We had the opportunity to go to St. George for Thanksgiving with the Hatch family and I wasn’t about to pass it up. I love St. George for many reasons, but my #1 has to be the weather. It’s just perfect. I appreciate it so much more now, especially because Milwaukee has less than ideal weather this time of year. With that being said, we enjoyed a beautiful 63 degree Thanksgiving day and were even able to eat outside. 
In the 6 Thanksgivings that Joel and I have had together, we’ve only spent the last two years with family because Joel always has to work the Friday and Saturday after {and even this year Joel was without fam} so we have stayed in Milwaukee. Needless to say, it was great being with family but it didn’t feel quite right being away from Joel on Thanksgiving.
Although we missed Joel, we didn’t sulk in our sorrow. :) Carson was able to play with his cousins and warm up {kind of} to other people. He especially loved his POPS, my dad. And, I was able to catch up with my Dad and Jo, Grandma, siblings and SIL’s, aunts and uncles, and cousins. Man oh man, I miss having family nearby.
The ‘real’ reason for the trip was to celebrate my Dad and Jo’s 20th wedding anniversary, which we did on Friday. We had family pictures and then a little party that night where Jo presented this awesome slide show she put together of the past 20 years. Oh the memories!
{pictures of the anniversary party to come}
If hunger is not the problem, then eating is not the solution.
The most common triggers for overeating:
1. Skipping meals and snacking. Your body seems to work like a pendulum, where if you eat enough food in a meal it will hold you over until the next meal, but if you skip a meal your body will overcompensate and you will actually end up eating far more the next meal than you would have. This is why skipping meals is so detrimental to weight loss.
2. Lack of sleep. If you are tired you tend to lose self control and will end up eating things that you should not just for a bit of a blood sugar jump.
3. Large Portions. Portion control is the biggest change that most people can make in their diet to lose weight. If you figure out how many calories that you need in a day, and divide it by six to make three meals and three snacks, you will find that your portions should probably be a lot smaller than you are currently eating. Try using a smaller plate and just eat until you are satisfied, instead of following your mother’s rule of eating ‘everything on your plate.”
4. Heavy, HEAVY foods. Bagels.Greasy or fried foods. Pastries. Just some examples of foods that are very heavy in calories and low in nutrients. They are also low in water content and high in carbohydrates.
5. TV commercials or food aromas. Have you ever been at home watching TV and you see a McDonalds commercial and crave their french fries? Or driving down the freeway and you see a billboard for your favorite dessert and instantly become hungry? Or better yet, walking into the mall and smell PF Changs and you go eat rather than shop? Ok, maybe that last one is just me :). But fast food places and restaurants KNOW all to well how to get us to eat, yes, even when we aren’t really hungry.
6. Not enough Fiber. Fiber and roughage is always good for filling you up. It also helps keep your digestive system regular. A bowl of all bran, an apple, or a Fiber One bar are good examples of fiber-filled snacks.
7. Artificial Sweeteners. Aspartame and saccharin are examples of artificial sweeteners that will cause you to over indulge in a food because it is low calories. But wait! What about the fat? Just because a food is low in sugar does not mean that it is not low in calories!
8. Stress/Emotions. Many people resort to overeating during times of stress and when they’re emotional. Take a look at when you overeat the most. Is it when the children misbehave? after a stressful workday? after a break-up or argument? This habit can add thousands of calories into our week (Remember 3,500 calories = a pound of body fat). If you know you are apt to eat in stressful times, you should fill your fridge with crunchy veggies like carrots and celery so that you have a low calorie snack to eat in those tough times. Also getting to the root of the problem and dealing with it, along with adding exercise into your schedule will help keep your attitude in check.
9. Comfort. Remember when you had a bad break-up? What did your girlfriends want to do? Take you out for ice cream, right? Over the years, food has evolved from a need to thrive into a need to survive our most difficult times. Instead of eating for comfort, call a friend for support, go exercise, or find another activity that gives you IMMEDIATE gratification.
10. Dehydration. Sometimes we feel hungry when all our body really needs is a glass of water. Dehydration is often mistaken for hunger. It’s estimated that 75% of Americans go through life chronically dehydrated. Before you grab a handful of chips or other snack, try having a glass of water and see if that calms your hunger down. Water can help calm hunger and help you overeat less.
I have been stuck at home the last few days with a sick baby. So, what’s a girl to do? A festive project:
The best part? Joel even said it was blog worthy.
Carson has been so fun this past month. He is no longer a baby and is well on his way to toddler-hood. I am so NOT ready for it but at the same time I love watching him grow and learn. I can tell he understands some of what I say and it is so fun to feel like we can communicate just a little bit.
He started saying “Dada”, loves climbing/standing on things, loves to play with/in the newspaper, loves books, waived for the first time on the airplane to a complete stranger, has 7 teeth, and is so so so active. He definitely gives me a run for my money.
I absolutely HATE cleaning but I love a clean house.
Growing up, I was lucky enough to have someone come to my house every week to do the gross stuff, namely the bathrooms. The only cleaning I had to do was put my clothes away that were sprawled all over my bedroom floor. Now, my life is less glamorous and I am my own nitty gritty cleaning lady. Basically, I clean just to get ‘er done.
Luckily I married a man who not only knows how to clean, but really doesn’t mind it. Here’s the problem though: there is really no reason why he ever should have to clean much, at least at this point in our life. I am home {almost} all day. I do have downtime. I actually think about cleaning the bathrooms several times but instead I sit my butt down to read or surf the net. Before I know it 30 minutes has passed and I think “I COULD HAVE been done cleaning.” But no. It still awaits me. Haunts me, is more like it.
So, In attempt to ‘enjoy’ it more I am looking for the latest and greatest cleaning products, tools, gadgets, etc.that make cleaning easier and more fun. I have yet to find any.
I am curious. What do you use to get ‘er done?
In under two months time, it’s going to be a brand New Year – 2010.
And a lot of you are going to make that most famous of New Years Resolutions.
I am going to lose weight.
And, most of you are going to fail…miserably.
Here’s why.
And of course, most of the so-called “diet-experts” mix and match these three main plans to come up with their proprietary “miracle” weight loss program.
So, how come, year after year, millions of people:
Don’t they have any will power?
Of course, they have will power. Just as much as anybody else. Just as much as that skinny guy or gal that can’t quit smoking or gambling or watching too much reality TV.
Problem is, will power isn’t enough for most dieters.
Not when you consider the following list of factors that make dieting a can’t-win proposition for most people.
List of Diet Killers
When dieters eat less food:
When dieters restrict food groups:
When exercise is the sole weight loss method:
And the problems get even worse for repeat dieters.
After numerous failed attempts at weight loss, these poor souls have created super-thick neural pathways dedicated exclusively to dietary failure.
They just don’t believe they can succeed.
Seems pretty grim, doesn’t it?
So, what are we going to do?
Here’s what I do for my clients.
So, come this January, what are you going to do?
Buy the latest bestselling diet book?
I am new to the whole parenting thing so I need some input from you 'seasoned’ parents. I need to leave Carson next week for 3 hours. THREE HOURS. Doesn’t seem like a big deal, does it? Well, he seems to think otherwise. We are battling a huge case of separation anxiety where he won’t let anyone hold him besides Joel or me, even if he can see us.
Yes, it is flattering and all that he loves us so much. I love him too. But a mom needs a break every once in while. Is it too much to ask for the said break to be stress-free for mom? I think I will feel more sorry for the babysitter when I do indeed have to leave him.
Any ideas?
{btw: I still need a babysitter. Anyone up to the challenge? I didn’t think so! ;)}
Good music can make or break a workout for me. If I am in a spin class and the music is slow and quiet, it is darn near impossible for me to get into the workout and get what I want to out of it. And running? I am a lost cause if I don’t have my tunes. So, I know that if I want to have an intense workout my music must follow suit and literally pump me up. Music’s beat, tempo, and melody is what carries me thru the most torturous exercises and workouts.
Apparently I am not the only one.
--------Article from MSNBC-------------
Several recent studies try to chase down the connection between our ears and our feet.
For the last 20 years, Costas Karageorghis, a sports psychologist at Britain’s Brunel University, has been setting the research pace for understanding our need to groove and move.
In addition to his lab research, Karageorghis has helped create a half marathon in London that tries to find the perfect music mix of live bands based on his research of human reaction to rhythm. The second annual "Run to the Beat" event was held a few weeks ago with 9,000 laboratory rats, er, runners either enjoying the live music or listening to their own mix of tunes on their MP3. Karageorghis even offered a scientific selection of songs based on his findings.
According to Kargeorghis, there are four factors that contribute to a song's motivational qualities: rhythm response, musicality, cultural impact and association.
The first two are known as "internal" factors as they relate to the music's structure while the second two are "external" factors that reflect how we interpret the music. Rhythm response is tied to the beats per minute (bpm) of the song and how well it matches either the cadence or the heartbeat of the runner. A song's structure such as its melody and harmony contribute to its musicality. The external factors consider our musical background and the preferences we have for a certain genre of music and what we have learned to associate with certain songs and artists.
Picking the right music can have several benefits.
Syncing beats per minute with an exercise pace increases your efficiency. In a recent study, subjects who cycled in time to music found that they required 7 percent less oxygen to do the same work when compared to music playing in the background. Music can also help block out the little voice in your brain telling you its time to quit. Research shows that this dissociation effect results in a 10 percent reduction in perceived effort during treadmill running at a moderate intensity.
In the current study, published in the Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 30 subjects synchronized their pace to the tempo of the music which was 125 bpm. Before the experiment, a pool of music was rated using a questionnaire tool (the Brunel Music Rating Inventory) which then selected the most motivational pieces for the treadmill test. The subjects were given a choice of either pop or rock music.
When compared to a no-music control, the motivational synchronised music led to a 15 percent improvement in endurance.
"The synchronous application of music resulted in much higher endurance while the motivational qualities of the music impacted significantly on the interpretation of fatigue symptoms right up to the point of voluntary exhaustion," Karageorghis reported.
Matching the beats per minute of our music with our exercise heart rate also takes an interesting non-linear path, according to research.
Karageorghis found that when our hearts are performing at between 30 and 70 percent of maximum, we prefer a somewhat linear increase from 90 to 120 bpm. However, when we reach our anaerobic threshold between 70 and 80 percent of maximum, we prefer a jump in rhythm from 120 to 150 bpm. Above 80 percent of maximum heart rate
, a plateau is reached where even faster music is not preferred.
Another new study by researchers from Liverpool John Moores University, and detailed online in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, looked at the tempo angle differently. Instead of a mix of different songs at different tempos, they asked a group of cyclists to pedal to the same song over three different trials.
What the subjects did not know is that the researchers first played the song at normal speed, but then increased or decreased the speed of the same song by 10 percent. The small change was not enough to be noticed, but it did have an effect on performance.
Speeding up the music program increased distance covered/unit time, power and pedal cadence by 2.1 percent, 3.5 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively. Slowing the program produced falls of 3.8 percent, 9.8 percent and 5.9 percent. The researchers concluded that we increase or decrease our work effort and pace to match the tempo of our music.
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Pretty interesting, right? But not surprising at all.
So, if you are feeling less than inspired in your workouts you may just need to bust out your favorite song to keep you focused and motivated. You know, the one you jam out to in your car when you think no one is watching?!
Right now my number one is ‘I Gotta Feelin’ by the Black Eyed Peas.
What is your number one???
Whew. We had such a fun and busy {Halloween} weekend. I feel like I need another weekend just to recover. Oh wait, I don’t work so every day is like the weekend for me. Man, my life is tough!
Friday night was our annual ward Chili cook-off. I have submitted chili every year (5 years) and have failed to win anything, so this year I gracefully bowed out of the competition. Instead, we were in charge of an obstacle course for the kids. I think that suited me better than cooking. Anyone who knows me, knows that is the truth!
Saturday we headed to Madison for the Badger football game. Right before we left we realized our camera battery was almost dead, so we don’t have any pics. Boo. It was fa-reee-zing but so much fun to be at a college football game. 
After the game we ran home to get our Lil’ Monkey all dressed up for trick-or-treating with the Callister’s. Yup, that is right. We dressed up our 9 month old and took him trick-or-treating. As if he eats candy. I am pretty sure that we enjoyed it WAY more than he did. Nonetheless, he was a good sport and even shared the royalties. What a kid.
After trick-or-treating, we put the kids to bed enjoyed a delicious pumpkin-baked stew at the Callister’s with the Green’s and Patten’s. The girls chatted while the boys watched football, then we got a little crazy and topped off the evening with a game of UNO. I have to say that the best part of the night was a surprise appearance by David Beckham! He is soo dreamy.
Sunday we headed up to Green Bay. My brother was supposed to fly in to watch the ever-coveted game of Packers VS Vikings but he was unable to make it and gave us his tickets. We weren’t able to take Carson in due to the lame rule that all children, regardless of age need a ticket, so Joel met up my brother’s friend and headed in the game. Carson and I enjoyed the festivities outside the stadium. They had big screens up all over and you could watch the game in parking lot- pretty ingenious for the avid fans who can’t get tickets- and there are many! I didn’t feel like I missed out on the experience of a Packer game at all, besides seeing Brett Favre in person. Those Packer fans are quite a sight, though. WOW.
{For some reason I can’t upload pics of the game so those will have to come later.}
In honor of Halloween, I am posting a “Pumpkin Workout”. You may not have a medicine ball at home, but I am sure most of you have a pumpkin lying around somewhere. So, there is NO EXCUSE for you NOT to try this.
These next 3 videos are made by one of my trainer friends who has this great product called Workout Muse. It times intervals for you so all you have to do is listen for the stop-go cues and work your hardest in between. It's fabulous!
Get ready to PUMP it:
Happy Halloween!!
Out little family ventured out to a local pumpkin patch to pick the perfect pumpkin for Carson’s first Halloween.
Mission accomplished.
Her friends.
And might I say that I am rather well accessorized!
I had the privilege of getting a whole weekend with these pretties. We spent our time shopping, laughing, eating, and staying up way too late. Sounds just like our freshman year, minus the dating.
I cannot believe that it has been 7 years since we were all together. I wish it weren’t so long but that made our time so much sweeter. Though several years have passed, we are the same. I love that and feel so lucky to have each one of them in my life.
Fitness training isn’t rocket science.
Good training & nutrition decisions produce good results.
Poor training & nutrition decisions produce poor results.
So, how come when I go to the gym, I can pretty much guarantee that I am going to see a lot of intelligent, well-educated people making some pretty poor training decisions?
As a public service, here are a few training mistakes to avoid:
Thanks to Healthhabits for the links.
That in 9 months this little ‘pumpkin’ could bring so much joy to our lives?
9 Month Stats:
Height: 28.5” 50th%
Weight: 17.3 lbs 7th%
Sometimes it is hard to be a mom. It’s hard watch my child struggle to learn a new skill or simply listen to him cry. It’s hard to not whisk him up, wrap him in my arms and gently whisper ‘everything will be okay’. It’s hard to let him grow and learn on his own, but deep down I know I need to.
I know that it’s the hard things in life, the things we don’t think we can do, the things that make us struggle, that define us. It’s times and experiences like these that builds character. And I want him to have character.
I also want him to be secure. I want him to be confident. I want to instill independence, yet I want him to know I will always be there if he needs me. I want him to know he is loved unconditionally. I want him to know the value of hard work. I want him to know that when things get difficult, and inevitably they will, perseverance will get him through.
Over the last 8 months I have wondered if I have the necessary skills to be a good parent. Now, I wonder if my skin is thick enough and my heart strong enough to let him struggle to do things on his own? I know there will be times it will be me, not him, who will have to gain confidence to let him do those difficult things.
So, I will let him cry himself to sleep. I will let him feed himself and make a mess of it. I will let him fall down and get up again. I will let him struggle to learn new things. I will let him learn that people aren’t always nice and things don’t always turn out the way we want them to.
I will let him do these hard things, but will always be there to give encouragement, wipe tears and counsel him. It won’t be easy, but I can do it because I know these hard things will one day be good for him and we’ll both be stronger for it.
I thought he was sleeping. He was being so quiet. I was sure he was sleeping. Until I heard a thump. I went in his room and this is what I saw:
Time to lower his crib…again.
Is it possible to get a great total body workout in a short amount of time? Absolutely. Compound or combination training is the key.
A compound exercise is where you take one exercise and combine it with one or more exercises. The whole idea here is to get more muscles involved to burn calories in the shortest amount of time possible. After all, the key to any successful fat loss workout is escalating density, or the accumulation of more work in the same amount of time or less from workout to workout. So, total body workouts are great, but why not turbo charge your results by using total body exercises within your total body workouts?
For example, let's say you are doing a dumbbell lunge to work your lower body. The lunge is a unilateral knee-dominant exercise which, when performed correctly, increases leg strength and stability. This is a key movement pattern in teaching your body how to decelerate or efficiently stop and go on command. Well, adding a dumbbell curl to press at the end of each lunge will transform this exercise from a great lower body exercise to an even better TOTAL body exercise. The curl to press is in itself a combination upper body movement that works both pull-push components. Plus, your core is the link between all integrated upper and lower body movements, so any time you perform an upper-lower body combo exercise your core automatically gets called into action. In other words, choose the right exercise and it's one and your done!
So, how do you make use of this total body exercise for a simple, yet brutally effective five to ten minute fat loss workout?
First of all, your muscles must be warm, so do an appropriate warm up. Second, you need to work at YOUR HIGHEST level of intensity for the allotted amount of time. Third, you must like pain. Just kidding on that last one, but it should NOT be easy!
One Exercise Workout#1- Alternating DB Lunge + Curl to Press (the picture does not show the overhead shoulder press)
- Select one dumbbell (in general, 8-15+ lbs for women and 15-30+ lbs for men works great)
- Perform max reps for time in 5-10 minutes, only taking brief 5-20 sec rest periods as needed when speed slows and/or technique/form is jeopardized
- Once you can perform at least 5-10 reps per minute, seek to increase the weight by 2-5 lbs per dumbbell
One Exercise Workout#2- 1-Arm DB Squat to Shoulder Press
- Select one dumbbell (in general, 8-15+ lbs for women and 15-30+ lbs for men works great)
- 1 Round = Perform 10 total reps/side
- Perform max rounds for time in 5-10 minutes, only taking brief 5-20 sec rest periods as needed when speed slows and/or technique/form is jeopardized
- Once you can perform at least 1 round per minute, seek to increase the weight by 2-5 lbs per dumbbell
One Exercise Workout#3- 1-Arm DB Swing
- Select one dumbbell (in general, 8-15+ lbs for women and 15-30+ lbs for men works great)
- 1 Round = Perform 10 total reps/side
- Perform max rounds for time in 5-10 minutes, only taking brief 5-20 sec rest periods as needed when speed slows and/or technique/form is jeopardized
- Once you can perform at least 1 round per minute, seek to increase the weight by 2-5 lbs per dumbbell.
One Exercise Workout#4- Killer Variation: DB Squat Thrust + Push-up + Core Row + Knee-Ins
- Select one dumbbell (in general, 8-15+ lbs for women and 15-30+ lbs for men works great)
- Perform max reps for time in 5-10 minutes, only taking brief 5-20 sec rest periods as needed when speed slows and/or technique/form is jeopardized
- Once you can perform at least 5-10 reps per minute, seek to increase the weight by 2-5 lbs per dumbbell
There you have it. Four "One Exercise Workouts" involving total body combination exercises that you can do in 5-10 minutes at home or on the road . Now if you really wanted to ramp up your results with a full 20-minute workout, try selecting two of the total body exercises above and then doing two separate 10-minute workouts or selecting all four of the total body exercises above and then doing four separate 5-minute workouts.
Good Luck!
