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Challenging week once again

September 13, 2009 By 4 Comments

I tell ya, I must being taught some sort of lesson but not quite sure what that is yet.  This week was another challenging week.  Started out OK except for an infected tooth/gum got worse (I looked like a chipmunk my cheek was so swollen) and then I got sick, some viral chest infection and could hardly breathe so needless to say, I missed a lot of exercise.  All I did was basically walk for a mere 15 min. when I could.  So here we go, I’m still staying accountable to you.

Monday-

Day Off

Tuesday-

*Biggest Loser High Intensity workout
Time: 34 min.
Calories burned: 294

Wednesday to Friday-

*Walk outside
Time: 15 min.

Saturday-

Day Off

Sunday-

*Spin class
Time: 1 hr. 9 min.
Calories burned: 708

Blah!  I am so hoping this week I will manage a decent week.  I’m going to be honest and tell you that I am not into doing the Biggest Loser workout dvd challenge the rest of the month.  I like the workouts but not enough to do them 4 x a week  so I really need to do more workouts that I really enjoy because I have some goals to meet.  I am definitely going to watch The Biggest Loser (it starts Tuesday!), I’m just not going to do the dvd’s unless I feel like it!

Interested to see what this week brings!  The plan for the week is to get to the gym Mon., Wed., Sat. and Sun.  And I will work out at home and walk as well. Hope you have a great week.

What are your goals for the week and how did you do this past week?

 
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Benefits of water aerobics exercises

September 11, 2009 By 2 Comments

Fit and Healthy Lifestyle tips Friday is here.

Lap pool Couples Negril Jamaica

Today’s Tip:

Benefits of water aerobics exercises

Water aerobics is also called aqua fit, aqua aerobics and sometimes also called “waterobics”.  It’s resistance training in a swimming pool.  Not only will you do the normal walking/running forward and backwards but you’ll do jumping jacks, leg kicks and lifts plus use water dumbbells underwater and more.  You can work all areas like quads, glutes, back, shoulder, arms, etc.  The benefits to water aerobics exercises is that it doesn’t strain the joints and bones because of buoyancy and it keeps your body cool. It’s a low impact exercise.  All you really need is a swim suit but some people use water shoes and also swim caps to keep hair out of their face.

We have attended a few aqua fit classes at our gym and honestly we didn’t feel we got much out of it.  I have heard it’s a great workout where it’s possible to burn 300 + calories.  I didn’t wear my heart rate monitor so I cannot tell how much I burned.  I much prefer to get in pool and do my own water aerobics exercises rather than be part of an aqua fit class.

Do you take water aerobic/aqua fit classes?

 
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Workouts for the week of 8/31-9/6

September 6, 2009 By 5 Comments

This week was like the last few where I wish I could just start over.  I was so ready to start my September challenge but got sidelined with a gum/tooth infection and there was no way I was going to workout those few days.  I pushed through spin class on Wed. night but Thurs. and Fri. were not going to happen.  I did pretty well this week but didn’t meet the goals I set.

Moving on…..here are my workouts for the week.

Monday-

*Elliptical
Time: 35 min.
Miles: 2+
Calories burned: 406

Tuesday-

*The Biggest Loser workout (warm up, boot camp, cool down)
Time: 35 min.
Calories burned: 256

Wednesday-

*Spin class
Time: 1 hour
Calories burned: 645

*Walk outside
Time: 20 min.

Thursday-

*Walk outside
Time: 20 min.

Friday-

*Walk outside
Time: 20 min.

Saturday-

*Spin class
Time: 1 hr. 3 min.
Calories burned: 672

*Mow lawn
Time: 1 hr. 15 min.
Calories burned: 810

Sunday-

*Spin class
Time: 1 hr. 12 min.
Calories burned: 636

How did you do with your workouts this week?

 
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Okra health benefits

September 4, 2009 By 8 Comments

It’s Friday and time for your fit and healthy lifestyle tip!

Today’s Tip:  Okra health benefits

Ever heard of or tried Okra?
okra picture
*photo credit

You might have once tasted or seen okra in gumbo or other Cajun and Creole dishes or the popular fried okra but I first saw the okra eaten raw by one food blogger and just knew I wanted to get brave and try it.  We bought a bag of okra at our local Farmer’s Market a few weeks ago and served myself some raw okra (rinsed off of course) dipped in ketchup (after I got over the initial shock of the okra being fuzzy on the outside).  It was absolute yum!  Thanks to Meghann for getting me hooked on that!

I knew nothing about okra but have since learned that it does have many health benefits.  Okra is low in calories at about 25 for 1/2 cup sliced cooked okra and it’s packed full of valuable nutrients such as B6, folic acids, fiber and calcium.

To retain most of the nutrients you should cook the okra as little as possible but I like it raw so I would probably never cook it.  Oh and you should not rinse okra until you’re ready to use it because it will mold and get slimy.  Interesting!

If you want to learn how to cook okra here is a website you might find helpful.

Cook’s website for how to cook okra

I thought for sure Trader Joe’s would have some okra but no such luck AND I was bummed to find that the farmer’s market vendor we purchased it from 2 weeks ago did not have any last night when we returned.  They said they are hard to grow especially now with the cooler weather in IL and there were no good ones available.  I have their card and will call them next week to see if their friends were able to salvage any more.  I’m craving them so I sure hope so!

As I was in the process of writing this blog post, I found more okra cooking tips from The Best Life blog.  I wonder if The Best Life Diet Cookbook has okra recipes. Does anyone know?  Not sure I would eat okra cooked after falling in love with raw but hubby won’t touch the raw with a 10 ft. pole ha ha

Do you like okra and what is your favorite way to prepare it?

P.S. Have a great holiday weekend!

 
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September Challenge and Goals

September 1, 2009 By 4 Comments

I cannot believe it’s September already.  August went pretty well until the end and then took a nose dive but it is what it is.  This month’s challenge of course will have to do with The Biggest Loser TV show.  I’m so excited for it to start back up on Tuesday, September 15th.

My Biggest Loser challenge this month is to do at least 3 days a week of the original The Biggest Loser Workout, Power Sculpt and even throw in some of the 30 Day Shred.  I have some of the other DVD’s on my wish list (like Cardio Max, Boot Camp, Yoga, The Biggest Loser workout Volumn 2 and all of Jillian’s DVD’s too ha ha) so maybe if I can grab a few of those, I’ll add them in as well.

Mom threw out a challenge for our immediate family (mom, dad, uncle, myself and Kev) to lose 20 lbs each by Thanksgiving.  I have various challenges over the next few months so I’m excited to see how it all plays out.

My goal for September is to lose 8 lbs BUT ultimately inch loss is more important to me so I’m not going to stress out over weight.  In addition to the 3 days of Biggest Loser workouts, I will also be doing the normal gym routine of 2 days of spin class and 2 days cardio.  There will be at least 2 days a week of strength training too.

Two questions for you….

1) Do you watch The Biggest Loser TV Show?

2) What are your weight loss/fitness goals for September?

Let’s hear from you!

Happy September,

 
Filed Under: My Personal Goals Tagged With: ,
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