a wreck.

I decided to have breakfast for lunch. I whipped up some cinnammon oatmeal at work. I was going to put together pumpkin oatmeal, but unfortunately it was too much for me to bring to work with me.

Operation: Let's Get Cooking
Tonight's dinner: Turkey burgers

I had some Organic Turkey Burger patties in the freezer and decided to make use out of them.

I took out two and let them thaw for about an hour and a half while I was at they gym.

Marinade for the burgers:
-light soy sauce
-onion
-garlic powder
-touch of salt and pepper

I grilled them on the George Forman; put them on Arnold's whole wheat burger buns, added mozzarella cheese, and topped it off with chili beans.

It's not the most creative, but I am happy with my start to Operation: Let's Get Cooking!

Off to clean, fold clothes, and get ready for bed.

Whew! I am so thankful today is finally over. Work was crazy and then I came straight home and went to the gym. 

This morning started by finishing up the rest of my Oikos yogurt with cranberry and almond granola. I am officially out of yogurt so you will finally get to see some new breakfast creations!

In between fixing multiple problems at work, I decided to go ahead and plan out my workout for the entire week.

I don't have a picture of lunch because all I had for lunch was a Gnu Bar. I didn't even get to eat it until 3 pm. It was the craziest day ever! I cannot let that happen anymore! I have to take time for me each day no matter how busy work gets. ME time is VITAL to a healthy and successful life.

Today I thought I would talk about Body Pump for those of you who have never heard of it. Body Pump is a Les Mills class and works just about every single muscle in your body.

Les Mills describes Body Pump as "the original barbell class that strengthens your entire body. This 60-minute workout challenges all your major muscle groups by using the best weight-room exercises like squats, presses, lifts and curls. Great music, awesome instructors and your choice of weight inspire you to get the results you came for – and fast!"

The whole class lasts for one hour. It is made up of ten different tracks that each target a different muscle group.

1. Warm Up
2. Legs/Squats
3. Chest
4. Back
5. Triceps
6. Biceps
7. Lunges
8. Shoulders
9. Abdominals
10. Cool down

Each track follows the beat of a specific song. It works each muscle group for roughly around 4-5 minutes. I cannot even begin to express how much I love this class. My goal is to do it 2 times a week. I would love to do it 3 times a week but it just hard to fit in my schedule.

I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a good muscle strengthening class. If you have any questions, feel free to shoot me an email at sara *at* activegal *dot* com.

Do you take any fitness classes? How many times a week do you to try to do them?

Today was the second "snowed in" day this weekend. That meant it was also the second day that I wasn't able to make it to the gym.  The boyfriend and I went out and took a walk in the snow both days. I was happy to get in exercise but I am starting to feel guilty for not getting in my workouts this weekend.

On the positive side of things, this weekend has been incredibly relaxing. I have been exhausted these past couple weeks so it was nice to catch up on some much needed sleep.

Food today was messed up as well. I woke up this morning around 10 am (I know, but I needed the sleep!) with a headache. It took me almost 4 hours to get the headache to go away. I hadn't eaten ALL day because I had no appetite. We finally made it out tonight to scrape off my car and go pick up some Chinese. I had brown rice with General Tao's Chicken. We split the chicken and requested the brown rice instead of white or fried rice.

My healthy eating really struggles when we decide to go out. I always look for a healthy alternative on the menu but sometimes it really is hard.

Here are some tips I use when I am going out to eat:
1. Stick to water: This is easy for some, but hasn't always been for me. Alcohol and soda add a lot of extra calories to a meal that probably already contains more calories and fat than your typical at home meal.
2. Don't be afraid to request substitutions: I used to be too shy to request any changes in the order. Don't be afraid to request your food to be cooked in a healthier oil or with a different sauce or side.
3. Watch your sides: A lot of times the sides of a meal can be just as unhealthy as the main dish itself.
4. Stay away from anything fried: As much as possible choose grilled over fried.
5. Skip the appetizer: It is always a good idea to skip the appetizer. They are very filling foods and you don't want to over eat.
6. Eat Slow: This will enable you to tell when your body is full. I have over eaten one too many times a restaraunt simply because I don't know I'm full until I had already overeaten.

What rules do you use to help yourself eat healthy when you go out to eat?

What a beautiful snowy Saturday here! I love it! We don't see snow too much around here, so when I woke up this morning I was so happy to see all the white fluffiness :) The boyfriend and I are going to walk to the grocery store later.. that should be an experience.

I slept for a total of 9 beautiful hours.  I sure needed it! I have been exhausted this week! It feels great sometimes to get that extra sleep.

I fixed an 100 Calorie English Muffin with Eggs and a small amount of cheese for breakfast this morning.

As you can tell I am not the only one who has decided to have a lazy Saturday.

That would be my lazy kitty Gorman. He loves to sit in the bathroom where it is nice and warm under the lights.

Izzy decided she preferred the comfort of the couch over the cold, sleeting outdoors.

I just finished making lunch. My sandwich consisted of turkey, whole wheat bread, and cheese. I am not sure why it looks so strange in the picture.

We don't have a lot of food in the house so we will be making the 2 mile walk to the grocery store here shortly.

The rest of the afternoon consists of:
-cleaning
-laundry (lots of laundry)
-cooking
-Netflix (we have 500 Days of Summer and Scent of a Woman)

Be back later tonight. Have a wonderful Saturday!

I am so excited that it is snowing here in the good ol' state of NC. We rarely get snow anymore it seems, so this is very exciting for me! I already tried to take the cats out in the snow, but they just weren't having it.

Breakfast was another round of Oikos Vanilla Greek Yogurt with dried cranberries and granola. I love this first thing in the morning.

Lunch was eaten by my camera :( I don't know if this was a camera error or a user error (aka me). I think sometimes I am extremely technically challenged. I had some leftover pasta with chicken. It was nothing special so maybe it is a good thing that it was eaten by my camera.

Around 3 pm I was starving again. I feel like a bottomless pit lately. I eat lunch and then sometimes not even 2 hours later I am hungry again. I had to eat something so I pulled this out of my purse.

I received this Element Bar last week and I was so happy to find it in my purse. It was yummy and was packed with protein to help curve my hunger. I will do a review a little later but check out their website, you can customize your own bars to fit your needs! So cool! It even gives you all of the nutritional value for your bar. You should go there and check it out.

As you can see above and from reading lots of blogs Greek Yogurt is a very popular in the food/fitness blog community. I wanted to learn more about the advantages and disadvantages of Greek yogurt.

Advantages:
-High protein: most Greek yogurts in the super market have double the proteins of your regular types of yogurt.
-Less Carbohydrates: It usually has about 5-6 grams less than regular yogurt. It is also a great choice for those with diabetes.
-Smoother: Greek yogurt is strained more than regular yogurt which gives it a much creamier and smoother texture. 
-Lower in sodium: Greek yogurt often contains as much as 50% less sodium than regular yogurt.

Diadvantages: (I know, I couldn't believe it either but there are a few disadvantages)
-Less calcium: Standard yogurt has typically three times the calcium of Greek yogurt.
-Less taste: I personally really enjoy the taste of Greek yogurt but it typically has less of a "sweet" taste than standard yogurt. 

What are you favorite types of Greek yogurt? Do you notice a difference in brand? Do you enjoy the flavored Greek yogurt or the plain/vanilla flavors? I am more of a vanilla flavor person myself, but then again I haven't tried many of the flavors.